Magic Hat Jinx

Formerly brewed at Magic Hat Brewing Company
Style: Smoked
South Burlington, Vermont USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Originally reviewed: 12/9/08. Pours a tawny brown with a huge frothy head that retains as good as it gets. Takes a little while to pour this bad boy. So far, so good. Alright let’s take a whiff...smells of pine, caramel, and a slight astringent scent that I can’t rightly place, but it does smell like some sort of furniture polish? Let’s hope that’s not what I’ll be using this for. On to the flavor. Sort of a dry, mealy taste paired with a slight metallic bite. A little hop presence, but this is knocked to the ground by a huge malt backbone! Slight caramel mixed in and I think walnuts are what I’m tasting. Mmmm. I like this. This is my first dabble into the world of Wee Heavy’s, but I’m glad I entered. Lead me on, Scotsman!

Dark brown/cider color; Light to medium slightly creamy body; Aroma of sweet malt, & subtle fruit; Flavor of toasted malt, caramel, syrup, and some chocolate; The smoke is lacking on this one - only traces of it; Interesting brew.

Reviewed from notes (2007). A: Copper-Amber-Brown with a very thin cream offwhite head S: Peat smoked roasted malts.. real earthy with some hop accents T: Honestly, the flavor is so flat and mucky.. the malts are real bland .. only the interest of the smoky peat flavor is notable M: Medium bodied with some carbonation.. a bit jumbled on the palate some sips are lasting others not so O: The flavor really hurts the overal impression

Everything about this beer is just deep and earthy. It pours a deep amber color, with hints of caramel. It has almost a smoky quality to it.

Going off my notes from 2009. To this day I don;t know if Magic Hat is a joke of a craft brewer that catches lightning in a bottle now and then or a decent brewer with a few stinkers. Back then I said: Pours a Hazy Amber/reddish brown colour with a 1 finger creamy white head that stuck around. Earthy herbal smell, fairly sweet with a bit of smoke and peat moss. Taste: Peppery, Earthy, Brown sugar, Roasted malts, Rye, My notes go on - there was quite a bit here! Medium bodied. Note to Magic Hat - Look at some of your reviews, retire the mediocre beer (Circus Boy, Demo, Wacko) and bring this one back.

Reviewed from notes. Poured into a snifter. The color is a moderately-dark brown color with a light head. The nose brings some dark fruits, roasted malt, light toffee, and some caramel. The taste has some dark fruits and also includes a bit of light candied toffee. Feel is nice and a bit heavy. Drinks well enough, but nothing to really pull me back for seconds. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-14-2010

Appearance: Pours a deep amber/caramel color with a one finger head. Minimal lacing. Smell: Nice roasted malt scent. Nicely sweet and not overpowering at all. Taste: Almost overwhelming burst of flavor at the front. Smoky caramel with a hint of sweetness. Finishes with a nice, light hoppy bitterness. Mouthfeel: Very smooth mouthfeel for a medium-bodied beer. Very light carbonation. Drinkability: Medium drinkability. I could have two or three of these without hesitation but would not want more than that in one sitting as it is fairly filling.

Dark brown color. Nose and taste is slightly smoked malts, maples, cedar and roasted sweetness. Rated 9/6/02

I used to think that Sam Adams was the best American craft beer, but I’m beginning to realize that line pales in comparison to Magic Hat. A beer I’ve never enjoyed by Sam Adams is their scotch ale because it was entirely too smoky and harsh, but Jinx by Magic Hat is essentially the same beer and yet I genuinely enjoy it. Those Vermont brewers sure know what they’re doing.

POUR, COLOR AND AROMA

As is the case with most Magic Hat beers, Jinx has a bit of a gimmicky marketing style to keep its style a mystery (“an ale inspired by medieval chemists” according the packaging). However, all I had to do is crack open a bottle and upon first whiff it was clear to me this was Scotch ale style beer. The aroma of deeply roasted, peat-smoked whiskey malt was strong.

The beer pours very smoothly and forms a rather small, soapy, off-white head which never completely dissipates and leaves some lacing on the glass, as well. The color is an attractive tea-colored appearance of very dark red and brown with a cloudy complexion.

TASTE

Since I knew just from the aroma Jinx was likely in the Scotch ale style, I was wasn’t expecting much taste-wise since my other experiences with such beers have been disappointing. Much to my surprise I found this brew to be much tastier than I had anticipated. There definitely is a smoky taste to the palate, but it’s a much more subtle flavor.

Jinx drinks like a traditional English brown ale and is reminiscent of this summer’s “Odd Notion” beer – English Dark Mild. Instead of having a roasted or nutty taste, the flavor here is more like Scotch ale with significant caramel flavoring. It’s also very malty in the porter style, but its sweetness keeps the smoky taste from being overwhelming.

FINISH

Dark beers are usually best drunk cool instead of ice cold, but I found Jinx to taste equally good at either temperature. Thankfully, its finish is fairly consistent as well. This is a beer bursting with flavor and although it has a smoky characteristic, it finishes fairly smooth (smoother than you’d expect a beer of this complexity to finish).

BODY

To describe Jinx as anything other than full bodied would be a lie, even Magic Hat’s own website describes it as such. However, a beer that falls into the heavyweight category tends to scare off non-connoisseurs, but that shouldn’t be the case with Jinx. I was able to drink two bottles in a row on a full stomach without feeling the least bit full or bloated. Thanks to its great taste and easy finish, this is the type of beer you could go through many bottles before you felt the need to stop.

Of course, it should be noted that Jinx is one of the most potent beers on the market with a 6.9% ABV. I would recommend it as an alternative to your usually party beer since it’s got nearly double the alcohol and obviously a much more delicious taste than any mass market lager.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If Magic Hat can make Scotch ale that I enjoy, then I might be willing to give some other beers of the style a closer look. It’s difficult to imagine any of them topping this one, but at least now I finally have a frame of reference I like.

15th September 2008. Opaque brown beer - unusual - initially quite smoky when cold but this retreated as the beer warmed up. The start became silky and smooth and the ending had banana and bubblegum notes.