Hibernating Grizzly
Muskoka Brewery

Pours slightly hazy gold colour with a small head. The smell is tart and spicy and bitter. The taste is also tart and bitter, a bit sour with notes of mud and wet grass. I’m sure this is a quality beer but this style is not to my taste
March 30 2022

473 mL can from the LCBO, one of six included in their latest Survival Pack; best before Aug 15 2022 and served barely chilled. Originally a one-off from their long-going Moonlight Kettle series, this lemon grisette has been revived, at least temporarily.

Pours a foggy, translucent lemon drop yellow, capped with one finger of loose, soapy white head that erodes entirely within three minutes or so. A tight collar lives on, with no cap and minimal lace - not much of a looker if you ask me. Lots of lemon zest on the nose, with added notes of wheaty malt, cereal grains, orchard fruit and peppery spice; hints of grassy, floral hops and coriander.

I like it, but if you're not a lemon fan then you might want to take a pass on this one - it's the most dominant aspect of the flavour profile by a good margin. Hints of lemonade at the forefront, backed by wheaty malt and graininess that last throughout the sip. Things get a bit more spicy and peppery on the back end, with lemon zest/oil and weakly grassy hops at the finish; hints of pepper and lemon zest linger into the aftertaste for a second or two. Light in body, with moderately lively carbonation that lends a nice crispness to the mouthfeel - works well with the pepper/citrus combo. I found this very drinkable and pretty refreshing, almost like a shandy/radler, if the ratio were more like 80% beer / 20% lemonade vs. a 50:50 blend.

Final Grade: 3.69, an acceptable B grade. I like Hibernating Grizzly as a lemon beer, but as a saison/grisette it's mostly just underwhelming: the lemon really takes over, resulting in a one-note experience as the base beer isn't robust enough to shine through the citrus. In other words, I enjoyed it, but it's not an especially good farmhouse ale. Recommended if you're in the mood for something light and lemony this summer, but if you're hoping for something funky or complex, you should probably look elsewhere.

Appearance: Poured with a single finger of head that immediately evaporated and thus did not lace or retain at all. The body is a semi-transparent yellow showing steady carbonation. Realistically, it's not a pleasant half way point between cloudy and clear. Additionally some white fleck of something appears to be bouncing from the bottom to the top on the beer. I didn't notice it at first, just an odd spot where carbonation was coming from, but suddenly it starting making it bouncing rounds. I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt that maybe, it was in my glass to start with, but felt it was worth noting.

Smell: Warming is desperately needed on this one, as it's absent while cool, but you aren't missing very much. It smells like lemon juice with a background of pepper and sand. Not exactly a great combo to my nose.

Taste: A splash of lemon with some bready malt starts us off, which then gives way to a stronger lemon presence mixed with black pepper as earthy and floral hops finish the beer off. The start of the beer feels out of place, as the bread malt feels like the odd man out.

Mouthfeel: It's a bit of a rocky ride as far as transitioning is concerned, going from sweet with lemon, lemon with pepper and bitter hops. The carbonation really helps out that second lemon note which is good, but the elephant in the room is the mixed aftertaste is quickly consumed by a dry sandy presence one that starts to cloy after the fact.

Drinkability: Not as light bodied as I'd like it to be for something with that low an ABV. Also very gassy which isn't pleasant as it's leaving me belching quite a bit. Also, that dry sandy end is just killing any appeal to keep drinking this.

Final Thoughts: When I drink this, I'm reminded of Clover Leaf Lemon & Pepper Tuna, only instead of complimenting Tuna, it's complimenting some bread malt, and sand. It has left me asking so many questions. For a low ABV beer, whose focus is citrus, why would you finish with that much of a dry note? Why would you brew a citrus focused beer for the winter? Why does a 4% beer taste this thick? What the heck is that fleck? Why have you abandoned your various Weiss's for this? This is likely going to be the last Muskoka beer I'm going to have for a while, with the only exceptions being the Spring Oddity (if it doesn't get the chopping block) or Winter Beard at Xmas (which other Stouts may break that yearly tradition). This is a shame because they used to be my favourite Canadian brewer. This is pass.

473ml can - a Grisette, according to the label lore.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, pale straw 'colour', with a veritably teeming tower of puffy, finely foamy, and mildly fizzy bone-white head, which leaves some spotty lace around the glass as it evenly sinks out of sight.

It smells of gritty and grainy cereal malt, acrid lemon zest, some estery yeastiness, earthy spice, black peppercorn, and some plain leafy, musty, and floral green hop bitters. The taste is bready and crackery pale malt, muddled domestic citrus peel, more clove and black pepper spiciness, faded old-school yeast, and more well-understated earthy, herbal, and musky floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate in its palate-probing frothiness, the body a so-so medium weight, and sort of smooth, what with that sassy citrus character mucking about. It finishes trending dry, for the exact same reason.

Overall - I'm still not particularly aware of the difference between the two styles, but this comes off fairly well in its execution. Crisp, fruity, and not all that yeasty, which works for this trainspotter. Worth trying out - I'm man enough to say so after making fun of these guys for their hissy fit about the ground-leveling Alberta beer tax change a few years ago.

Appearance - Pours a slightly hazy pale straw with two fingers of bubbly white head that quickly recedes.

Smell - bready malts, lemon, spicy earthy and floral hops, earthy yeast, clove , pepper, and hint of fruity esters.

Taste - Bready malts followed by a strong lemon presence. The spicy earthy and floral hops, clove, pepper, earthy yeast, and hint of fruity esters finish the brew off.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with high carbonation. Finishes off dry with the lemon, hops, and all other ingredients lingering.

Overall - An engaging saison that showcases the flavour of lemon well. Although upfront it was mostly lemon, the other elements slowly showcased themselves.