As is my weekly tradition I have two beers to review for this week's #Beersaturday post. They are on the opposite ends of the beer spectrum with the first being a light Lager and the second a very different dark ale. Let's check them out and see how they faired, shall we!
Tread Lightly
Brewery: Muskoka Brewery
Origin: Bracebridge ON Canada
Style: Light Lager
Abv: 4.0%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Volume Size: 568ml
Marketing: White, silver and forest green color scheme on the can. Outdoor activity collage motif that is nestled within a thick tread hiking boot footprint.
Gold medal from the 22 World Beer Awards showcased on the back of the can. This is a huge can compared to the average tallboy. These aren't very common here in Ontario, especially for craft breweries, but im starting to see more of them periodically. The design appears to be a summery image but the color scheme feels wintery to me. Nonetheless, a decent design overall, in my opinion.
Color: Bright yellow straw color with a thin ring of bubbles that formed an angelic halo on top. Clear liquid with maybe just a hint of a haze to it.
Nose: Not a lot of aroma to this beer. I got some very light grain and cereal notes but that was about it.
Taste: A little dry to mildly sweet and tangy. Mild bitterness in the finish. Well balanced overall. Some grainy malty flavors but not a lot. Mild on taste overall but its a light beer so I guess I can't expect too much from it.
Texture: Good amount of carbonation with a light mouthfeel. Small to medium soft bubbles.
Impression: This was an okay beer. Nothing too special but decent for a light beer. I don't drink a lot of light beers but I've had better ones in the past. I likely won't revisit this one just because of how boring and unremarkable it is. That being said, it would be great if you planned to drink a lot of them in one sitting.
Mars
Brewery: Panzia Brewing Co
Origin: Toronto ON Canada
Style: Canadian Dunkles Bock
Abv: 7.0%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: Red sponge painted can that creates a planetary texture to it. White banner with copper/ bronze lettering. Astronaut climbing through a porthole image.
QR code on the side brings you to the company's website with more information and tasting notes about the beer. That's kind of cool. I think that this is a cool looking can overall and was really excited to try the beer. I felt that way because of the beer style as well. Dunkel Bocks are rare to see here. Lets try it. Here we go!
Color: The beer poured a mahogany red color with a good amount of head on top that had a slight orangey tan hue to it. Nice appetizing look about the beer to me.
Nose: Malty sweet aroma with notes of dark fruit. Not a strong smell but pleasant and one that became more pronounced as the beer warmed to room temperature.
Taste: The beer was quite bitter and it lingered at the center of my tongue for quite some time. It had that foreign, almost metallic like presence about it to me. I noticed the beers sweetness more as it warmed, along with its fruity notes. By the end I found it to be more sweet than bitter actually. I noticed a mild alcohol taste as well. It happens with stronger beers sometimes.
Texture: Good amount of carbonation with a soft smooth texture underneath. Medium bodied.
Impression: I drank many Dunkel beers in Germany and Austria when I visited those countries and this didn't remind me of any of them. To me this was like a standard red or amber North American beer in my opinion. I went in with high expectations and the beer didn't live up to them. It was a fine beer but nothing to write home about. I wouldn't bother with it again.
Well thats it for now.
Until next time, thanks for stopping by.
Until next time, thanks for stopping by.
Hey cool I have never heard of Panzia before. It is nice they offer something maltier and I would have totally expected more of a reaction at 7%. I will have to keep an eye out for them.
Muskoka do make good beer but I have had like 1 light lager I thoroughly enjoyed. I do like the extra tall can though. When this first came out, I forwarded it to Beau’s and pointed out the similar name to their lug tread. Said they should make a Rad Tom ipa for the infringement. ;)
Thats so funny, I was thinking the exact same thing about the name being so similar to Beau's. Funny that you messaged them and their reaction 😂
That would be a funny, light hearted rivalry between the two breweries if they did make a Rad Tom 🤣
The first one especially looked quite dull on the pour. Boo to boring beers!
Yeah. Light beers can be very dull. Would have been an OK beer if I planned to drink 5+ of them over a summer day. As a one off - pretty boring
Totally, some of them almost seem to rely on the summer sun factor but mostly that's not good to be the case. I have drank some awful beers in the sun which seemed good 😃😃
Yea me too. This one wasn't awful mind you just boring lol. But same, definitely drank some bad beers in the sun. They usually lead to a hangover more than anything else
Tread Lightly sounds like an easy-drinking option, though it's interesting how Mars develops sweetness. I must say the Mars beer has a fantastic mahogany red. I'd definitely love to try these brews! 🍻
That's a good assessment. The light beer was easy drinking and the color very appetizing in the Mars
I liked red color glass
Yeah the beer was a nice color 👌 ☺️ 👍