Magic Hat Jinx

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

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

Red brown, light maltiness, somewhat oily and smokey. Slightly metallic.

Bottled. Amberish brown colour, with minor beige head. Aroma is leather, sweet caramellish malts and toffe. Even shows slight alcoholic hints. Flavour is roasted malts, hops, caramel and toffee. Quite dry in the aftertaste. Where’s the smoke?

Terrible label. Burnished amber w/chill haze; grapes, sundried tomato, chocolate in the aroma; malt accent - cocoa, earth, leaves, very light smoke.

(Bottle) Nice tasting brew from Magic Hat. I wish they listed the type of beer on the label though.

Bottled. Dark nutty brown, small off-white head. Toffeish grassy aroma. Toffeish, grassy flavor. Sweetish grassy aftertaste. No smoke found here.

(draft) Crystal clear copper body topped by a beige head that leaves great lacing. Aroma is medium sweet, earthy, some fruit, light anise. Taste is medium sweet, cherry, earthy. Watery light-medium body. Pleasant but innocuous -- not much there. Smoked??

12oz bottle-pours a thin tan head and copper/red color. Aroma is medium/dark malt-molasses/caramel, fruit-cherry, faint earthy hops. Taste is peat/smoke, medium/dark malt-molasses/caramel, fruit-cherry, faint earthy hops, herbal. Mild carbonation.

This beer rocks. Ok, guys. Stop dropping acid up there in Vermont while coming up with your commercial descriptions and artwork. Please? I gave this ale a 1/5 ranking regarding appearance. Actually, the ale itself looks very nice... a wonderful mohogany (OK, ’golden maples at peak’) color. However, the label scares the sh_t out of me. I’m sticking to my 1/5 ranking on appearance simply because one has to encounter the label (pictured above) before opening the bottle and enjoying the ale. A very nice Oktoberfest/Rauchbier fusion. It’s tasty and smells nice if you dig smoked beers. Probably one of the only smoked ALES in the world... am I wrong about this?