Magic Hat Chaotic Chemistry

Brewed by Magic Hat Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
South Burlington, Vermont USA

750 ml bottled 11-1-04, batch 3, #996. Cork is a bitch to get out. Pours dark brown with hardly any head at all. Aroma is blended scotch, Makers Mark and dark rum. To say this smells like alcohol would be a giant understatement. Taste is all alcohol with some dried fruits. I finally open a 750 to drink alone and don’t want to finish this whole thing. I hear Magic Hat is putting the whole Humdinger Series on the back burner for now. This stuff could fuel that burner for a long while.

Bourbon nose gives away the casking. Syrupy cream with a spicey bite, very very nice.

Bottle: Courtesy of Silphium. Bottled November 1, 2004: Batch 3: #634. Aroma is very vinuous with a moderate bourbon presence and a touch of chocolate. Pours a mostly transparent reddish-brown with a small white head. Very sweet and fruity up front. Some candy sugar sweetness as well. Bourbon is present but is very mellow when it blends with the vanilla. A little warm in the finish, but not overdone. Flat mouthfeel.

Bottle provided by Silphium for the Labor Day gathering, #634, batch #3:

Muddy brown hue with a small head and good lace. The nose detected a big bourbon nature with vanilla and oak overtones. Some non-aromatic pipe tobacco, clove, fig and fruity grapes also noted. The taste starts quite fruity and has a sharp bite with a nice lush vanilla and syrupy background, cream and berry. A spicy, liquorice, and shocking bitter finish. The mouth feel is oily and lush with a big alcohol kick, very warming and even a touch astrengent. This is a bit rough but has some nice complexity, I sort of dig it.

Aroma:alcohol,caramel,wood.... Appearance:amber,g head... Flavor:liquorice,alcohol,wood,caramel...

this stuff tastes like mixing vanilla extract and vodka. It’s not terrible, but it isn’t great either, cool bottle though.

Bottle, Hand bottled on 11/1/04, Batch 3, Bottle 645, can’t figure out brewer except name statrs with a J, from Julio’s. Good nose, sweet. Fig, vanilla, bourbon/congac, maple syrup, molasses. Hazy orangy brown color, no head. Sweet bitter flavors alot like aromas with bourbon really coming through, little orange. Medium body, oily/creamy mouthfeel, bittersweet dry finish. Warming. 20 bucks seems a bit much, but it is good.

After reading the first words of the last two posts....I feel damn guilty. Damn guilty. So thanks to Clarkvv for a bonus bottle from a trade. Batch 3 bottle 476, bottled 11.1.04. The smell reminds me of Sam Adams Triple Bock, and I think thats a good thing. Very heavy of wood and bourbon notes, some light soy sauce, raisin, figs, sugar, caramel, molases.. the list just keeps going on. The flavor is divine, all around smooth and equally complex as the aroma. It really comes off first to me as a sweeter molases malty flavor then has a more tangy mouthfeel with figs, vanilla and dark grapes in the mix. This is definately one of the most enjoyable drinking experiences Ive had. Again, thanks to Clarkvv.