Magic Hat Brewing Company - Circus Boy - The Hefeweizen

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

This wheat ale from Magic Hat pours a hazy, unfiltered yellowy-orange body. A thin white head of slick foam adorns the top of the beer. The nose is extremely feint and almost lagery. Wheat malts are not overly apparent and only a hint of minor banana phenols can be detected.

The beer is very lagery up front with a crisp, biting carbonation. Wheat malts come through fairly spicy on the mid-palate and drop definite banana flavors. The beer is very sweet with almost no hops perceptible. Spice seems to add the only contrast to the highly sweet malt base. The finish is feint with a light grassiness, mild spice, and a lingering sweetness.

Final Verdict: C+

Magic Hat Brewing Company - Howl Black as Night Lager

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup


Howl, a black lager/schwarzbier from Magic Hat, pours dark blackish brown with a ruby inner glow. Active carbonation bunches on the edge of the glass and below the medium-sized head. The foam is airy and light tan with modest staying power and light lacing. The nose contains modest smoke with hints of chocolate. Graininess is apparent, even through the moderate toasty notes.

The body is light and crisp with slightly sour, tea-like grains, even through the toasted malt flavors. The flavor is underwhelming and very light on the whole. The beer seems a bit watery and the smokey body feels drowned out. A vague sooty smoke dryness brings in a dark roasted flavor on the finish to pick up the intensity slightly on the way out.


Final Verdict: C

Magic Hat Brewing Company - #9

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

Magic Hat #9 is perhaps the most well-known and popular of the brewer's selection. This apricot flavored beer pours a slightly reddish orange body. It's crystal clear with a small, lightly yellowed head of airy foam. The retention is modest and the lacing is light overall. The nose is very sweet and sugary with a strong candy apricot-like scent. It seems to have a distinct 'flavor added' feel and it seems quite clear that no real apricots are directly involved in the production of the beer. I could be wrong, and if I am, please let me know.

Cloying fruitiness overtakes the beer on the foretaste. Malt body and any hint of hops are all but entirely missing here. Mild hints of grain sneak in on the mid-palate. The grains give a tea-like flavor, not that of a substantial ale. The finish is dry, but almost sickly sweet. A tinge of crisp carbonation lightens the mouthfeel a bit. The Ourtoberfest beer brought me back to Magic Hat a few months back, but at this point, I'm remembering why I left in the first place.

Final Verdict: D+

Magic Hat Brewing Company - Encore American Wheat IPA

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

After reviewing and enjoying the Hex Ourtoberfest by Magic Hat, I resolved to give the brewer another try and seek out some of their other offerings for the blog. First up is the Encore American Wheat IPA. The beer pours a radiantly hazy orange body with a light grapefruit-tinted inner glow. The head is a frothy, slightly yellowed foam, which fades slowly and leaves plenty of lace behind. The nose is slightly acidic. Highly citric hops on the nose lend a sweet and refreshing aroma combined with a mild floral component. Sweet wheat grains are prominent with a light spiciness.

The mouthfeel is very smooth with a lightly fizzing velvet carbonation. The crispness accentuates the floral sweetness and helps to tone down the beer's minor astringency. Hops are bitter and slightly drying. The citrus hop flavors play up defined orange peel and combine with the sweet and coarse wheat malts. Minor honey sweetness adds a slight waxy viscosity to the finish. Lingering vegetal elements remain with a mild dryness.

Final Verdict: B

Magic Hat Brewing Company - Hex Ourtoberfest

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

Hex: 'Ourtoberfest' is an interesting and unique take on a traditional Oktoberfest Märzen. Like Magic Hat is known for, they've put their own spin on this one. The beer pours a slightly hazy amber body with a golden glow. The head is medium-large and is quite yellowed. The foam is frothy and sticky with excellent retention. The lacing is dispersed, but chunky. The nose is musty and lagery with a prominent honey sweetness. The hop bitterness is very subtle.

Definitely a modern take. The most noticeable departure is the addition of spicy rye malts. The lagery edge and crispness are characteristic. The beer has a defined honey sweetness with a balance of bitter dandelion-like hops. The carbonation is crisp and velvety giving this beer a fresh edge. Lingering sweetness and tea-like malt base make up the finish.

I found this beer surprisingly good. I've long heard the praises of Magic Hat, but I've met them with very mixed results. Some of the beers I've had in the past just weren't doing it for me. After this experience I'll have to reconsider some of them soon.

Final Verdict: B+

Long Trail Brewing Co. - Brewmaster Series Coffee Stout

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 650 mL "bomber" bottle, poured into a Nonic pint glass

Long Trail's Coffee Stout is part of their Brewmaster Series and features locally roasted coffee beans. The beer pours a deep brown, edging up to black. The pour is thick and syrupy ad results in a sizable brown head, with a definitively creamy texture. The aroma carries massive coffee and chocolate notes. The cocoa definitely comes across as the stronger of the two. There's a very feint smokiness under the rich chocolaty sweetness.

The body of the beer is silky smooth with a luscious creamy consistency. The coffee comes across big on the flavor with a deep French Roast darkness and complexity in the blend. The roasted barley is flavorful and hearty. The smokiness comes in near the finish, but it's more subtle than many Imperial stouts. There's a very slight hint of alcohol, barely noticeable, after the finish.

Final Verdict: A-

Long Trail Brewing Co. - Double Bag

Purchased From: Sonoma Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Collins glass posing as a Stange

Like Long Trail's Long Trail Ale, Double Bag is an altbier, but as the name suggests its a 'double altbier.' Not exactly a real style, but does it bring double alcohol and double flavor? The brew is a full-bodied amber with very low active carbonation and a creamy off-white foam head. The head is of modest size with solid retention and thin, but elegant lacing.

The nose is malty and lightly spicy with hints of molasses sugars and a very mild honey. The lightly toasted malts provide a nice caramelized sweetness to the beer. The hopping is moderate, but the malts are center stage. There's a bit of an floral spiciness to the beer, and it hides its 7.2% ABV well. The mouthfeel is velvety and beer produces a long-lasting toasted finish.

Final Verdict: B+

Long Trail Brewing Co. - Pale Ale

Purchased From: Sam's Club
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

The final beer in Long Trail's 'Survival Pack' is the popular Pale Ale. This English-style Pale Ale pours a brownish amber body with a generous fluffy head. The retention on the head is more than commendable and the lacing is delicate, but light. The nose is primarily piney hops, but is accented with slight vanilla hints that blend nicely with the mild underlying maltiness.

The beer is mildly nutty with a sweet toasted malt character up front. The base malt present in Long Trail Ale and Hibernator is here again, and it remains tasty. The hop bittering is more mild than the nose would let on. These hops seem to be primarily for aromatics here. The beer finishes off pleasantly with a lingering pine sap finish.

Final Verdict: A-

Long Trail Brewing Co. - Blackbeary Wheat

Purchased From: Sam's Club
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

Blackbeary Wheat is a mixed wheat and barley malt beer with a supposed 'hint' of blackberry flavor. The beer is extremely light and pale. While pouring it, it appeared more like water than beer at all. In the glass, however, the crystal clear pale straw stands proud. It pours with a medium frothy white head that has moderate retention. The active carbonation is abundant.

The nose is dominated by candy sweet artificial-seeming blackberry scent. There's malt in there somewhere but its difficult to discern on the nose. The sweetness comes straight from the nose and dominates the front of this beer. The malts push their way through in the middle, but they're thin and seem sour in comparison to the flavor attack. It also seems as if the wheat malts get lost in translation here. Finally, the beer finishes up with a mildly unpleasant sugar-coated feeling for your teeth.

This seems to be one of the many flavored/fruit beers that I just don't like very much. Abita's Pecan Harvest was a major bust for me and I've been similarly dismayed by Hooker's Watermelon Ale and Magic Hat's #9 and Wacko beers. I've heard many good things about this beer, so if you're into flavored beers, definitely give it a try. I'll continue to look for a flavored beer I can get behind, but it may be a while. The next, and more promising candidates will probably be some fruit flavored Lambics like Kriek.

Final Verdict: D+

Long Trail Brewing Co. - Hibernator

Purchased From: Sam's Club
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a mug

Long Trail's Hibernator tricked me at first. With a name ending in '-ator' I assumed it'd be a double bock and make for excellent winter drinking. Instead, it's a Scottish Ale, which also happens to make for great winter drinking. The body is a hazy glowing brown with an apple cider-like complexion. The sudsy yellowed head is creamy with great retention and eye-catching lacing.

The nose is grainy with a clear caramel sweetness. The hops are light but present with a floral bouquet. The same base malt from the Long Trail Ale is present and makes the two beers seem very similar. The toasted malts in the Hibernator give the beer a bread-like biscuity quality. Hibernator is also considerably hoppier, although the hops are more for aromatics in this beer. Like other Scottish Ales, this is definitely a malt bomb. If you like robust and malty beers, this is a great one to try out.

Final Verdict: B+

Long Trail Brewing Co. - Long Trail Ale

Purchased From: Sam's Club
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a flute glass

Long Trail Ale is the brewery's namesake beer and an American take on the, slightly obscure, German style 'altbier.' And like Berkshire's Gold Spike Ale, this means I'm going to have to seek out some authentic German altbier to try sooner or later. The beer is a crystal clear mild caramel brown and is very low on visible carbonation in the body. The thin, slightly tinted, head fades away quickly, leaving very little in the way of lacing.

The aroma is very malty and lagery. There's a mild wine-like scent mixed with a hint of woodiness. The fresh sweet malts are prominent in the beer with a very grainy taste and a grass-like freshness. Light hints of raisins round off the beer as it finishes with a pleasant bittering. The beer is very tight and it closes out very crisp and refreshing.

Final Verdict: B

Wolaver’s - Ben Gleason’s White Ale

Wolaver’s - Ben Gleason’s White Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. twist-off bottle, poured into a mug

This White Ale is certified organic and comes from Vermont. The wheat used is organic and grown near the brewery by a small farmer, Ben Gleason, who has his name immortalized in the title of this brew. In addition to the wheat malts come organic rolled oats, which provide pleasant smoothness, and organic two-row barley malts. All together, this is a great beer, produced with care, from the Green Mountain State.

The body is a hazy light straw with wispy floating yeast. The head is a medium size with a creamy white complexion. The retention is good and the head holds up nicely against the solid active carbonation. The lacing is nice, but somewhat light.

The aroma is a typical white ale scent with spices, orange citrus, and sweet wheat malts. The wheat is very bready and reminds me of a good sandwich on fresh crusty bread. The flavor is defined primarily by the spices. Coriander for days. The wheat malts are sweet and the beer is very crisp. There’s a slightly sour component, like that of a fresh apple. Very pleasing. The finish is great and very tight. The aftertaste is long-lasting and carries a mildly astringent component.

Final Verdict: B+