Magic Hat - VT

[Lisa1349]

Hey there, beer fans! I did a search to find info but am overwhelmed by the new search engine. Forgive me if this is a repost.

What thinks the beer demi-gods of Magic Hat brewing Co in South Burlington, VT? I've had #9 which would have been better in the summer being that it tasted like cherry/raspberry lemonade. Quite refreshing.

Fat Angel "a paler shade of ale" tastes of a lighter Sam Adams, just right with pretzels and football. The label looks like subway graffiti, at home in the 'hood with my beer.

Their website click me now is quirky and educational, listing the bitterness level of each brew.

[KatieLoeb]

Lisa:

Stroll down the block and see me. I've got the Magic Hat No. 9 on our beer list for the autumn.

[woodburner]

Weighing in on Vermont brews, I would be certain to include

UFO, from Harpoon.

Un-filtered Offering, Hefewiezen. (UFO)

I'm not a big Magic Hat fan.

woodburner

[joey madison]

I too am less than enthusiastic about Magic Hat brews. If they spent as much time on their brews as they do their marketing, they'd have quite the product.

They do get credit for having the coolest tappers.

[plattetude]

I think Magic Hat makes some excellent brews. Humble Patience on nitro is an amazing Irish red ale, with a great malty profile. Blind Faith is a nicely-hopped (i.e. not overly assertive) IPA, with nice citrusy, grapefruity notes. Fat Angel is another very nice ale in the British mold. One of the more interesting special brews they've done is Jinx, which has some peat-smoked whiskey malt -- interesting melding of whiskey and beer (not exactly a good everyday beer, but nice for something different). I also really love their summer brew, Hocus Pocus, a wheat ale that has an excellent biscuity crispness to it.

Interesting that you get raspberry/lemonade from #9... It's an apricot ale, but I guess it's got such a good balance of fruit, malt, and hops that the apricot sort of takes on a different character. (To my taste, it's a little too much on the sweet side, but I do think it's a good flagship beer for them.)

Maybe the folks at Magic Hat get a little carried away with image and marketing, but I for one think they've got the goods to back it up.

As for Harpoon, they're Boston-based, aren't they? The facility in VT is actually what they acquired from Catamount a few years back.

Christopher

Edited November 16, 2004 by plattetude (log)

[Suzanne F]

We spend time in southern Vt, and you can often find us at McNeill's Brewery in Brattleboro. Now THAT'S some good beer!

I just bought a 6-pack of Jinx, and HWOE ordered Humble Patience in a restaurant. Pretty good, actually. Better than #9 which lacks a certain . . . excitement?

[Chef Shogun]

I see your 'if they spent as much time on their beer as their PR' and raise you a 'these guys need to find a better distributer'. All I've ever seen in DC is the #9 and the Blind Faith, even at The Brickskeller (Quiet, you)! 'Chevy Chase W&L' might have a better supply, but I haven't been. All the good beer and PR in the world isn't going to help you if you can't get the beer out!

[john b]

It's like this...if I went into a bar and saw the usual suspects on tap plus a Magic Hat beer (#9 seems like it's everywhere all of a sudden), I'd gladly drink the MH.

But...if the same bar also had (insert your favorite micro here) Victory, Dogfish Head, Yards and Allagash beers, MH would be my last choice.

[stephenc]

Magic Hat sucks ass. Too watered down, even more so than Budweiser.

I'd say it tastes closest to Yuengling Light, which I despise.

[Okbrewer]

Magic Hat sucks ass.

How eloquently put. Such a descriptive vocabulary.

[stephenc]

Magic Hat sucks ass.

How eloquently put. Such a descriptive vocabulary.

←

You're right. I may not have chosen the correct words.

It sucks donkey nuts.

[plattetude]

Magic Hat sucks ass.

How eloquently put. Such a descriptive vocabulary.

←

You're right. I may not have chosen the correct words.

It sucks donkey nuts.

←

So that's every beer they make? Or are you basing your reasoned blanket opinion on one particular beer?

[cdh]

When this topic started, I'd only had Magic Hat's No. 9, which is a fine beer that I'm glad to see on tap all over the place. It has a great balance of malt and hops and apricot flavor, and it is quite pleasant on a warm summer afternoon. I'd not declare a lifelong allegiance to it, but it is a tasty beer.

Knowing only one of their brews, I held off making any comments, figuring that the better informed would jump in, which you all have. I've now tried the Humble Patience, and find that a fine beer as well. The house yeast profile remains constant, in a good way, and the maltiness of the beer is quite pronounced, also in a good way.

Magic Hat is in my good beer book... I'd like to hear a reasoned explanation for the pans upthread...

[Rich Pawlak]

When this topic started, I'd only had Magic Hat's No. 9, which is a fine beer that I'm glad to see on tap all over the place.  It has a great balance of malt and hops and apricot flavor, and it is quite pleasant on a warm summer afternoon.  I'd not declare a lifelong allegiance to it, but it is a tasty beer.

Knowing only one of their brews, I held off making any comments, figuring that the better informed would jump in, which you all have.  I've now tried the Humble Patience, and find that a fine beer as well.  The house yeast profile remains constant, in a good way, and the maltiness of the beer is quite pronounced, also in a good way.

Magic Hat is in my good beer book... I'd like to hear a reasoned explanation for the pans upthread...

←

I find that Magic Hat Blind Faith is also quite a good beer, an IPA by any other definition, and yet with a mellower, less citrus fruit note than in other IPAs. Had one the other night during the Eagles game, along with some very spicy grilled hot wings, and it was a very good pairing.

[Roger Troutman]

It's okay. #9 seems to be available on tap just about everywhere around here.

[paul o' vendange]

It has been some time, but if memory serves Magic Hat exclusively uses a Ringwood Yeast strain propounded by Peter Austin (I believe he also set up their brewing system, but I may be wrong). You either love or you hate the characteristics of a Ringwood brew. A Ringwood fermentation tends to result in a heavy diacetyl profile - meaning easily detectable buttery notes.

In English ale making, this is considered by many to be an asset, adding richness and depth to a brew. In a good many American craft breweries, including the brewery where I at one time worked (Goose Island Beer Company), the presence of diacetyl (or its precursor - VDKs, vicinal diketones, to be exact) it is considered a bonafide cellar screwup, a poorly finished product. In fact, many breweries run a quality control regimen (the "VDK Test") to ensure no trace of the compound remains in their finished brews.

All up to one's taste. Personally, I don't mind a whiff or two (but very minor whiff) of diacetyl in my maltier pale brews; I think it adds a certain richness and complexity, but many simply can't stand it.

And I believe this may be, at least in part, one reason for the different opinions voiced on this thread on MH beers.

Cheers!

Paul

[cdh]

Aha!

I thought the yeast profile was somewhat familiar... I happen to like Ringwood yeasts, so that explains why Magic Hat beers get my seal of approval. I don't know about a butteryness, but there is definitely a common thread there.

Edited December 18, 2004 by cdh (log)

[Luckylies]

love # 9 apricot goodness, rich flavor, but yet still relativly light. It's my favorite evening beer as a matter of fact.

[Scoats]

I like the No. 9 but have been rather disappointed with all of their other brews, and I've tried quite a few of them. I will 2nd that they have the coolest tap handles. And I also 2nd or 3rd that if they spent as much time on their beer as on their PR, they'd really have something.

[mrbigjas]

have you guys noticed a marked difference between the #9 on tap and in bottles?

i know that's kind of a silly question; there's always a difference. but the first couple times i had it, it was on tap and i thought it was fine, if not quite to my liking. then i had the bottled version and it tasted overwhelmingly of apricot, and had an extra perfumy character that just enhanced the flavor more. i found it really unpleasant, like drinking a bottle of apricot perfume.

[john b]

I bought a Magic Hat holiday 12 pack the other day. I was told that the "mystery beer" in the 12 pack (which contained #9, Fat Angel, Ravell porter and the mystery beer) was a must try. Well, I guess the guy at the liquor store was just trying to get the stuff out the door, because the mystery beer, called 369, was mediocre at best.

Magic Hat's website, for what it's worth, is a pain to use.

[liamdc]

Magic Hat #9 is a solid beer surely, but I tried Humble Patience for the first time over the holidays near Burlington and was pleasantly surprised. It is a wonderful effervescent and tangy Irish red ale. Not sure if it's on tap anywhere though.

Another Vermont brewery to seek out is Otter Creek, based in Middlebury. Its Copper Ale is one of my favorite beers and I've enjoyed its Stovepipe Porter and Oktoberfest in the past as well. I know that Otter Creek is available as far down the East Coast as Washington, DC--not sure where else in the U.S.

[liamdc]

Magic Hat #9 is a solid beer surely, but I tried Humble Patience for the first time over the holidays near Burlington and was pleasantly surprised. It is a wonderful effervescent and tangy Irish red ale. Not sure if it's on tap anywhere though.

Another Vermont brewery to seek out is Otter Creek, based in Middlebury. Its Copper Ale is one of my favorite beers and I've enjoyed its Stovepipe Porter and Oktoberfest in the past as well. I know that Otter Creek is available as far down the East Coast as Washington, DC--not sure where else in the U.S.

←

Here's where Otter Creek is distributed: http://www.wolavers.com/home/otter_creek/locations.html

[Buckethead]

The Number Nine is their only good beer, in my opinion. As others have said, if they spent as much time brewing as they do marketing and creating swirly logos, they could probably do better.

[wkl]

I had a number 9 with a coconut curry sauce poured over a salmon and shrimp burger and it was a really nice match.I don't normally drink magic hat but this was an awfully good combo.