Magic Hat Lucky Kat

Coppery red, foamy off-white head. Nutty, piney aroma. Flavor is a bit odd - walnuts and caramel, with only a relatively small hop bite. OK, I guess, not really something I’d drink a lot of.

12oz bottle. Ruby red with a rocky white head. Big hop aroma. Lots of florals and citrus. Deep cotton candy. Flavor is a bold malt followed by a sharp grapefruit bitterness. Slightly toasted flavor, very nice bitterness. Light - medium bodied. Great flavor although I would have liked a bit more body.

A hazy amber ale with a thick frothy off white head. Aroma of freshly picked chinook hops, and light berries. In mouth, a good hoppy solid pale ale, with British hops, light grapefruit bitterness, roasted malt, medium bodied. Bought in a garage somewhere in Upstate NY.

Small tan that fades quickly leaving a decent lace behind. Very brite, amber colored body. Faint malts and citrus in the nose. Body is light, good carbonation, somewhat watery though. Light grainy malt flavors,lightly bready with faint citrus notes. Dry, lightly fruity finish. Another snoozer from Magic Hat, Way to go fellers!

I’ve come to expect mediocre ratings of Magic Hat brews from other folks, for whatever reason. I don’t care; it remains one of my favorite US breweries. Sampled this at the ’08 Brewgrass, early in the day when I was still taking notes. Appearance: The color of straw, reminiscent of a darker Czech pils. Aroma: Faintly sweet and strawy, classic hop profile. Taste: Classic IPA flavor all the way, slightly sweet. Palate: Just enough spritz for interest. Overall: This is a good, sessiony IPA. Not so overbearing or strong that you couldn’t have 2 or 3 -- which I gladly would! Serving type: on-tap

Very solid. Pours a deep amber color with thin off-white head that disappears quickly. Light, refreshing aroma of fruit and caramel. Medium body and bitter-sweet on tongue. Very smooth drinking with a slightly bitter finish. Makes a nice session beer.

Bottle (12oz). Clear amber pour, nice bit of bubbly, decent foamy-creamy lasting off-white head. Nice dry roast aroma with solid dry leafy somewhat acidic bitterness, although it seems there’s caramel lingering in the background. The taste is ... sort of all over the place - I get pungent, fresh, almost cat pee-like acidic hop bitterness, yet there’s over-sweet dry toasty malt which seems to have almost curdled - yes, something like lactic sourness in the finish. Average body, decent carbonation, and a bitter, cloying, funky tongue-coating that lasts a long time. Odd. I don’t hate it, but it’s not my thing.

Brown bottle, 3/4 of a pint, best before June 2008, gift from Luc Bourbonnière, savoured on September 9 2008; eye: geyser out of the bottle, copper, clear, slight effervescence, voluminous beige head made up of rather large bubbles and that turns into a tiny ring, lacing; nose: resinous hops, light caramelized malt, pin, light orange; mouth: all in resinous hops, a bit of caramelized malt, pine, finale in resinous hops with a good presence of grapefruit and a bit of caramel, rather astringent, lightly sweet, rather bitter, medium body, slightly harsh texture, carbonation is below average; overall: fine FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 3/4 de pinte, meilleure avant juin 2008, cadeau de Luc Bourbonnière, savourée le 9 septembre 2008; œil : jaillie de la bouteille, cuivrée, claire, très légère effervescence, mousse beige abondante formée de bulles plutôt grosses et qui se transforme en un petit anneau, dentelle; nez : houblon résineux, léger malt caramélisé, pin, léger orange; bouche : tout en houblon résineux, filet de malt caramélisé, pin, finale en houblon résineux avec une bonne présence de pamplemousse et un peu de caramel, plutôt astringent, légèrement sucrée, plutôt amère, corps moyen, texture légèrement rugueuse, carbonatation sous la moyenne; en résumé : bien