Magic Hat Jinx

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

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

(Bottle (best before end of 12/07) from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/maine/augusta/l target=blank>Lou’s Beverage Barn) Pours slightly hazy dark iced tea brown with perhaps some dark burnt orange hints. One finger of biege head recedes to a very thin covering. Aroma has hints of smoked bacon, licorice, caramel and sherry. Mouthfeel lightly prickly, a bit drying esp. in finish. Flavor is kind of sweet but with an ash and char quality. A little too hot. A bit smoky. Some caramel sweetness. Interesting.

(Bottle) Caramelly, tastes extremely alcoholic. Not at all bitter. Overall, weak tasting. Brown and somewhat boring. I don’t really taste the smoke. I can’t see why anyone would like this one unless they’re into blander dark beers with a dominant alcohol flavor. Sort of like a poorly executed doppelbock.

Bottle. Pour immediately releases a big tan head and I can see a very brown body emerging underneath. I’m struck by a toffee, sawdust and wet cardboard aroma that is heavy. My first sip is almost chewy and is dominated by maple flavors, caramelized sugar and heavy grains. There seems to be a bit of sweet smoke in the finish, but it is different from other smoked beers that I’ve tried in that it’s not a charcoal or peaty smoke, but rather a sweet smoke like leaves burning or something. If I wanted to reach a bit, I’d say that there is a bit of a prune flavored fruitiness underneath all of the other levels of malt and smoke. This is definitely the most interesting Magic Hat brew that I’ve tried to date, and while I won’t nominate it for any top honors or anything, I do find it enjoyable and very drinkable.

Bottle. Clear copper color with a small head. Aroma of caramel malt and grains. Tastes of sweet grains and leaves, followed by the campfire smoky finish. It seems like a really nice fall seasonal, but the label art is terrible.

12 oz bottle, part of the Night of the Dead 12 pack. Pours a dark brown with a rubyish tint. Is rubyish a word? Spell check doesn’t think so. The aroma is hard to place, I am quafting a smoky plum smell. The taste? Flavorful, malty, smoky, with some plum/raisin sugary type overtones. Solid mouth feel. Definitely worth a try. Especially watching the Sox in midst of a fall pennant race, and watching Lowell hit a three run dinger over the Monstah.

on tap mews tavern 9/1/07. pour is copper in color, good carbination, light head. taste is slight smoke flavor, slightly sweet, not too strong. good sipping beer but dont quite know why they classify this as a smoke brew as the smoke is light and i dont like smokey brew.

Pours a dark brown, clear but cant see through unless held up to light. Small amount of fizzy offwhite head. Aroma is of carmalized sugar, almost burnt marshmellowish. Flavor is very sweet and malty, slight earthy hop presence. Not very much in the way of a smoked flavor. Tastes a lot like my last homebrew. Just so so.

Rated while drinking: Pours a dark-hued mahogany with a quickly diminishing off-white head. Aroma is almost burnt coffee-like, with a touch of smoke and sweet malts. Definitely the darkest autumn seasonal I’ve had yet. Subtle smoke in the flavor, but quite a bit more complexity here than I expected. More coffee/espresso flavors are dominant, with an almost spicy-feeling finish. Definitely fades between a smoked and scotch ale, but definitely quite tasty. Palate is smooth on the lips, little bit of carbonation on the tongue, and gets a little thick near the back of the throat. Coats the inside of the mouth a bit. Not exactly what I expected, but its a nice change from all the Oktoberfests, ambers, and pumpkin ales.