Fresh Tracks
Lake of Bays Brewing Company

473 mL can from the LCBO; I can't find a canning date. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy brassy-golden colour, generating nearly two inches of fluffy, soapy white head. It lasts for the better part of five minutes, eventually reduced to a frothy collar paired with a wavering band of lace - looks like your standard hazy IPA. Grapefruit and lime on the nose, as well as peach, melon and a hint of coconut water.

Interesting fruity flavour profile: the "Dynaboosted" Citra has effectively made its mark on this one. I'm getting peach, lime zest and orange at the forefront, with notes of grapefruit, honeydew melon, puffed rice and lychee not far behind. Lightly pithy, earthy bitterness at the finish, with melon, orange, banana and lychee lingering into a fruity aftertaste. Medium in body, with moderate carbonation that adds some prickliness to this brew's smooth, frothy texture. Fairly drinkable at 6.5%, but I found that the hop concentrate exhausted my taste buds after a while.

Final Grade: 3.81, a B+. Lake of Bays has released dozens of IPAs over the years, and Fresh Tracks stands out as one of their more interesting concoctions. The Dynaboost squeezes a lot of flavour out of the Citra hops, but it comes at the cost of drinkability - this is one of those beers that starts out strong, but runs out of gas later on in the session, once the concentrated hop burn starts to set in. If they brew another batch in the future, I'd love to give this brew another look.

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. My third beer from the Baysville, Ontario brewery, and first for 2025.