CulturAle Press

Magic Hat Wee Heavy Champ, South Burlington, Vermont

Date:  February 3 , 2019

The Story—  Magic Hat was an early innovator in craft brewing.  It’s been sold and resold, though as far as we know it operates more or less independently in South Burlington, Vermont.   It’s current owner is the Costa Rican company Florida Ice and Farm Company, which markets about 2,000 products, so maybe Magic Hat sneaks under the radar.  Disclosure:   we haven’t had many Magic Hat beers lately.   When we first encountered this beer, we found it sweet with just a bit of toffee.  It seems to have deepened in the two years in our vault.

The Beer—  Nuttty and just a bit sharp- dark fruit.  Soft nutty roast (maybe the toffee) with just a touch of fairly conventional fruit tartness.  Picks up complexity at the cost of smoothness.  Ellie:  The toffee remains, though it’s roastier and drier.  Seems cleaner.  No worse for wear.

Value —  Good

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

 In February, we’re digging into our legendary “vault” where we’ve been storing hundreds of bottles of beer waiting for the right time to taste them (or sell them for charity).   The charity market has slowed, so we’re working through them in front of a fire and finding some disappointments, but more very surprising delights.   You can find the full list –eventually– here on this “index post.”

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”