Magic Hat Hi.P.A.

As with the last entry, this beer is one I haven't had since the first time I had it, long before the brewery was available in this market. I received a big bomber of Magic Hat HiP.A. in a trade with a fellow BeerAdvocate member back in December, 2003, and did I ever enjoy it. So much more than the median, it seems, as my standard deviation measure on this one is + 16.9%, and it gets merely a "good", with most of the other reviews around 3.5/5-ish or so.

How to explain this? A) The beer is not as good as it once was. B) IPAs are a lot bigger and bolder than they were back then. C) BeerAdvocate reviewers are harder to please than they once were. D) I was easier to please nine years ago. E) Things change, people change, seasons change. F) Maybe folks just don't warm up to Magic Hat beers? This is a phenomenon, advance perception, based on feelings towards the brewery skews appreciation. I.E., if this was from Founders, they'd shit themselves. G) It's just not that awesome.

Drinking a 12 ounce bottle currently, on sale at Chicago Lake Liquors, ...it's okay. But, boy, did I love it back in December, 2003. Here's what I said then:

Bright peach/apricot color, under a nice, bubbling whitish head. 

Aroma: ooo,babba, booba! Fresh, super-fat hops, piney, citric, herbal, really nice, and though certainly not the hoppiest thing ever to reach my nose, it has it's own unique, highly appreciable personality. 

Taste: juicy, fruity, awash in all manner of the above-mentioned, tangerine, melon, mango, and more than I can think of right now, very sharp, tangy and tasty...candyish at times, jolly-ranger-esque, tasty-sweet and only a tiny touch bitter...I was gonna say, until it persisted for a bit on the finish (then, I actually said it anyway), but actually I like that in an IPA, so it's working. 

Medium bodied, terrifically textured, soft, warm, smooth, harsh, many several things all jumping and jiving around the tongue and through the mouth and echoing in the mind...juicy, sour, citric, ...yum, quite a nice little take on the IPA. 

I like it...it likes me...we're a hap-py fam-i-ly... 

See what the HiPA does to me? I feel like I'm so stoned I'm watching "Barney & Friends" over cold delivery pizza for breakfast. 

Magic Hat Pistil

Magic Hat Pistil. Remember when I covered the dandelion saison from Dave's BrewFarm? And wondered about how many times such a brew had been done, thinking only of at least one Belgian version? Well, what do you know, here's another, called Pistil, and with a label designed by a clone of Peter Max.

Hazy yellow, slim white head.

Mild aromatics, lightly floral, vegetal, minor hops. Nothing special.

Taste: soft, malty, smooth. Light bodied, mellow hop presence, sweet malt character. Can I taste the dandelion? Can't say that I can. Don't know if you ever could, and wonder what might be the point?
Is there wheat in this, I wonder, for it feels so. Not much info at all on the bottle, except these words: "stop and smell the petals." Also, "3/4 pint of beer brewed with dandelion." Also, 4.5% aBV.

This is not a bad beer, it's smooth, quenching, refreshing, and very consumable. Nice wheaty texture. Good drinkin'.  Nice summertime tosser-backer.

Magic Hat Elder Betty Weiss

Magic Hat Elder Betty, Elderberry Weiss. 3/4 pint of ale with natural flavor. Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington, Vermont. 5.5% ALC./Vol. A Golden Haze for Summer's Daze.

Highly hazed, golden/amber hue, slim white head.

Sweet fruit notes hit first, then slightly tart. With wheat wonders below. Trifle spicy.

Taste: there it is again, a sweet fruit hit, then a sour twang, and the smooth wheat texture. Remarkably drinkable, if you enjoy this particular fruit.
And I want to  call it complex, but it doesn't have much going on after the wheat and the fruit and the sour.

Mild carbonation, tasty malt and yeast, tidy hops. Nice, but…not something I'll reach for again and again.

Magic Hat Blind Faith I.P.A.

Here's another one from those first trades, way back nine years ago, Blind Faith IPA, in the English style, from Magic Hat. I'm not very fond of it, but I'm surprised by what I found lacking back in 2/03. Malt was lacking? Nowadays, I just find it uninspiring. Notes, away...

Color is a peachy amber hue, with a nice 3/4" bubbly, off-white head.


 Aroma exudes esters from the start, a heady jolt of peach, apricot, grapefruit, citrus, pineapple, a singular brand of hoppiness. 


Fierce bitterness greets the tongue and stays along for the ride, and malt is hardly accountable. Medium body. 
Scintillating hop buzz creates an everlasting finish, but it's an ultimately top-heavy, hop-heavy brew.
 I'm a dyed-in-the-wool hophead, but there can be too much of that thing. Needs more malt! Had to remove some drinkability points for that. 

Magic Hat #9

Bought a Magic Hat sample case recently, 4 different beers, 3 each. Two I've never even heard of, and two staples in their stable. First, I'll look back on notes from February, 2003 of their flagship ale, #9. When I first started trading for beers, this was one of the breweries I most wanted to try. Why? They just seemed kind of cool. Maybe all the artsy stuff fooled me? Anyway, notes ahoy!

A confusing label here. "not quite pale ale" What does that mean? "natural flavor added" Which ones? If you "read" the psychedlic/op-art label, you'll find the image of an apricot. I still don't know why it's called #9..
Peachy color, with a short, white head. Aroma is the very essence of apricots! I read that it's "a pale ale with a spritz of apricot essence." Some spritz! That's the chief aromatic, and flavor, but, I don't mind, I love apricots.
Texture is full and welcome. Light body, good hop play on the palate, but very little bitterness. Malt is in adequate supply. A very tasty , bright, delicious ale, that I enjoyed.

However, my curiousity was originally piqued by an article in All About Beer, which quoted Magic Hat president Alan Newman saying, "I can look people in the eye and tell them 'you'll never have another beer like this!'" Well, I have, it was called Pyramid Apricot Ale.

Or maybe Pyramid doesn't get to Vermont?