Today we look at another fall brew. And who better to know autumnal ales than people from Vermont such as Magic Hat?

This particular brew is called Miss Bliss and is advertised on the bottle as "ale with spices". Truth in advertising indeed.

This is neither a seasonal nor a regular offering from Magic Hat. Rather it is one of the brews they put in their "reclusive rarities" category. Basically these are brewed and offered for sale whenever the folks at Magic Hat feel like brewing them.

The aroma did remind me of pumpkin pie spices, though slightly different. I thought I detected clover upon first whiff and also the first taste. The overall impression though was one of spiciness, even if it was difficult to pinpoint an exact one.

The spice is the predominant feature both for aroma and taste. The ale part was definitely subdued and in the background. My first guess was wheat as the base for the ale. Close, it is rye. That explains why I detected no tingling on the tip of my tongue that I often experience with wheat brews.

Perhaps it is the lightness of the beer, a modest 4.5% ABV that allows the spices to dominate and at times overwhelm the brew. Everything about Miss Bliss struck me as subtle, except again for those spices.

It is definitely smooth and easy to drink. But with the spice it is too sweet and spiced for my taste to be able to enjoy all evening. One bottle will do you for a session. But it was especially good on a crisp, fall evening.

If you like the ales of autumn this beer is for you. I found it too spiced and too light for my taste.

I'm giving Magic Hat Miss Bliss 5 mugs out of 10.

Today we take a deeper dive into the IPA variety pack from Magic Hat Brewing.

Specifically we consider their offering called Electric Peel. As you can tell from the label it is advertised as a "grapefruit IPA". This immediately got me thinking about the west coast and west coast-style IPAs such as you might get from Sierra Nevada, or the Rebel IPA from Sam Adams. To me those IPAs have a more pronounced citrusy smell and taste than "regular" IPAs. So rightly or wrongly that was the benchmark established in my mind as I approached Electric Peel.

As you may be able to tell as you peer through the glass to the countertop below, this IPA is lighter in color than many traditional IPAs. As expected there was a marked grapefruit aroma when the glass was brought close. The first taste also revealed a definite citrus component, though admittedly more subdued than anticipated given the strength of the grapefruit aroma. 

There was some maltiness in the flavors, but the grapefruit was definitely predominant, especially in the aftertaste. There was some bitterness at times while drinking this brew, but overall the balance was fine.

The lasting impression was that the Electric Peel was lighter than most IPAs, lighter in color, body and overall taste. But it compared well to the IPAs I would consider West Coast style. The grapefruit was a little more pronounced in the Electric Peel however than I recall in most of the other similar IPAs. I was not surprised to learn later on the web site that grapefruit peel is added during the brewing process.

At 6% alcohol, Electric Peel is not a weakling, but is certainly not overwhelming and can be a beer you can stay with all night. It was certainly easy to drink. I don't believe this is my favorite West Coast style IPA, that distinction probably goes to one of the brews from Sierra Nevada. But Electric Peel is a fine, tasty and refreshing addition to the offerings in that style.

I give Electric Peel from Magic Hat 6 mugs out of 10. 

I find that I have this ongoing love/hate thing with Magic Hat Brewing. Well not love/hate. It's more like love/like. I find myself continually drawn to the offerings from this brewery, although I seldom rank them among my favorites.

Maybe it's the inventiveness, the courage they show to be different and stand out from many other craft and microbreweries. Maybe it's the joy that comes across in the descriptions of the brews and the clever off-beat names. Maybe it's that even though their brews don't tend to be at the top of my list, they are consistently on it. I know I'm going to get something that is both intriguing and up to a certain standard. Whatever the reason they keep me coming back.

The latest brews from Magic Hat I've been sampling are from the 12 pack variety pack they call the IPA Playlist Variety Pack. As you may have gathered IPAs are generally my favorite brews, so I was instantly drawn to this when I spotted it in a local package store.

One of the four varieties in that group is called Encore. As the cloudiness may suggest, this is a cross between a wheat beer and an IPA. Besides the cloudiness the other characteristic first noticed was a subtle citrus aroma. Less striking than with a typical IPA, but it was still present.

Then came the taste. The wheat malt was readily apparent. There was however a silky feeling in the mouth when you drank it in, and the silkiness stayed through the swallow. As with the aroma the citrus flavor was muted compared to a more traditional IPA.

As the ale warmed in the glass the wheat malt flavor became even more pronounced. There was the slightly prickly feeling on the tip of the tongue I've often noticed with wheat beers. 

At 6.4% ABV Encore is no shrinking violet, still it is not as powerful as a typical IPA or at least an IPA that I would personally rank higher.

The word that kept showing up in my tasting notes was "pleasant". Encore is a very smooth, very pleasant glass of beer. It's not the most memorable IPA, or hybrid IPA, you will ever sample. But it is very good, easy to drink, and it will keep you coming back. Just like Magic Hat.

I'm giving Encore from Magic Hat 6 mugs out of 10.

Here in northwest Connecticut we seem to skip very quickly from winter to summer. Spring is very short-lived. One day it's gray and the temperatures struggling to hit 50 degrees. The next day it's in the 80s and humid as can be. Or so it seems.

So it's time to switch over to summer brews. I don't believe I even sampled any spring seasonals this year. The transition in the weather has been so quick that the beer transition has gone just as fast.

One thing I'm noticing is how many more of the craft brews are coming to us in cans. In fact just about every summer brew I am currently sampling is in a can. Case in point is this week's beer which comes to us from Magic Hat, the erstwhile Vermont craft brewer located in South Burlington, VT.

One of the offerings in their summer seasonal sampler (try saying that three time fast!) is a wheat ale they call Stealin' Time. I suppose the intent behind the name is to capture the lazy, hazy days of summer that should be passed contentedly sipping a brew such as this one.

There is definitely the cloudy appearance one often sees in wheat ales. A quick whiff brings a somewhat sweet malty aroma. 

Then you take the first sip. You get a slight prickly sensation on the tip of the tongue. But then there is the spicy snap in the flavor. That is when you read the can a little more carefully and discover that Stealin' Time is a wheat ale brewed with ginger. And the pieces fall into place. That taste sensation was akin to a ginger snap cookie, or maybe even a hint of pumpkin pie. Not as sweet of course. Just a hint, but not enough to destroy the balance or the tasting experience.

The spicy ginger snap flavor lingers a while in the aftertaste as you swallow. Not overpowering or too sweet. Just enough to remind you there is ginger in this here brew.

Stealin' Time is a simple concoction perfect for summer time. Complex enough to be interesting, not so complex as to get in its own way and destroy the light mood. At 5.5% abv it's what you would expect from Magic Hat in the summer. Interesting enough to keep you drinking it. But unpretentious as befitting the season and the warmer weather.

I give Magic Hat's Stealin' Time 6 mugs out of 10.

Will return in future weeks with more summer brews.

I'm hoping to be somewhat regular in my beer blogging. Fridays seem like a natural day to me to post about beer. 

This week however we will be heading off to Vermont on Friday for a little getaway to celebrate our anniversary. We will be heading to Montpelier to see a nephew and his girlfriend. And hopefully a brewery or brew pub or two. I hear they may have some of those in Vermont.

So this week's beer blog is being posted on Wednesday. 

Still we keep with the Vermont theme for this week's offering. Specifically Jinx from Magic Hat Brewing. 

If you read the label or look it up online you see this is their rendition of a Scotch Ale. But if you needed to read that to figure it out there is something wrong with your taste buds. Or you've never tasted Scotch.

As you can see the beer is a dark brown color. The aroma was very subtle and it was hard to pick up on any particular flavor or scent from that.

The flavor however is not shy at all. The strong taste hits you with the first sip. There is a strong malty flavor and a slight piney component as well. But the overwhelming sensation is that of peat. Yes if you didn't know this was a beer and someone blindfolded you and handed you a glass of this and told you to take a sip - you could easily believe you were drinking Scotch. 

There is the definite smoky, peat flavor of Scotch when you drink this brew. But you can definitely drink it faster than you can a Scotch. And probably have more of them as well and remain upright.

I've sample a number of Scotch Ales in my day, and enjoyed most of them. But I do not recall any of them resembling Scotch whiskey as much as Magic Hat's Jinx does.

If you like Scotch, you will like Jinx. If you don't like Scotch you will hate it.

I happen to like Scotch. 

Jinx is too powerful to be an all night brew. But if you're having one, especially during cold weather, it is a fine selection.

I give Jinx 7 mugs out of 10.

Two indicators of the season can be found in the picture above. 

The first is the glass which speaks to the political season we find ourselves in. This was a gift from my brother and his family after they took a trip to DC. The images on the glass represent a time when the two major political parties actually worked together and repealed Prohibition. Certainly a great moment in American history.

The second sign of the season is the bottle to the left of the glass. A Pumpkin Ale. Yes it does seem that from mid-September through at least Halloween everything turns up Pumpkin. Lattes, donuts, beers. Pumpkin it's not just for pies anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I love pumpkin. The pie is my favorite variety. I do enjoy the flavor of pumpkin and of the spices that usually accompany it. But after a while even I have to say "enough is enough".

This particular rendition of Pumpkin Ale comes to us from Magic Hat brewing company in Vermont. Given to fanciful brews and names as they are, they call their version "Wilhelm Scream". I'm sure there is a story behind that name but I haven't found it.

When pouring you first notice the caramel like color. Then you notice the spicy aroma which is definitely on the sweet side.

This spicy sweetness continues as you begin to drink the brew. The flavor is that of pumpkin pie spice for sure.  So if you're a fan of pumpkin pie and go in expecting a beer on the sweet side you'll like Wilhelm Scream.

However as with the pumpkin craze that seems to overrun us every October now there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

I did find Wilhelm Scream very drinkable. But it is sweet and heavy. There is too much sweetness and pumpkin pie spice flavor for my liking. There is a hint of bitterness in the finish, but it really needs to be more pronounced to balance the spice and sweetness. 

This is a good brew for the season. But it is not an ale you can drink for any length of time or in any quantity. 

I give Magic Hat's Wilhelm Scream Pumpkin Ale 5 mugs out of 10.

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 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.