Hex Ourtoberfest
September 24, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
So, Magic Hat gives us an American Red for the fall. Right now in Billsville the leaves are the same colour as Hex.
So really, what is a hex? Of course you know what it is, the label gives it away, “Intel HEX is a file format for conveying binary information for applications like programming microcontrollers, EPROMs, and other kinds of chips. It is one of the oldest file formats available for this purpose, having been in use since the 1970s.” Duh!
Colour of this brew is a a brownish red colour, like fall leaves. The aroma was kinda boring. Like an English Bitter. No bad, not great though. Honestly, I’m just not a huge fan of Magic Hat. I feel like beneath the hype, their beers are only ok. I keep wanting more, always disappointed.
[ratings=4]
Circus Boy and #9
July 9, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Left overs from the weekend include Magic Hat’s Circus Boy and #9.
Circus Boy is “The hefeweizen” It is really an American pale wheat ale. What is the ifference? Glad you asked. Not much really. Many are filtered, hefe’s are not, circus boy is not. They have a greater range in colour sometimes. Hefeweizen’s are from Germany, American pale wheat ale’s are from… you guessed it, America. This one is from Vermont so maybe it is truly a Vermont pale wheat ale?
Circus Boy is both a 1950′s TV show and a circus dude. Of course I drank the beer. I like this beer from Magic Hat. There are a few of theirs that I like, and this is one. Pours cloudy straw colour and has a really yeasty aroma. Flavour includes bananas, yeast and a dry slightly hoppy finish.
#9 is a beer I drink often and do not like. I grabbed 2 bottles to take with me to the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition picnic potluck at Pittsfield state park. My iPhone camera decided to not like yellow, odd, but this was a cool photo, the way I saw it. With the orange label on the beer and the yellow banner. It is just not the same in blue hues.
It was another scorching hot day topping out around 101F. At the park it was rather cool in the shade and I had a good time with friends and my dried fruit beer. In this part of the world it is almost blasphemy to say you don’t like number nine but I have no love for this potion. The apricot is so strong that I cannot sense much of anything else. Maybe it would be nice with some trail mix at a Phish concert? Just doesn’t cut it for me, too much fruit.
Magic Hat Blind Faith
July 5, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
I’m not a big fan of imperialism so the 4th of July isn’t really my bag. My friend and I joined the Williamstown parade and rolled down the block reading Frederick Douglass’ “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro“. We also handed out excerpts from Douglass’ 1852 speech and Some Howard Zinn and a great piece by Rev. Irene Monroe. I don’t think most people knew what to make of us but adding some reality to this holiday was fun to me. Education is key, most people just follow blindly, listen to “the man” and bow to the oppressors.
Anyway, you are here to read about beer not oppression.
For the BBQ at my digs I picked up the Magic Hat summer sampler. I drank my favorite summer ale, Wacko, and then turned to Blind Faith, the IPA of the Magic Hat summer. See, I thought I’d reviewed Wacko this year, oops, I didn’t so look forward to that one soon.
The Blind Faith IPA is really not my fave. I find it a fine session IPA though and that is really what hanging out and eating some grilled meat needs. Magic Hat is doing this IPA on tour thing. Honestly their IPA’s fall short in the American Craft Beer lineup and they are trying to really market them with this limited edition crap. This is just the same old boring Blind Faith IPA.
Back in the day, the IPA was considered a hop-bomb. That was a long time ago, before the real hop-heads came out. It was July 4th so I drank this from the bottle. The aroma was slightly hoppy more on the grass notes than the floral. Smooth taste with the malt balancing out the hops. The balance is not all there though as I feel like the malt is a bit too strong. I guess it is an English IPA so maybe I’m a bit too harsh? The aroma and flavour are rather earthy with some fruit (very slight), and a touch of toffee. They say 60IBU but I just don’t get it. More like 40IBU to me.
Howl Black Lager
February 20, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
So sorry to disappoint. I know, I was supposed to be talking about the Dogfish Head 120min IPA. However, tonight I went to a potluck at a friends house and I brought Howl Black Lager from Magic Hat with me and so I’ve been drinking that and honestly the 120 needs space of its own. Tomorrow, I promise.
The Howl Black Lager is only the second Magic Hat beer that I really like. Their beers are good, don’t get me wrong, but they are so fruity. When I first saw it I thought of Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl. I wondered if there was a connection. Maybe I am the only one finding literary connections with Magic Hat’s most recent brews. The other Magic Hat beer that I like is Wacko (hard to find right now as it is a summer seasonal). Wacko is coloured by beets and of course I immediately thought of one of my favorite books, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. The missing ingredient being found in this Magic Hat beer and Tom Robbins writing style being truly wacko. But, I don’t think that they were thinking of either of Ginsberg or Robbins when they were brewing.
This schwarzbier does pour black but not really “as night” like they say. The aroma is of toasted malts with hints of coco and hops. The lacing is be-a-u-ti-ful. The lager is light in body and crisp. The flavour is malty with hints of coffee and charcoal and a grassy bitter hop finish. Very drinkable, unlike most Magic Hat beers, in my opinion. Jinx, the beer Howl replaced, was one of my least favorite beers so I am just delighted.
So drink this beer and humour me, listen to Allen read his poem Howl while you are at it.