Muskoka Craft Lager - Muskoka Brewery

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

3.33/5  rDev -4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

16oz can into tunbler.
Best before Nov 2012

A- Crystal clear yellow straw hued beer. Half finger white head that quickly dissipates leaving nothing on the glass.

S- Grains and sweet cereal, apple skins and a little sugar. Fairly bland, typical macro lager.

T- Typical lager, grains and cereal, apples and a bit of grape skins.

M- Light bodied, good carbonation.

O- I'm conflicted, I don't like macro lagers, but I like craft brewers, so when a craft brewer makes a macro lager how do I rate? I have to assume that there are no adjuncts in this so my head will thank them tomorrow. It tastes like every other lager I have had. I'm so confused! lol

Serving type: can

08-05-2012 01:18:53 | More by korguy123

atr2605

New York

2.9/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A-pours a straw color and semi hazy with small head retention
S-very subtle aroma, a bit of malt but very faint
T-a bit of sweet malt, almost no hop bitterness
M-light bodied decent carbonation
O-A very basic lager. Didn't hate it, could tolerate it again.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 00:49:45 | More by atr2605

BGDrock

Ontario (Canada)

2.98/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Tasted relaxing and watching a flick

Appearance: pale straw; chill haze; head quickly fades to nothing

Aroma: very mild, somewhat lemony and a bit tart

Taste & Mouthfeel: touch of sweetness and something of a bitter kick at the end; there is a very mild buttery texture and taste; hint of lemon; metallic; medium-light carbonation and body

Overall: a very average lager, tasting just like one of the mass produced variety

Serving type: can

02-19-2012 04:48:49 | More by BGDrock

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle from a 6-pack at the LCBO, something I keep around the house form time to time for typical macro drinkers. A few 341ml bottles into a pint glass.

Poured a clear pale gold, with a finger or so of white head that doesn't last for too long. A film retains and traces of some lace. Nose has some grains/cereals, a touch of apple flesh, light hops and a gentle sweet malt. Not much to this. Flavour doesn't redeem this too much, more apple juice, some faint graininess and general sweetness. A mild hop bitterness finishes off on the palate. Light feel and medium high carbonation. Not a bad beer, but completely uninteresting. An easy craft substitute for your usual macro sipper.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2011 03:47:18 | More by liamt07

GodOfBeer

Ontario (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a pale straw yellow gold, with a thin white head, not much lacing, doesn't look too appealing.

Smells like the typical, bland lager it is, grains, sweet citrusy malts, nothing interesting here.

Tastes just like any other lager with a somewhat metallic aftertaste, a slight touch of hops.

Overall it's a decent refreshing lager, nothing more, nothing less.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2011 02:26:49 | More by GodOfBeer

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Re-branded blue and silver tallboy can, best before Feb. 2012. I have tried several Muskoka brews in the past, but this is not one of them.

Pours a clear light-golden colour, with one finger of fizzy white head that is gone within a minute. A filmy cap and thin collar remain on the surface. Not a lot of bubbles - looks kind of flat for a pale lager. The aroma is rather nondescript but generally pleasant - mostly grainy malts with some lemongrass.

Decent malty backbone, lots of graininess but also a bit of a cracker/doughy bread feel. Some grassy hops with light spiciness in the tail end of the sip, maybe a touch of lemony citrus. Slight malty aftertaste, but generally a pretty clean finish. Light-bodied, supremely crisp and very refreshing. Decent carbonation; lighter than a macro but not flat like the appearance suggested.

A serviceable pale lager, maybe a bit better than average - it's got a bit going for it, but not enough to justify the craft price. Reminds me of Big Rock's Gopher Lager, another 'decent' all-malt lager that is too expensive to really catch on. Most people who enjoy this style of beer already have a (likely cheaper) favourite that will never be unseated by something like this.

Serving type: can

11-05-2011 18:20:08 | More by thehyperduck

bryehn

Ontario (Canada)

3.23/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer formerly known as "Premium Lager" that came in white cans has been re-branded (likely by a marketing team) Craft Lager and put into 355 mL bottles.

Pours a pale straw-golden yellow with a smalll white head that burns off in seconds leaving but a thin ring. Lots of visible carbonation.

Very sweet aroma that smells like corn syrup and grains. Slight floral hop tone.

Nice crisp bite to the taste at first. Wet grains, corn, a touch of honey and a fairly strong earthy note. Decent dry finish.

Rather high in carbonation with a medium body. Bubbly sensation on the tongue gives way to a syrupy, slightly dirt-like aftertaste.

This is probably the worst beer Muskoka Brewery makes. It's tolerable (when cold at least), but too sweet and reminiscent of a certain popular macro lager for my tastes. Innoffensive enough to serve casual beer drinking friends and makes a decent meal washer, but at $13 a 6er I won't be going back for more.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2011 17:08:23 | More by bryehn

Mit

Ontario (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

a pours a light straw colour with minimal head.

s bready notes with some light malt character coming through. Very faint hops...

t-malty....the bready notes again present. Very slight hops...as suggested in the smell.

m-good mouthfeel for the abv.

o overall this is a decent beer. Not too controversial.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2011 04:21:46 | More by Mit

SebD

Ontario (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: It has a nice clear pale yellow/golden colour to it. It has a nice white head that dies down moderatly and has no lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitly give out hints of bready malts, hops and a slight graininess.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a sweet bready malt taste to it with hints of caramel and a nice hop bitterness in the end.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium carbonation with a nice balance of flavours

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with good flavours and aromas.

Serving type: can

08-02-2011 20:56:35 | More by SebD

tbeckett

Ontario (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Re-branded bottle labelled Muskoka Craft Lager from The Beer Store.

A - Pours a light golden colour with a half finger white head. Lot's of carbonation. Bright. No lacing, and a film of head retention.

S - Toasted malt, honey, floral.

T - Grassy hops, toasted/crackery malts. Not overly complex but smooth and a little tasty.

M - Medium carbonation and a medium body. Crisp finish is good and to style.

O/D - A quality session lager. No one element comes out to grab you but it seems to be what it wants to be - an easy drinking, inoffensive lager. The fact that it is subdued in flavour compared to other, sweeter lagers isn't necessarily a bad thing in my books.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2011 01:58:03 | More by tbeckett

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.05/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

500ml Can

Appearance - Clear Gold/yellow colour with a large size fizzy white coloured head. There is a low amount of carbonation showing and there isn’t much lacing. The head lasted for 3 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Grains/bread, corn, hops

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an above average amount of carbonation. I can taste bread/grains mixed with light hops and corn. There is also a bit of a honey and apple sweetness. The beer finishes with a grainy and sweet aftertaste.

Overall – Well its pretty much just a basic lager with a little bit of a honey sweetness. The sweetness adds a nice flavour to the beer, but it gets tiresome after a while. I wouldn’t buy this beer again.

Serving type: can

04-29-2011 17:12:14 | More by spinrsx

TheHammer

Ontario (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Alright, I finally finished my Lakes of Muskoka mix pack.

Appearance: Produced a half finger of head that did not sustain or lace, which is a bit of a disappointment. The body however makes up for it and a beautiful dark gold, almost bronze color and ample carbonation arising from it.

Smell: Nothing too complex but still interesting. Refreshing light hop smell with notes of sweet ginger, bready malt and a hint of cantaloupe. Didn't need a lot of warming up to come out either.

Taste: Starts out with a touch of sweet n spicy malt, ginger and pepper that seems to die out an produce a bit of a boring straw and bread taste which thankfully the hops end quite abruptly on a slight yeast note.

Mouthfeel: Well points get deducted for the lack of head, and it seems to shift quickly and oddly without a lot of rhyme or reason. However, the aftertaste is a very nice blend of flavour without any one taste being dominant. That and the carbonation helps out the whole beer.

Drinkability: It's not quite as thirst quenching as many other lagers, but it does the job. Easy to get down, medium-light body so you could probably pack it away well enough. Not as simple as I'd expect it to be, but still fit for cottage drinking.

Final Thoughts: A better then average lager, and certainly a welcome alternative to macros. Really my biggest complaint is the lack of head, as it tends to hold the beer back. Slightly better then their cream ale, but not by much.

Serving type: can

01-22-2011 20:48:48 | More by TheHammer

seand

California

3.73/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a clear light amber with a foamy white head, which dissipates very quickly, leaving no lacing.

S: Sweet, lightly bready and some caramel notes.

T: Light, and slightly sweet but with some reasonable depth. Simple, but not bad.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation.

D: Drinks quite easily.

Serving type: can

06-20-2010 17:56:58 | More by seand

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Can: Poured a light bright golden color lager with a large pure white foamy head with good retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of crisp light hops and lightly floral malt is quite enjoyable. Taste is also a nice enough balanced mix between some lightly sweet malt with floral notes and light dry crisp hops. Easily quaffable with no brewing flaws. A bit more hops would have been great but still very good overall. This brewer is really improving and providing easily drinkable beers.

Serving type: can

05-05-2010 19:52:51 | More by Phyl21ca

ludachris

Ontario (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours clear, crisp, and bright shade of gold with one and a half fingers of fizzy white had that displays a decent amount of retention and leaves minimal lace.

The smell is floral, a bit of grass, fresh bread, sweet buttery malt, and a touch of spice.

Floral hops with a good bready malt backbone that makes itself apparent throughout. A sweet spicy and doughy character is also detectible.

Mouthfeel is light, crisp, and clean. A very easy quaffer and perfectly balanced.

A simple, refreshing, and tasty lager. Decently priced, and perfect if you're in the mood for something light.

Serving type: can

03-14-2010 00:56:11 | More by ludachris

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Can from LCBO. A serviceable lager, more for a warm day. Light yellow with a large dissapearing white head. Neutral aroma. A tad below average mouthfeel. A mild bitterness, just keeping the sweetness at bay. Decently balanced, presuming a minimal use of ingredients. Drying finish. This style is close to what the macrobrewers produce.

Serving type: can

03-03-2010 22:30:09 | More by northyorksammy

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I'd say this is more of a Euro lager with the nobel hopping... boardering on a German Helles.

A: Clear golden-yellow with a white head, good retention & lacing.

S: Great nobel hop aroma, plenty of floral, herbal & peppery spicing. Some underlying breadyness.

T: Floral, herbal & spicy hops, some bready malt, hints of light caramel, slight hint of lager yeast character (sulphur), balanced bitterness. Pleasantly surprised.

M: Light to moderate body is very smooth, with an off-dry finish.

D: Very drinkable.

Serving type: can

12-07-2009 00:54:23 | More by Derek

MeisterBurger

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Holy carbonation. A slow pours leads to a vigorous, bubbly two inch head and a glass full of bubbles clinging to the sides and bottom and making their to the top. Very lively. It's a clear golden beer like color. As it should be. Leaves some spots of lacing.

Smell's a little malty and a little hoppy, slightly floral. No great shakes here.

The taste is a biscuity malt with wheat against a gentle steely grasslike bitterness, just a slight lemon tang. Very straightforward but balanced and satisfying.

The mouthfeel is light with good carbonation.

This would make a decent enough session beer, especially at under $10 for a six pack.

Serving type: can

11-13-2009 01:18:22 | More by MeisterBurger

nokes

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I've been drinking these for a while...was my budget brand of choice this summer. Time for a review...

Poured into a pint glass...two fingers of frothy white foam with reasonable retention. Died back to a persistent film that stayed around to the last, leaving traces of lacing on the glass. Yellow with a little more depth than average, fizzy, crystal clear.

Smells sweet-malty, maybe some caramel, grasses.

Tastes good...reasonably complex. Sweet malt countered by citrus (lemony almost) and a touch of bitterness.

Mouthfeel is reasonably full, just a trace of thinness around the edges, and nice carbonation.

This is a refreshing beer. Easy drinking and flavourful with a simple clean finish.

When this was buck-a-beer, I LOVED it. It's a little more now, but still worth drinking, no question. I got in on sale, so it was still quite reasonable, and far more enjoyable than anything else I've tried on the Beer Store's "discount brands" list. Totally a go-to spring/summer/fall beer.

Serving type: can

09-22-2009 21:38:52 | More by nokes

mintjellie

Ontario (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

We've all seen pale lagers before. This one looks the part. Maybe a little deeper in colour than most, but still golden. The finger of head disappears real quick, without so much as a speck of lace left in it's wake. It smells faintly of grain and noble hops. It tastes of sweet malt with a mild hint of grass. Very mild bitterness in the finish. It's really too sweet to call it crisp. It's a bit fizzy, but not overly so when compared to other beers of this style. It's light in body, but not watery. It's simple and inoffensive, something that would go over well in a big group of people.

Serving type: can

09-10-2009 22:24:32 | More by mintjellie

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at my hotel in Toronto - how very agreeably convenient.

This beer appears a clear pale golden hue, with two fingers of creamy, but at the same time, thinly foamy, white head, which leaves a ring of soapy lace around the glass as it hastily recedes.

It smells of biscuity sweet cereal grain, a bit of orchard apple fruitiness, and light musty, grassy hops. The taste is more crackery cereal grain, soft caramel apple, and earthy, weedy hops.

The carbonation is a tad on the high side, the body fairly creamy, with a rounded smoothness. It finishes demi-sec, a bit too grainy on the children's breakfast repast side of things.

Not a bad micro lager - refreshing, flavourful, but one is enough after the failure of the hops to make a dent in my palate.

Serving type: on-tap

08-15-2009 14:28:49 | More by biboergosum

CAMRAhardliner

Ontario (Canada)

3.05/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I had this on tap at a fantastic Thai restaurant called Linda's in Don Mills Toronto.

Served in Muskoka tumbler pint glass, revealing a gold liquid with a crackly white head. Not the pallid straw color I expected, more like a Bohemian Pilsner. The aroma is sweet and grainy with a bit of leafy hop aroma and hints of cooked veggies. the taste is too sweet and lacking in malt girth. Some coarse hop bitterness counters the sweetness a bit, just managing to steer this beer out of cloying territory. The mouthfeel is light and prickly with carbonation. The finish is shortlived and light on bitterness.

A decent enough pale lager, though a little on the bland side.

Serving type: on-tap

06-16-2009 06:23:02 | More by CAMRAhardliner

matt7215

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

341 ml bottle from the beer store.

Pours golden with a nice white head that is gone to quickly. Activly carbonated and spritzy in the glass.

The aromas is pale malt driven with hey and barley showing this most. Some noble hops are there as well but are not the prodominate aspect.

The taste is clean and refreshing. More flavour then typical pale lagers and the progression from the malt body to hop finish is appreciated.

Medium bodied with slightly to much carbonation in the mouth.

This is a quality brew and for the price is almost unbeatable in the Ontario market.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2008 16:46:13 | More by matt7215

allergictomacros

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Clear straw/gold with an inch of white foam.
S - Typical lager-y smell with some floral-ish hops and a lightly bready malt.
T - Clean, slightly sweet maltiness with a light lemon hop. A bit tart up front, and an inoffensive, mild finish.
M - Somewhat astringent, with a fairly full body for the style and moderate carbonation.
D - Doesn't stand out as exceptionally tasty, but very drinkable, crisp and clean. Cheap too!

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2008 00:58:56 | More by allergictomacros

steeler

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +29.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This is a beautiful beer. Its really refreshing to see a brewery brew a beer like this for the price. Molson, miller, Anneheiser-Busch, labbat's etc, those big mainstream brewers, who charge ridiculous prices for their beer. This really erks me, in Ontario, you will pay 36.50$ for a case of domestic premium. Thats bloody outrageous, specially the kind of beer those breweries put out. Molson Canadian? Labbatt Blue? Budweiser? and we cant forget the watered down MGD. This is what i mean, you will pay 36.50$ for case of those beers! (well more for MGD cuz its imported from the US) Now ask yourself, after trying this beer, how can a beer that is 10$ cheaper (26.40$ a case buck-a-beer) be more enjoyable then the "premium" beers? Its just stupid to see what goes on with the market, it comes down to stupid people who refuse to try to new stuff, because its not a huge beer commercial, or served at sporting events. Just stupid. Sorry for this rant, but a lot of people refuse to try out discount because they are "cheaper" idiots. But now onto the actual review lol :P

A - Nice golden yellow, with a nice head retention the whole way down in my glass. (some premiums cant even do that) Just a nice looking beer, when poured into a glass.

S - Smells nice and fresh, it doesn't have a distinctive smell, it just smells like a stock beer to me.

T - The taste of this beer, simply put is amazing. Puts its "premium" counterparts to shame. It goes down really easily. Slighty bitter, but not overly bitter, the perfect balance, then followed by a slightly sweet aftertaste, kinda fruity, but good.

M - It had a full feeling in my mouth. It was definitely not thin and watery like most "premium" beers. Great carbonation, just a perfect mouthfeel.

D - When this beer gets cold, it literally goes down like water. But even warm, like not cold enough to see condensation on the bottle, it went down easily too. It still literally went down like water. Just perfect.

Overall, this beer is near perfect, this brewery basically perfected this style. Its just a great tasting, FAIR priced beer. I apologize for the rant, but it was necessary, this was a discount beer like no other, it was just amazing. So i apologize, but i do recommend if you live in Ontario, buying a case of this beer, you will not be disappointed.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2008 15:08:45 | More by steeler