Nectar in Nature and Noble Dogs

This past week i adventured my way into the wilderness of Muskoka and then backroaded my doorless Jeep to a Cidery in the middle of the S. Ontario countryside.

I’m blogging this blog with blog pictures.  Blog.

While off the grid in Lagoon City …

I ventured off the beaten path [see what i did there muskoka brewers?] to Muskoka Brewery. A craft beer oasis in the heart of mosquito cottage country…

where i especially enjoyed the “guerrilla taps” [you have to ask for the secret taps] offering of the Gose and the newly LCBO’d All Eyes on Yuzu – an American Pale Ale with hint of Yuzu fruit I got a private tour, mostly because i sat down and pet Bree the dog who loved me so much and next thing i know i’m privy to the secrets of Muskoka Brewery.  True Story.

After getting home to Guelph, I took the doors off the jeep …. weeeeeeee

and took the backroads with Wm. Shakespeare’s words in mind, “get thee to a Cidery”. I easily found West Avenue Cider House, [30 mins from Guelph, 15 from Hamilton] said hello to the chickens running around and ordered up.

Took my drinks outside. Put up my feet ….

and enjoyed the  appley nectar how sweet baby Bacchus intended it to be enjoyed – outdoors on an apple orchard. You can’t believe what they do with apple juice –  barrel aged, wild fermented, mullberried, vinified, and so many other clever ways that the brewmaster makes their cider.  It really is so much fun. You can hold the chickens and pet Rosie – the noble beast of a dog who resides at West Ave.

Disclaimer – no actual gorillas were harmed researching this blog. Also, i never really paid attention in English class.

 

Cocktail in a Tin

What is it that you love to eat out of a tin? Spam? Herring and spam. Beans, spam, spam,  and spam – that’s not got much spam in it.

Well good news tin lovers. There is a  growing trend of cocktails in a tin and just in time for the long weekend and the royal wedding.

How’s this for a long weekend treat in a tin …  vodka, soda, gin, tonic, lemon, pomelo, and cucumber walk into a bar ….

First, Muskoka’s Docker.  It’s a G&T made with Muskoka’s Legendary Oddity Gin [which i honestly can’t believe i haven’t blogged about] and a little cucumber and lime. This drink is officially declared “divine”. “Sweet baby Bacchus” divine. Available at most LCBO stores, it’s a responsible 4% AVB, and endorsed by every single gin drinker in the world. Rumour has it that Harry and Meghan love it.

SocialLite continues their contribution to the world of tinned cocktails with a new Vodka and soda this summer that kinda makes me mad that i didn’t think of marketing this and getting rich.  Zero sugar and Zero sweetener is their mantra – or at least part of it – i think their real mantra is “why are we making stuff so good to drink”.  This summer’s flavours are Lemon Cucumber Mint and Grapefruit Pomelo. Remember, there’s also Vodka and Soda – a combination as old as creation itself.

Get ahead of the #trending curve and bring some tinned cocktails to a cottage or a party near you this summer. All the cool kids are doing it [i.e. Harry and Meghan].

 

Subscriber

Are you a subscriber?  I used to have a subscription to Sports Illustrated. I also used to photocopy photos of athletes, sign autographs to myself, and post them in my locker. “Keep dunking Travis – Patrick Ewing”.

Muskoka Brewery has a subscription worth investigating. “Do you want a 6-pack of Moonlight Kettle delivered to your door each month?”.  Why yes, maybe i do.

Here’s what i found out …

BEER CLUB

Venture off the Beaten Path and join us on a journey through great beer. Each month, Muskoka staff volunteer to join our Brewers to create and brew their very own beer.  We love consistently developing new, limited edition beers for our drinkers, available at our Brewery in Bracebridge and on tap– and now available delivered straight to you.

These brews are too delicious to keep to ourselves, so we’ve created the Moonlight Kettle Beer Club: subscribe to get a 6 pack delivered to your door each month.

Beer club! – sounds more delicious than Sports Illustrated.

Here’s the lineup

Dear Muskoka Brewery – keep on slam dunking your beer stuff – Patrick Ewing

Canada Day in photos

Instead of writing about Canada Day i’ve turning this wine blog into a photo blog. It really is easier to write than using my words.

Lunch at Artisinale – French rosé and Tawse Riesling with our first course.

Crêpe and Calvados for dessert.

 

Dinner BBQ at home with Muskoka 20th Anniversary Cream Ale aged in Oak.

Happy Canada Day

Year in Review

You know those dreams you have that you can’t wait to tell everyone about.  The dreams that have intricate details more fascinating to the teller than the listener?  That’s what the Year in Review photos are like on Facebook aren’t they?  I don’t feel that way – but i suspect a lot of people do. Nuts to them – here’s my Pull the Cork Year in Photos

Ox Patio at the end of winter with a Wellington SPA

The first signs of spring and i stop drinking potentially dangerous water and tuck into a nice Muga Rosé

The fine people at Muskoka Brewery helped make a beer tasting out of our micro farm planting  day

The summer began on Vancouver Island with a lovely white wine grown and bottled by a Canadian Aboriginal group

Grappa 1-0 Lemoncillo  [bunny ears by my M]

Um, this Autumnal Stonehammer Dark got some foliage help from my daughters i think

Of course we made Gin

and back to Nouveau, where this blog began

Survival Pack

Camping is not really a family activity for my family.  I’m often reminded that my wife’s idea of camping is a nice Bed and Breakfast, but truthfully she prefers a 4-star hotel when camping.

So when my daughter M and I decided to plant our micro-farm this long weekend [really it’s just a tiny garden] i thought that since we were going to be outdoors all day a survival pack might be helpful.  Truthfully i’m a lot more “outdoorsy” than i’m letting on but let me run with this okay.

The Muskoka Brewery survival pack comes with 8 cans of four different Muskoka summer products – the dry hopped Detour IPA, Summerweiss – a sessionable wheat beer, Cream Ale – their signature ale, and Craft Lager – quaffable with a surprisingly flavourful finish.

See how they fit in so well with my suburban wilderness [I know, they’re seedlings on a table in my backyard].

So some gardening, sorry microfarming, with my daughter, some drinking of the survival beers, and a couple hours in the sun later we were both hydrated [at least], satisfied because our hands were dirty, and feeling pretty smug [we both do that well] about the entire thing.

The Muskoka Survival pack is available at the LCBO and the Beer Store starting this weekend.

Hoptorial – 3 for 1 deal

Two for the price of one.  Truly one of the great deals in the world. Perhaps only to be topped by the “gift with purchase”. I am one of those people who consciously allows myself to be taken in – suckered if you will – by a great marketing campaign and I love it when the product is equally as brilliant.

The craft beer industry has caught my attention again.  Fighting the urge to market themselves using slow motion cheerleaders or enormous horses playing football, the micro brewers carve out their own niche in a more personal way. Of course they do – they are real people. Often with wicked cool beards.

The latest to catch my attention is the Hoptorial pack from Muskoka Brewery.  Great beer, clever marketing, and a Hop tutorial – I love it when my 2 for 1 becomes a 3 for 1 and the “gift with purchase” is educational! The box is covered with facts about the beer, the hops, hops in general, and some general foolishness [my favourite kind of foolishness].

Available at both the LCBO and Beer Store you get 2 Detour, 2 Mad Tom, and 2 Twice as Mad bottles for $14. Delicious and educational.

Ha – I just looked up my Detour review about Albert Einstein and laughed – narcissistic perhaps – but anyone who writes a blog has a bit of that in them i think. Note to self – avoid seeing your reflection in a pool if you can.

The harvest

Autumn really is a food lover’s paradise. Consider this haul from the farmers market in Guelph last Saturday. Cornucopia indeed.

It’s also the best of times for Autumnal Ale from up North. Here are two of the best

Lake of Bays 10 Point is a nice, lightly hopped IPA – I love the pine aroma and the bite on the finish.

 

Muskoka’s Harvest Ale has been repackaged from the original orange label [in part because people thought that it was a pumpkin ale] but the recipe remains the same.

If you hurry you may also catch a keg of Mash ‘n Pumpkins on tap at OX. Pumpkin pie in a pint glass with notes of spice and molasses – delic.

 

 

 

Uncle Albert’s detour

Few things give me greater pleasure than mentioning Albert Einstein in my blog. Here goes …

Hey Uncle Albert – fish are stupid!

Travis

This got me to thinking about stupid beer.  If you are going to spend your whole life drinking cheap beer then you will live your whole life believing that it is good – and that you are a genius.  If, however, you want to really be a genius then you have to try new stuff – like Muskoka Brewery’s Detour IPA. This weekend I had it on tap at Baker Street Station in Guelph and found it again in a 6-pack at the LCBO.

I think “Stop drinking stupid beer” should be on the front of the Detour IPA t-shirt.  This is a big hop ale with a clean finish that is the perfect detour from winter beer drinking to clean, genius, spring beer drinking.  I think Uncle Albert would approve.

And I want a kick back on the “Stop drinking stupid beer” t-shirt sales.

Get your winter beard on

Men. Thinking that it’s time to get your Winterbeard on? This man stopped thinking a long time ago.

Ladies. Have you been thinking that your man should grow a Winterbeard?  Of course you have.

Men. Are you thinking about the best beer of your life? Muskoka Brewery’s Winterbeard?  A double chocolate cranberry stout –  made with roasted dark chocolate malts, real cocoa,  70%  chocolate, and freshly harvested cranberries – you bet this stout is good. And  just in time for manly beard season.  Manly yes, but she’ll like it too.

Thanks to international story-teller and local brother-in-law Brad for the inspiration [for this blog post not for Muskoka Brewery – however, I’m sure they agree that your beard is inspiring to us all].