A Bit of Magic

Last night’s beer of the night was Magic Hat #9. I’ve had this one in my fridge for awhile because I didn’t know much about it other than I bought it because the Four Firkins mentioned it in a tweet. It’s funny how my perception on beer has changed in the past few months because I was skeptical about the beer because it “only” cost around $3 for the 22 oz bomber. After buying most of them at $6-9 a bottle I wondered what was wrong with this but in hindsight, it breaks down to about a $9 six pack and that’s not really “cheap” beer.

So I decided to give it a try before it hung around too long and I was surprised at several things. First, it was only 4.6% ABV and I’m not sure if I’ve ever had anything in a bomber with that low of an ABV. Its label calls it a “not-quite pale ale” so I expected it to smell a bit hoppy and when I gave it a nose, it smelled very fruity. Not the citrusy fruity that you get from IPA’s but it actually reminded me of the way Sam Adams Cherry Wheat smells. I later found out it’s categorized as a fruit beer and saw apricot tossed around a bit but since I’m not sure I could identify the smell of apricot I’ll just figure that was one of the prominent smells. It was a deep golden color and had a thick white head. The flavor was sweet and had a hint of hops to it, relatively light mouthfeel with a slightly bitter finish.

Not at all what I expected from this beer but that’s not meant in a bad way. Other than just a change of pace, I can see this beer being practical for a couple reasons. First, I think it would be another good gateway beer for people who are trying to move from their yellow fizzy beers. Introduces them to a light hops flavor with a bit more body than they’re used to. I also think this would be a good designated driver beer. If I know I have to drive, I usually like beers that take me a long time to drink so I don’t have more than a couple and this one was a bit filling and with the low ABV it would be the perfect beer to have a couple of when you know you have to drive.

Speaking of yellow fizzy beers, had the Landshark special at the Lookout last night. Didn’t expect much and got just that, not much. It wasn’t bad but fits in with the rest of the macrobrews. At least it didn’t have that sickening lime flavor that some of the others in its category have. Looking forward to some good stuff tonight in my newly acquired Stone Brewing glassware.