Beer Review: Muskoka Brewery’s Survival Sampler

Picture this, you are in the desert… ok too extreme. You are on the dock. The sun is beaming down on you. You are parched. Beer supplies are low, having drank your way through all the usual suspects. Surviving your vacation downtime looks grim. Then you remember the people at the Muskoka Brewery have your back and throw you a life line: The Survival Sampler.

Based in Bracebridge, Muskoka Brewery (muskokabrewery.com) have done their due diligence and created an easy-to-carry, 6x tall-can sampler pack. This bundle, which is commercially available throughout Ontario (I found mine at a Metro grocery store downtown Toronto) is a survey into some of their beer flavours, including their Camp-Out Pils, which is exclusive to this pack, and their new Ebb & Flow.

So, with palettes peaked, four friends (Dougie, Fumino, Diggy and Lucie) set out to do what hasn’t been done on this site: a review of the contents within The Survival Sampler, that is, the first beer review! (airhorns)

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Muskoka Brewery Cream Ale

Dougie: 2.5 / 5 (caramely, coffee, creamy honey, nutty)

Fumino: 3 / 5 (buttery, chocolaty, creamy, honey, skunky)

Diggy: 3 / 5 (buttery, caramely, chocolaty, creamy)

Lucie: 2 / 5 (chocolaty, coffee, creamy, honey, nutty)

Average: 2.6 / 5

Review: Their take on the classic Cream Ale. All of us tasted deeper undertones, some tasted nut, some chocolate, but ultimately couldn’t agree exactly what those were. Regardless, it was pretty good.

Muskoka Brewery Craft Lager

Dougie: 3 / 5 (Citrus, Crisp, Skunky)

Fumino: 3.5 / 5 (Balanced, Crisp, Skunky, Spicey)

Diggy: 3 / 5 (Balanced, Crisp)

Lucie: 3 / 5 (Balanced, Creamy, Crisp)

Average: 3.25

Review: Probably one of their most popular beers, The Craft Lager. It’s taste is reminiscent of your average lager but is much more. A light and tasty first beer of the day or if you just want something mellow. We also cooked a beer chicken with it (a short can) with good results.

Muskoka Brewery Detour

Dougie: 3 / 5 (coconut, fruity)

Fumino: 2 / 5 (citrusy, coconut, crisp, fruity)

Diggy: 2 / 5 (fruity, honey)

Lucie: 2 / 5 (citrusy, fruity, honey, bitter peach)

Average: 2.25 / 5

Review: Definitely fruity tones highlight this one. Except, at least to our taste, it wasn’t the highlight of the bunch. Just okay.

Muskoka Brewery Ebb & Flow – Session Sour

Dougie: 3.5 / 5 (citrusy, crisp, fruity, herbal, mellow)

Fumino: 1.5 / 5 (citrusy, crisp, floral, fruity, sour)

Diggy: 2 / 5 (citrusy, crisp, creamy, fruity)

Lucie: 4/ 5 (aggressive, citrusy, crisp, fruity)

Average: 2.75 / 5

Review: Definitely, one of the more divisive of the six. Those who like sour, really liked it. Those who do not care for it, didn’t like it. Light on the alcohol.

Muskoka Brewary Camp-Out Pils

Dougie: 3 / 5 (citrusy, creamy, crisp)

Fumino: 3 / 5 (buttery, creamy, herbal, wheaty)

Diggy: 3 / 5 (citrusy, coffee, crisp, creamy, wheaty)

Lucie: 3 / 5 (citrusy, hay, herbal)

Average: 3 / 5

Review: This beer had universal appeal among our group. It suited a lot of different palettes. We all agreed it was wheaty, but thought it tasted and looked pretty good. A good place to “camp out”.

Mukoka Brewery Summerweiss Tropical Wheat

Dougie: 3.5 / 5 (Citrusy, Creamy, Fruity)

Fumino: 2.5 / 5 (Creamy, Fruity)

Diggy: 2.5 / 5

Lucie: 3/ 5

Average: 2.88

Review: This beer was left last selected, as the group are not big fans of wheat beers. However, this turned out to be a good thing and, I would say, that it was pleasantly surprising. Not overtly wheaty but a nice citrusy tastes and a good ending to the sampler.

Conclusions: Muskoka Brewery Survival Sampler

So, feeling a little tipsy we all agree that the collection was great for the most part: a survey into some of the beers that Muskoka Brewery provides. The collection focuses on the refreshing and is well suited for the great outdoors, on a sunny day or is a welcome change to what you may be drinking. You won’t find anything heavy, with tastes leaning closer to the light and citrusy, with some wheatier takes and some sour takes. But because there is variety, there is something for everyone.

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