Cold Shoulder
Muskoka Brewery
- From:
- Muskoka Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- Cold IPA
- ABV:
- 6%
- Score:
- +7 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.47 | pDev: 9.51%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Oct 05, 2023
- Added:
- Jun 16, 2023
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.69/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.69/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
473 mL can from the LCBO, included in their 2023 IPA Mixer Pack. "Freshest before" Sep 26 2023 and served slightly chilled. This has been in my fridge for at least three months, but I seriously needed to take a break from reviewing IPAs. That being said, they've continued to pile up, and it's time to clear out the backlog.
Pours foggy, translucent and effervescent, its golden yellow-hued body crowned with one finger of loose, foamy white head that dissipates within the next several minutes. A bubbly collar of frothy suds lives on, with a modest smattering of patchy lace flung about in its wake. Looks fine, but the aroma is quite subtle: I'm getting a whiff of pineapple and mango, but it's just that: a whiff. Vaguely grassy and floral, with suggestions of grain husk and Rice Krispies.
Pleasant flavour profile, but as with the aroma, there is a definite lack of 'oomph' here. The malt flavours are fairly thin - doughy bread roll and cereal grain sweetness - but the hop flavours are not much more impressive. Hints of stone fruit, pineapple and melon, finishing with a touch of grassy, herbal bitterness that fades to off-dry. Medium in body, with moderate carbonation that adds some bite to this brew's otherwise smooth, slick, somewhat oily mouthfeel. Fair drinkability, but one serving is enough.
[Updated Oct 30 2023]
Another tallboy, this one best before Dec 6 2023. I was lucky enough to find another mixed pack that wasn't as old as the one I originally reviewed - and with a fresh(er) sample on hand, I felt like it was necessary to give this another shake. However, there really was not much of a difference between this can and the (expired) one I reviewed a few weeks ago - they're aromatically identical, and the flavours are also quite similar. I see no reason to adjust its grade.
Muskoka's Cold Shoulder drinks like a less hoppy, less aromatic IPA - ok, perhaps I simply do not 'get' the cold IPA fad in the first place, as I've had at least a half dozen and haven't been wowed yet. Like a cross between an India Pale Lager and an IPA - watering down both sides of the equation, resulting in a beer that fails to sate my desire for a crisp, refreshing lager, or for a hoppy, fruity IPA.
Final Grade: 3.69, a B grade.
Oct 05, 2023Pours foggy, translucent and effervescent, its golden yellow-hued body crowned with one finger of loose, foamy white head that dissipates within the next several minutes. A bubbly collar of frothy suds lives on, with a modest smattering of patchy lace flung about in its wake. Looks fine, but the aroma is quite subtle: I'm getting a whiff of pineapple and mango, but it's just that: a whiff. Vaguely grassy and floral, with suggestions of grain husk and Rice Krispies.
Pleasant flavour profile, but as with the aroma, there is a definite lack of 'oomph' here. The malt flavours are fairly thin - doughy bread roll and cereal grain sweetness - but the hop flavours are not much more impressive. Hints of stone fruit, pineapple and melon, finishing with a touch of grassy, herbal bitterness that fades to off-dry. Medium in body, with moderate carbonation that adds some bite to this brew's otherwise smooth, slick, somewhat oily mouthfeel. Fair drinkability, but one serving is enough.
[Updated Oct 30 2023]
Another tallboy, this one best before Dec 6 2023. I was lucky enough to find another mixed pack that wasn't as old as the one I originally reviewed - and with a fresh(er) sample on hand, I felt like it was necessary to give this another shake. However, there really was not much of a difference between this can and the (expired) one I reviewed a few weeks ago - they're aromatically identical, and the flavours are also quite similar. I see no reason to adjust its grade.
Muskoka's Cold Shoulder drinks like a less hoppy, less aromatic IPA - ok, perhaps I simply do not 'get' the cold IPA fad in the first place, as I've had at least a half dozen and haven't been wowed yet. Like a cross between an India Pale Lager and an IPA - watering down both sides of the equation, resulting in a beer that fails to sate my desire for a crisp, refreshing lager, or for a hoppy, fruity IPA.
Final Grade: 3.69, a B grade.
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
3.71/5 rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.71/5 rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
473ml can served cold into a chalice. Part of the 2023 Muskoka IPA summer pack. Freshest by September 26, 2023.
Appearance - Semi hazy rich dark golden colored brew with some auburn hues. A finger plus of dense and frothy white head. Good staying power.
Smell - Muted nose, some bubblegum, pineapple with some melon too. Sort of sweet caramel-esque malty backbone.
Taste - Muted flavors. Some moderate bitterness and again a pineapple and melon combo seems to be leading in the forefront. Watery middle that acts as a reset, with a bit of a green and weedy hop oil undercurrent in the aftertaste. Flavor just isn't super fruity or intense. Does get better once it's easy to decipher those three stages.
Mouthfeel - Medium-full bodied, crisp carbonation, easy enough to drink.
Overall - There's nothing wrong with Cold Shoulder, it (and a couple others who have recently produced cold IPA's) just seem to be lacking a bit in intensity and aroma up front. It shows up fine in the back end, but the beer just leaves me wanting a little bit more. With that said the transition from light fruitiness, to watery to more bitter hop oils in closing is pretty well executed and is pretty interesting.
Jul 31, 2023Appearance - Semi hazy rich dark golden colored brew with some auburn hues. A finger plus of dense and frothy white head. Good staying power.
Smell - Muted nose, some bubblegum, pineapple with some melon too. Sort of sweet caramel-esque malty backbone.
Taste - Muted flavors. Some moderate bitterness and again a pineapple and melon combo seems to be leading in the forefront. Watery middle that acts as a reset, with a bit of a green and weedy hop oil undercurrent in the aftertaste. Flavor just isn't super fruity or intense. Does get better once it's easy to decipher those three stages.
Mouthfeel - Medium-full bodied, crisp carbonation, easy enough to drink.
Overall - There's nothing wrong with Cold Shoulder, it (and a couple others who have recently produced cold IPA's) just seem to be lacking a bit in intensity and aroma up front. It shows up fine in the back end, but the beer just leaves me wanting a little bit more. With that said the transition from light fruitiness, to watery to more bitter hop oils in closing is pretty well executed and is pretty interesting.
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