Insert your own punch line to the title question here ______.

Today we dip into the spring variety pack offering from Magic Hat to sample one of its offerings.

The brew we're reviewing is called Pistil which advertises itself as "dandelion ale" on the label. It is a light spring ale that has had dandelion leaves added to it. Hence the name that as you can tell from the spelling is a reference to botany, not a reference to firearms as implied in the wordplay in the title. And if you look carefully at the label art, Magic Hat is making the same wordplay. I know, if you have to explain the joke it wasn't very good.

But back to the beer. The first thing you'll notice is the pale color, straw-like I'd describe it. It certainly is paler than most of the beers we look at and taste on this site. The color does not lie as the beer is indeed on the lighter side when it comes to body and taste as well. I was not shocked to discover that the alcohol content is a mere 4.5% when I looked it up after taking my own tasting notes. I say "mere" but that's only because my preferences run towards IPA's and brews with more "heft" and stronger alcohol content.

The beer itself greets you with a very light aroma of hops. The first impression when you taste it is that of a slight bitterness. You notice an earthy component to the taste as well. I assumed that must be from the dandelion and sure enough the Magic Hat site claims the ale contains "earthy notes" from the dandelion leaves. Chalk one up for my palate.

The Pistil dandelion ale was easy to drink I'll give it that much. But the flavor is just too light for my taste. It's pleasant, but it doesn't stay with you, not while you're drinking it and not afterwards after you swallow and are looking for the subtle aftertaste.

I could almost see Pistil being a summer varietal rather than spring when it can still be pretty nippy, at least around these parts. Like I said it's refreshing and easy enough to drink, but you want it when you're looking for something very light.

I give Pistil from Magic Hat 6 mugs out of 10.  

You can look at Magic Hat's own description of Pistil here.

Today we continue our trip through the world of various varieties of IPA's. (Various varieties, is that redundant?)

We are looking at Whitewater IPA from Samuel Adams. It is part of the spring mix 12 pack collection. It claims to be a cross between an IPA and a Belgian white beer. 

The color does strike you as being lighter than you might see in other IPA's to be sure. And so is the taste.

Still you do get the citrus-like flavor characteristic of an IPA. However I found the taste to be more bitter than most of the other IPA's I've recently sampled. 

And the citrus, grapefruit like aroma was also not as pronounced. In fact so not pronounced as to be non-existent.

The taste was definitely lighter than most IPA's and had a more bitter aftertaste. Also found the flavor disappeared a little quickly for my liking. There were some fruity and piney/earthy notes in the taste, but nothing that really stood out for me.

For all that, Whitewater IPA is a drinkable beer and if it was the only bottle you had left in your cooler you would not hesitate to grab it and drink. I just think there are better balanced, better flavored, more interesting beers out there in the IPA family at the moment.

I'm giving Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA 6 mugs out of 10. 

Today we look at yet another Rye IPA. Last time we experienced Ruthless Rye from Sierra Nevada.

This time around it is Ticket to Rye from Magic Hat, the erstwhile Vermont brewery from South Burlington. It was included in their Spring Fever variety 12 pack.

You have to like the obvious Beatles reference in the title. Couldn't help but compare the beer to the Ruthless Rye. Not just because they both led to flashbacks with references to my youth, but because they are both IPA's based on rye.  

Like the Ruthless one, Ticket to Rye has that dark, amber color. I detected a slight, piney scent as I brought the glass to me. 

The first impression when tasting the beer is that it is more bitter than the other IPAs I've been sampling lately, especially the ones of the rye variety. Also detected some earthy flavors which I chalked up to the rye. 

The bitterness of the first taste does fade as you continue drinking the bottle, but there is also some bitterness in the aftertaste.

Did not note the noticeable grapefruit aroma or flavor that was present in the Ruthless Rye offering from Sierra Nevada.  

Overall I enjoyed the beer and had no trouble drinking it (like that's a high standard in my case!). Still I found it to be less balanced, and less interesting, than the other IPA's I've been drinking this spring. Definitely do not like it as much as Ruthless Rye, or even the Rebel IPA from Sam Adams.

I'm giving Ticket To Rye from Magic Hat 6 mugs out of 10.