REVIEW 19: MAGIC HAT #9

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Magic Hat Brewing Company

STYLE:  Fruit/Vegetable Beer

ABV:  5.1%

PURCHASE:  60-oz. pitcher, $10.00

SERVING:  Said pitcher, poured into chilled pint glass. Poured a standard inch or so of head from the tap. A steady pour from the pitcher to the glass yielded about twice that. It took a roughly 30-second pour to yield an initial crown of about 3/4".

APPEARANCE:  Transparent, caramel-copper tone in the pitcher, but pours a lighter, more goldenrod tint in the glass; though, the former prevailed even in the glass after the third pour. Wispy white head and okay lacing.

BOUQUET:  Subdued fruit presence; seemingly apricots and pears, and perhaps a touch of apple or citrus. Aroma also seems to contain a boiled-vegetable aspect, though the particulars are indiscernible. Surprisingly bready--albeit, again, only to a subdued extent--and earthy to a degree as well. Fairly watery from a smell perspective--I guess you could call it a "wet nose?"

PALATE:  Light-medium body with very low carbonation. Softens as it passes through. Indistinguishable front and mid-palate; almost passes for a standard light lager in that respect. However, flavor picks up toward the back. That said, it remains generic. Finish is yeasty with moderate levels of sweet malt. The aftertaste sees the malt presence drop back, allowing for a slightly billowing hop presence (the "Not Quite Pale Ale"), while maintaining the yeast factor. Mouthfeel is generic and, as in the bouquet, watery. Also a trifle syrupy--as if each serving was flavored artificially from a pump or powder packet. The result? A beer that, while not off-putting, is too timid to plant a flag in any one flavor territory, or group of them.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  It's better and more consistent in a bottle. On tap, it comes off as the by-product of some sort of experiment: A hybrid, exhibiting light beer properties at first sip, but taking on a pale ale character in the second half. And the flavors in question come off as if they were added in, and not brewed in, if you get me. Topping everything off is the revelation that the aftertaste is better than the actual taste!

Started in 1994, Vermont's Magic Hat was one of the breweries that helped put American microbrews on the map, particularly with their flagship #9. These days, particularly in the past three years (after being taken over by a Costa Rican brewery), this famed fruit/veggie brew no longer captivates. To be blunt, I've never been big on this one to begin with; I like it a tad less with each subsequent go-round. My verdict? You can do a lot worse, but you can certainly do a lot better. Bleh.




GRADE:  C-