Magic Hat Elder Betty

The last of my birthday beers survived longer than I thought it would.  Magic Hat's Elder Betty grabbed my eye because it's a weiss-style beer, which I usually enjoy, and it uses elderberries, and that sounded like an interesting combination:

Vittles:

American Wheat or Rye Beer

5.5% abv

13 IBUs

4 SRM

Elderberries

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 19/25

Taste: 31/40

Mouthfeel: 7/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 7/10

Overall: 77/100

Impression:

On first whiff, I can smell a mild wheat base, a syrupy-sweet berry aroma, and a grassy hop character in the background.  The taste follows much the same, except the berries are more present than I'd like.  About half of the berry presence would've been much more in balance, since it tastes overly sweet the way it is.  I've categorized this beer as an American Wheat Beer, despite the "weiss" on the label, because it uses an American yeast strain, it lacks the clove and banana esters a true hefeweizen should have, and the emphasis is on the added berries, not on the hefe or the weiss.  All of these components come through pretty clearly in the flavor, and calling it a weiss-style beer or a hefeweizen is a little misleading.  The mouthfeel was a little on the thin side, and low levels of carbonation were disappointing, to say the least.

I really haven't been overly thrilled with any of the Magic Hat beers I've had lately.  They used to be one of my go-to brands, back when I first got into craft beers, but either my palate is changing, or their beers are getting worse.

Cheers!

Magic Hat #9

Today's selection is an old stand-by.  Years and years ago, Magic Hat used to be one of the few breweries we would actually buy sampler boxes from.  #9 was always one of our favorites because it's got a nice flavor and it's easy to drink either by itself or paired with dinner:

Vittles:

Fruit Beer

5.1% abv

20 IBUs

9 SRM

Appearance: 8/10

I was a little disappointed when I poured this beer because very little head formed atop the golden-amber body.  Low effervescence was also an unexpected, since I remember this being a moderately bubbly beer in the past.  I don't use soap on my beer-only glassware, since it can leave behind a residue that impairs head formation and retention (or so I've heard), so I'm not sure why the head was so unimpressive this time around.

Aroma: 22/25

Malty and fruity are the two best descriptors for this beer's aroma.  And I like the level and intensity of both. Neither one overwhelms the senses, but they're nicely balanced in the nose.

Taste: 33/40
Malt and apricot again carry the day.  It's mildly sweet, and there are floral and bready notes as well.  Again, the flavors aren't very strong, but they're in balance.  There's very little aftertaste, and the slight bitterness that does linger doesn't hang around for long.

Mouthfeel: 7/10
On the one hand, it's dry, crisp, and refreshing.  However, the medium-light body and lack of carbonation didn't add anything for me.  I'm not sure I ever really paid attention to the mouthfeel of this beer before, or maybe this is just a one-off bottle (which could explain the itty-bitty head, too).  Either way, it's a little lackluster.

Style: 4/5
Since Magic Hat bills this beer as a "not quite Pale Ale," I'm assuming that that's the underlying style for this fruit beer.  If that's the case, the IBUs and the bitter flavors are both a little on the low side.

Drinkability: 8/10
I could drink this beer back-to-back very easily, and I have done so before.  It's not a beer you have to sip and savor, nor is it one to keep your taste buds on edge, but it's very refreshing, especially during the warmer months.  I tend not to find this beer as enjoyable in colder months.

Overall: 82/100
#9 is a pretty average beer, all things considered.  It holds a bit of a special place with me because it's one of my gateway beers -- one of the beers that got me interested in craft, and for that I will always be grateful.  If it weren't for easily accessible, non-snobby craft beers like this one, I might still be drinking Red Dog, Pennsylvania Best, and the like.  We all have skeletons in our beer cellars.  Now you know one of mine.

Cheers!

Magic Hat Ticket to Rye

I like rye beers, and with the warmer months, I'm starting to crave hoppier beers instead of maltier ones.  The Magic Hat sampler I picked up a little while back had a rye IPA, so I figured it was time to give it a shot:

Vittles:

Rye IPA (Specialty Beer)

7.1% abv

80 IBUs

15 SRM

dry-hopped

Appearance: 9/10

Amber is a good color for beer.  Especially when it's topped by a little over an inch of creamy, off-white foam.  Moderate bubbles, decent head retention, and mild lacing all make this beer look appealing.

Aroma: 21/25

Mild rye spiciness and a moderately strong hop spiciness combine quite nicely.  I think I'm also getting something slightly herbal and maybe nutty, but it's a little hard to pick out against the stronger spicy aromas.

Taste: 32/40
Spiciness, both rye and hop, dominate the flavor profile.  Pepper and resin are clear in the flavor, though I didn't pick up on them in the nose.  It's not overly bitter for an IPA, and the grain bill supports the hop characteristics pretty well.  Aside from spiciness, and again a touch of herbal and nutty character, I also taste something mildly sweet, like caramel, and maybe a little roastiness, possibly chocolate notes.  The aftertaste is bitter/spicy and has decent linger.

Mouthfeel: 7/10

The medium-light body and very slight astringency were a bit unexpected, but not necessarily bad.  It was a little more carbonated than I thought it should have been.

Style: 5/5
It's hard to lose points in the Specialty Beer category, which is where a rye-based IPA would land.  I found this beer to be fairly well done -- maybe a little off balance with the spiciness to sweet malt, and the bitterness could have been more forward, but those are personal preferences, not deviations from the style.

Drinkability: 8/10
I could probably have a couple of these back-to-back, since it's not an overly bitter beer, nor does the aftertaste really coat the palate all that much.  It does, a little, especially with that resin character, but not nearly as much as some other IPAs do.  I think this would also pair well with a good steak on the grill.

Overall: 82/100
I'll be looking for this beer again.  I've always enjoyed Magic Hat beers, and I'm glad this one didn't disappoint.  I've only had a small handful of other rye IPAs to compare it to, but it's better than most of the others that I've tried so far.  (The Zeno's-Otto's Rye IPA is still my favorite, I think.)

And I can't pick up this beer without getting the Beatles stuck in my head.  That's just a bonus.

Cheers!

Magic Hat Pistil Dandelion Ale

I hate dandelions with a burning passion, so when I saw the Pistil dandelion ale in my Magic Hat sampler, I thought it'd be a nice victory beer -- mow down the damn things in my yard, then guzzle their cousins.  That'll teach them not to grow in my yard anymore, right?  I had no idea what to expect from a dandelion ale:

Vittles:

Herbed/Spiced/Vegetable Beer

4.5% abv

20 IBUs

3 SRM

dry-hopped

Appearance: 7/10

It's a dull, hazy, golden color with about an inch and a half of mostly white head.  The head fell pretty quickly and left little to no lacing on the glass.  It doesn't look overly appealing to me, to be honest, and I think that's due to the dullness of the color.

Aroma: 18/25
Herbal and grassy notes hit me first, followed by earthy, floral, and spicy scents.  The malt isn't all that prominent, maybe a little bready.  There's also a mustiness in the background that detracts from the overall aroma.

Taste: 30/40
Grassy and vegetal flavors dominate, with the breadiness of the malt in the background.  There are some very muted earthy, floral, and spicy flavors in the background, as well.  I don't taste the herbal character as clearly as I could smell it, but the mustiness does come through pretty clearly, unfortunately.

Mouthfeel: 7/10
A clean and crisp mouthfeel, with a medium-light body and lowish levels of carbonation don't really add anything to my enjoyment.

Style: 5/5
The guidelines for a spice, herb, or vegetable beer vary according to the beer that's used as a base.  Magic Hat has never had trouble coloring within the lines for ales.

Drinkability: 6/10
After I've finished the one, I don't want another.  I probably won't have this beer again for quite some time, since I was not overly impressed with it.  The musty smell and flavor were a big turn-off for me, as was the dullness in the color.  I'd have one if there were no other beers available, but I wouldn't buy it again.

Overall: 73/100
It's not an overly bad beer, but it's not all that great, either.  If you like grassy, herbal, or floral qualities in your beer, you'd probably like this one more than I do.  It's not that I don't like those flavors in beer, but they just didn't combine in a way that pleased by taste buds in this beer.

Cheers!

Magic Hat Saint Saltan

I've never tried a gose before, let alone heard of a gose.  Or maybe I have heard of gose and just assumed people were mispronouncing gueuze.  Who knows.  Anyway, the Magic Hat sampler I picked up a while back has the Saint Saltan, which is a gose:

Vittles:

Gose

4.6% abv

Appearance: 9/10

Saint Saltan is a pale golden-straw color with plenty of effervescence.  It's very slightly hazy but decently bright.  It poured with an impressive inch and a half of white head.  The head retained briefly before falling to a thin disk, which persisted throughout my enjoyment.  The higher levels of carbonation helped maintain the thin cap of foam as I drank.

Aroma: 20/25

The first scent that hits me is actually salt.  I don't think I've ever smelled a salty beer before, but it's not a bad smell.  I also pick up on some coriander and a citrusy note, maybe lemon or orange?  There's a bit of a wheat aroma, but it seems like it's more in the background here.  Also in the background are grassy, floral, herbal, and earthy hints.

Taste: 31/40

While none of the flavors are surprising, I was surprised by how hidden the salt and coriander flavors were, especially since I picked them up so easily in the aroma.  The saltiness does come through a bit in the aftertaste, though.  The tastes that were the most prominent for me were the grassy, herbal, earthy, and floral notes, followed by a much more subtle lemony tone and a delicate wheat background.  I think I was expecting more of a sourness for a gose, but I really only get sour in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Moderate to high levels of carbonation add to the medium-full bodied mouthfeel.  The carbonation fizzes very briefly when you take a sip, but it dissipates quickly and never stings.  There is, however, a decidedly dry finish.

Style: -/-

Since I'm not familiar with the gose style, and since I can't find any clear and thorough specifics on this style, I'm going to skip this section for now and come back to it after I've learned more about the style and had a few other goses and can form a basis for comparison.

Drinkability: 7/10

I don't consider this to be an overly drinkable beer.  I'm glad I had this one, I would have one again in the future, but it's not something I could drink back-to-back, and it's not something I'd want to pair with food

Overall: 75/95

So it's basically 79/100 for this beer -- on the high side of average, and for the overall taste and enjoyment of this beer, that sounds about right.  Looks like it's time for me to do a little more research on this style.  Is it sad that that sounds like fun to me?

Cheers!