Mystery Beer Two (2024)
Lake of Bays Brewing Company
- From:
- Lake of Bays Brewing Company
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- European Dark Lager
- ABV:
- 5.6%
- Score:
- +8 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.86 | pDev: 3.63%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Sep 28, 2025
- Added:
- May 08, 2025
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
Malts: 2-Row Pale, Flaked Oats, Midnight Wheat, Crystal 2, Caramel Aromatic, Caramel 120, Caramunich 1
Hops: Phoenix
Other: Diesel House Espresso
Hops: Phoenix
Other: Diesel House Espresso
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by talisen-crw from Canada (ON)
4/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From their Toasty Toes Taster Pack from The Roundhouse Centre LCBO in nearby Windsor. Packaged December 9/24. My fifth beer from the Baysville, Ontario brewery, and third for 2025. Endorsed by Gracie the cat...
Sep 28, 2025
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.71/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.71/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
473 mL can from the LCBO, included in their 2024 Toasty Toes sampler pack; dated Sep 12 2024. This one might be the biggest headscratcher (identity-wise) I've yet seen with regard to these annual mystery beers. I would not be at all surprised to find out this is actually an oatmeal stout or porter (in fact, that was my immediate assumption). But after polishing off the glass, I found that it drank more like a dark lager with coffee. Lake of Bays didn't disclose the yeast strain, which would be helpful... but then again it's supposed to be a mystery, right?
Pours inky black with glints of crimson red when held to a bright light; situated atop is one finger of foamy, light tan-coloured head that vanishes within sixty seconds. A thin collar lasts indefinitely, with some stringy lace deposition over the course of the session. Espresso on the nose, blended with hints of dark chocolate, molasses, toffee and a faint woodsy note.
The flavour profile is appealing to me, but I'm a coffee addict, so that's not terribly surprising. Espresso and roasted coffee beans dominate the flavour profile, but sadly there isn't a whole lot of depth past that - caramel, molasses and oats add some sweetness that helps to balance out the coffee bitterness. Just a touch of woodsy, spicy bitterness on the back end, with coffee lasting through the finish and into a mildly bittersweet aftertaste. Light in body, with active carbonation that adds some spritz to this brew's smooth, watery mouthfeel. Good drinkability, assuming you enjoy coffee beers, but one per night is plenty for me.
Final Grade: 3.71, a B grade. I stand by my final choice: if Lake of Bays' 2024 Mystery Beer Two is an oatmeal stout, it's a very thin one. Of course, weirder things have happened, and I have been wrong once or twice in the past (if you don't believe me, just ask my wife). As always, I am all about the coffee, but there isn't a lot of complexity here to back up those espresso flavours. It's very close this year, but I think I might have to the give the W to #1 - its weird fruity tea notes vibed better with me than #2's thin coffee-forward vibes.
May 08, 2025Pours inky black with glints of crimson red when held to a bright light; situated atop is one finger of foamy, light tan-coloured head that vanishes within sixty seconds. A thin collar lasts indefinitely, with some stringy lace deposition over the course of the session. Espresso on the nose, blended with hints of dark chocolate, molasses, toffee and a faint woodsy note.
The flavour profile is appealing to me, but I'm a coffee addict, so that's not terribly surprising. Espresso and roasted coffee beans dominate the flavour profile, but sadly there isn't a whole lot of depth past that - caramel, molasses and oats add some sweetness that helps to balance out the coffee bitterness. Just a touch of woodsy, spicy bitterness on the back end, with coffee lasting through the finish and into a mildly bittersweet aftertaste. Light in body, with active carbonation that adds some spritz to this brew's smooth, watery mouthfeel. Good drinkability, assuming you enjoy coffee beers, but one per night is plenty for me.
Final Grade: 3.71, a B grade. I stand by my final choice: if Lake of Bays' 2024 Mystery Beer Two is an oatmeal stout, it's a very thin one. Of course, weirder things have happened, and I have been wrong once or twice in the past (if you don't believe me, just ask my wife). As always, I am all about the coffee, but there isn't a lot of complexity here to back up those espresso flavours. It's very close this year, but I think I might have to the give the W to #1 - its weird fruity tea notes vibed better with me than #2's thin coffee-forward vibes.
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