Friday Beer O'clock Selections

 

Magic Hat Odd Notion Summer 2010 - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 9-3-2010

2010-09-03_16-30-37_721

 

This week's Friday Beer O'Clock Selection comes once again from Magic Hat Brewing Company, more specifically, their Odd Notion Series, delivering an interesting, flavored, wild ginger Belgian Wheat Ale.

ABV: 5.5%

Appearance:

The beer poured with a nice light golden color that seemed to darken a couple shades with a lots of haze once in the glass. The pour provided a slight head, about one finger, that fizzed a bit, similar to pouring a soda, before fading into a thin, dense ring around the edge of the glass leaving fair lacing.

Aroma:

At first from the bottle it smelled a bit unpleasant and skunky. But after letting it breath a bit, you can pick out aromatic hints of bready/wheaty yeast, oak, banana, ginger, and light spices. 

TIP: Remember to let your beer "breath" a bit to get the full benefit after popping the top or pouring into your favorite mug.

Taste:

I get a sweet malty flavor up front that transitions into a nice spicy ginger, still with some sweetness before trailing off to smoky oak and ginger flavors on the back. The finish lingers with mostly that smokey oak and ginger, but with subtle hints of sweet malts. The flavors play off each other pretty well, but it wouldn't hurt to drop the sweets down a notch.

Feel:

Medium-light body, sharp, crisp and refreshing. Smooth with a subtle carbonated tooth. 

Drinkability:

5.5% ABV this just tips the session scale, so pace yourself, but over all it is a nice brew that is easy to enjoy.

Conclusion:

I've tried a handful of ginger laced brews and found that most were a little too heavy on the ginger accents. The Magic Hat Odd Notion 2010 Summer Ale is a nice exception in my experience. A lot of Magic Hat's brews are hit or miss for the most part in my opinion, but I keep coming back to them because I love that they are always bringing new ideas to the tap. Some are real good, others not so much. I think they did a good job with this one.

What do you think?

Have any thoughts on this one or have you tried other ginger laced brews that you would suggest?

We'd love to hear from you. Comments are open.

Filed under  //   Belgian Wheat   Magic Hat   flavored   ginger  
Posted September 3, 2010 by Ed Stafford 
 

Magic Hat Wacko - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 8-20-2010

2010-08-20_18-57-03_322

 

This week's Beer O'Clock Selection is called Wacko from Magic Hat. Magic Hat spent some time in the lab with this one, concocting a combination of beet sugar, pale malts, Apollo hops, fermented with an English Ale strain.

ABV:

4.50%

Appearance:

The beer rolled out with nice red color with orange accents forming a bright white head at about a finger's width and then quickly disappeared leaving a filmy residual layer of bubbles. Lacing was hard to find aside from a few stray bubbles that found their way to the edge. Bubbling was slow and almost null halfway through consumption. Turbidity is very low and very clear. Appears as a crisp light clean beverage.

Aroma:

Immediately picked up on a tangy sweetness similar to cherries, but also reminded me of carrots. Hint of floral hops, but over all nothing distinguishing.

Taste:

Again, like the aroma, nothing overwhelming here. A little weak and watery overall, but different somehow. More on the sweeter tangy side. But swirling and agitating the brew a bit did bring out more of a bitterness and some hop flavors. The finish pops a little more of the bitterness and hops, but it struggles and doesn't quite get there against the sweet tangy characters.

Feel:

Seems to have little body and is a bit watery. Carbonation is low and comes across on the smooth side. Left a fuzzy mouth film feeling after consumption.

Drinkability:

For the most part, drinkability is alright. With the 4.50% ABV, it won't hurt to nurse a few of these and it is refreshing (as a summer brew should be).

Overall:

It's not un-delicious, but it's probably not what you'd expect and does leave a lot of room for improvement in my opinion. To be honest although a bit bland, part of me likes this, but there are definitely better options. Props for Magic Hat for trying something new here, but I'd consider this a work in progress.

If the beer straight up don't cut for you, maybe have a look at their Waco Marinated Grilled Salmon recipe.

Do you have an opinion on this beer? 

Filed under  //   Ale   Magic Hat   Seasonal   flavored   summer   vegetable  
Posted August 20, 2010 by Ed Stafford