Muskoka Brewery marks 30 years of independent craft beer in Ontario

Muskoka Brewery turned its 30th anniversary into something drinkers could actually chase down: a six-can Throwback Pack, a provincewide tap takeover and a June celebration in Bracebridge. The release leans on nostalgia, but it also shows how a regional brewery stays relevant by getting people back into the beers, the taproom and the story.

Founded in June 1996 by Gary McMullen and Kirk Evans, Muskoka opened on Taylor Road in Bracebridge before moving to Muskoka Beach Road in 2012. The brewery says it remains independently owned and about 100 strong, a size that has helped it keep a local identity in a market where a lot of craft names have been sold, merged or stretched until the edges blur. Bob MacDonald and his family joined as part owners in 2008, and McMullen passed the president role to Todd Lewin in 2017. Today, Lewin and MacDonald run the business.

The beer itself is the hook. Cream Ale, the beer that started it all, won Best Beer in Canada in the same year Muskoka was founded, which is a sharp way to introduce yourself to a province. After that came beers like Mad Tom and Detour, releases that helped shape Ontario’s modern craft palate and gave Muskoka more than one calling card. The anniversary Throwback Pack reaches back into that archive with six 473 mL cans, including Cream Ale, Dark Ale, Summerweiss and Legendary Oddity, selected with input from the brewery team and the community.

Muskoka has also used the 30th to update how the brand reads on shelf. The refreshed packaging was shaped by consumer research and feedback, with the goal of making the core lineup easier to identify across Ontario. That kind of work matters in craft beer, where good liquid can disappear if the package doesn’t speak clearly. Muskoka is pairing that packaging refresh with a full calendar of fan-facing events: Beertown Public House locations across Toronto, the GTA and Ontario have been pouring a Throwback Pack tap takeover from May 5 to May 31, and Venture Fest in Bracebridge is set for June 6 with the Throwback Pack, live music, food, brewery tours, games, and limited-edition brews and merch.

For Muskoka, the anniversary is not a retrospective for its own sake. It is a reminder that the local brands that last are the ones that keep making themselves useful, recognizable and worth showing up for.