(Ed. note: Having been suspended from instagram at the beginning of December for contacting too many breweries in short order and violating the algorithm and with twitter being a little cursory in form for reviews, I began to think, “hey, what if we just review beers on a semi daily basis? No one has really done that since Mike Warner.” For those of you who get that reference, try not to confuse the A535 with the Colgate.)

Muskoka Brewery Big World Small Batch Belgium.
$3.95/473 ml @ LCBO. Available in larger quantities at Muskoka’s website

For 2022, Muskoka has departed a little from their Moonlight Kettle series with a new intermittently available line of collaboration brews under the Big World Small Batch title. A world tour is not a new concept for a lineup; Spearhead did it last year. It’s not as though they were the first, so it’s definitely fair play. 

Their first in the series is a collaboration with Het Nest from Oud-Turnhout, Belgium, and what an old turnout it is. Het Nest is new school Belgian and small batch. The Royal Flush livery on their bottles masks slightly esoteric contents. A spiced Tripel, a spelt Saison, and a couple of interpretations of classic styles featuring North American hops. They will apparently brew your beer for you if you show up with a recipe. That’s a nice sentiment from a brewery that had to do it themselves. 

Muskoka is, of course, the much bigger partner in the collab. This Golden Strong Ale has head and lace that has lasted the duration of the previous paragraph’s research, and I had to navigate a Flemish language age gate. The nose is pleasantly phenolic. Minorly spicy with a touch of black pepper, a hint of apple and pear ester. While it’s 7.8%, there’s only the mildest touch of heat from the candi sugar rocket fuel in the nose and it’s not really an aroma so much as a feeling, which means they’re using it well. The coriander imparts a sort of muddled floral citrus, not unlike orange blossom. On the palate there’s a sort of creaminess, which I don’t associate with a Golden Strong. 

It’s a problem of nomenclature. You say Golden Strong, I think Duvel and I want two volumes more carbonation than this beer could manage in a can. If they’d called it a Tripel, I’d be more effusive in my praise, especially since the Het Nest Tripel contains coriander. 

I’m splitting hairs. It’s quite pleasant, and when you consider that anything Belgian is pretty thoroughly out of Muskoka’s wheelhouse, they’ve done quite well here. I want more definition, I want the flavours to pop more, but considering that more carbonation would be the key to that in either style, I think it might work better on draught. 

Did You Buy This Beer?: No. They sent this beer. Thanks!

Knowing What You Know Now, Would You Buy This Beer?: Yeah, probably on draught. If you like a Tripel or Strong Golden Ale, it’s worth a look. Why not get a Duvel and a Westmalle Tripel to try it alongside?

Did You Finish It?: I have every intention of doing so.