The prickly old pineapple is a symbol of good luck, wealth, luxury, welcome and hospitality, fertility, abundance, protection and gift giving. ** It is said to be able to increase confidence and strengthen intuition and psychic experiences. And an upside-down pineapple is the universal symbol of swingers! It seems like this tropical fruit is associated with just about everything, except beer. Enter Muskoka brewers and their Ninja wheat take on the pineapple. I’m not sure about any psychic experiences but I’m about to tip this pineapple wheat brew upside down and see if it swings.
At Jacksons Landing for a beer and a bite. When I present my COMDB business card at one of these fine establishments I always get special treatment. Today when I presented my card the waitress said ” Have you decided what you want to order or do you need more time?” VIP treatment for sure. I decided on the pineapple wheat for good luck and perhaps to enhance my psychic pint partaking powers. I do recall sampling a pineapple sour in Vancouver that tasted like the love child of a Pina Colada and a beer, a lucky find for sure. Then there was that pineapple pilsner from those beer drinkin’ women.
Canned pineapple.
Muskoka tell us that this beer was brewed with “Ninja precision”. My experience with Ninjas is somewhat limited. I get the feeling they are fairly private people that only show up if there is some spying or insurgency to do. Precisely what a ninja has to do with precision is not clear, but the name, like Jay Z’s proposal to Beyoncé,*** has a nice ring to it. ****
Our pedantic pain in the posterior Editor is on my case, so here goes the review. A hazy light golden glow, heads up for a pretty pour. Definitely tropical fruit on the nose, the aroma of pineapple is, not surprisingly, quite welcoming. First taste is a light tropical pineapple with a light body and a very dry, crisp finish. The aftertaste is quite dry and flat also, which actually works well. The balance and sequence are all spot on, and the fruit is not overbearing, overwhelming or over the top. I’m not a big wheat fan, so it was a lucky pineapple for me that this tasted more like a pale ale than a wheat. I quite enjoyed this brew. And the very tasty plate of Nachos was a perfect pineapple pint pairing, alliterally speaking.
*Editor’s Comment: Nice try, but it’s not an alliteration if the words don’t start with the same sound.
**Editor’s Comment: When the pineapple was introduced to Europe in the 17th century King Ferdinand of Spain fell in love with the exotic fruit and considered it a symbol of good luck, and this belief spread through Europe. Meanwhile in China the word for pineapple sounds similar to the phrase “ luck coming your way” and prompted the fruit to become a traditional gift of good luck during the Chinese new year. As far as the swinger’s symbol, perhaps something could be read into an upside down welcome sign, or maybe it’s just about getting lucky?
***Editor’s Comment: Jay Z’s (Shawn Corey Carter’s ) proposal to Beyoncé (Beyoncé Giselle Knowles) on December 4th 2007 (his birthday) with a $5 million dollar ring after 7 years of dating. In 2008 Beyoncé had a big hit with the song “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”. “Cause if you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it.” I assume she had been thinking about writing the song for 7 years or so.
****Editor’s Comment: I wonder if there is a fruit out there that will help you get to the point and actually do a beer review.
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