Magic Hat #9

"Not quite pale ale" is a little coy; in fact, this is nothing like a pale ale, but is nevertheless quite a beer. An almost luminescent orange color with a mildly spicy, citrusy, almost saccharine nose, the flavor is quite unique. While it’s too sweet to become a staple, it’s certainly one of the more baffling beers (in a good way) I’ve had in quite a while.

Tap at Hofbrau, Interlochen, MI.
An average amber color in a watery body that contains a slight hops bite with malt unertones in the nose pours into the glass. Tastes of candied strawberry and sweet hops. Weak champagne-like mouthfeel and finish. Not bad; refreshing.

I really enjoyed this beer. The slight apricot aroma and flavor pulled me in even though I’m not a fan of fruit in beer. This beer had a clean, snappy and hoppy finish. I love that slight hop bitterness at the end. Nothing worse than a sweet beer. If I wanted sweet I’d have poured a Coke.

on tap. small fizzy off-white head that dissapated quickly. aromas of passion fruit/apricot? (not good). flavor is moderately sweet throughout. moderate finish duration. overall not good.

Excellent citrus flavor that doesn’t overwhelm. Highly enjoyable on a warm summer day.

Draft, a dark golden color with a bit of a white head. Stick your nose in for a fairly pleasant pale ale scent highlighted by what seemed to me to be rasberries or another bright fruit. Apparently it is apricots? In any case, the aroma is where the good stops. The taste is foul. Like a beefed up Budweiser with some sort of suggestion at fruit flavor. Metallic, heavily bitter but not a pleasant hop bitterness on the front. Mild fruit sweetness on the finish, but everything is so sticky. That awful bitterness hangs around forever. Had I not paid full price ($4) at the taproom for this it would have gone down the drain. I’m hoping the lines were dirty or something since they just got #9 in, will try it again sometime down the road. Re-Rate from a bottle. Pours the same golden orange with a soft white head. Aroma is less than pleasant, fake fruitiness that doesn’t fit well with the light caramel malt. Taste, I stand by what I said before, tastes like a crappy macro with some fruit syrup tossed in. Totally unpleasant. Original rating 6:3:3:2:6

Has a very distinct and unique flavor. I haven’t found anything else like it. It definitely is right on the verge of being a pale ale just like they say.

Fuity beers are not always my thing but No.9 is really good it just has a subtle fruit flavor under what is otherwise a english style mild ale. It has a good color and hop complexity and pours a nice amber hue I wish we could it more easily here in the west but I always have a few when I go visit the fam in NY.