Magic Hat Roxy Rolles

Brewed by Magic Hat Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
South Burlington, Vermont USA

Bottle. Pours a hazy lighter shade of amber with a small white head. The aroma has plenty of assertive grapefruit, cake icing, and some plums. Flavor has a bit of biscuits, solid, distinct grapefruity hops; and a little earth. There’s a slight sourness in the finish. My only real beef with the beer is a little something in between the bright hops and the sweeter malts that doesn’t create the best synergy in the overall flavor. But for a typical American amber, this is a treat.

One bottle poured a large tan head that slowly disapated. Lots of hops in the aroma. I’m glad there was not as many hops in the flavor. Flavor of sweet malts with a small amount of hops in the ending. Thanks for the trade JB.

Citrus hoppy aroma. Dark orange color with a medium white head. The taste has less flavor than the aroma leads you to think it will. Watery finish.

this beer is awesome the head on it is ok ,not a great pour. but the flavor os so good can be a little intence for your first time but this is no first timer beer. This beer is for all of those beer drinkers out there but the flavor is nice and malty with a really good bite to it. This is the best winter beer i have ever had in my life and i have had a lot of winter beers

THIS BEER WAS MADE FOR WINTER. AND IT FINALLY MADE ME APPRECIATE AMBER. IT IS MAGIC. COMPETING FLAVORS NOT EASY TO DESCRIBE. HOPS OH YEAH, EARTHY MALT- IT’S IN THERE ! AND A SPICY NUMBER ALL GOING ON AT ONCE. INTERESTING BODY AND MOUTHFEEL. WENT THROUGH 2 CASES THIS WINTER.

Seemed like an average amber ale to me, I don’t know what would make this special to be a seasonal, I guess it did have a slight hint of spice mixed into it. decent light hop taste.

Pours a four finger off-white head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Nearly clear amber color. Light carbonation and medium bodied. Hoppy nose. Expecting in your face hop flavor but the hops are tolerable, piney hoppy finish. $1.50 for a 12oz bottle from Capital Convenience Concord, NH.

Fresh bottle drunk on 3/4/07
Appearance rating is just so meaningless. Despite being pasteurized and sterile filtered, because it’s so fresh, it yields a big beige head that is very-well retained all the way to the bottom of the glass. Even a moderate amount of lacing. Give it another 3 or 4 months and the head probably wouldnt even last two minutes. My point being that it’s silly to rate appearance when it all depends on how old the bottle is. Oh well, rant over.
The aroma was pleasantly surprising. Lots of fruity hops and malts. Tons of apricot/peach/nectarine aromatics, with a slight spicy edge that adds complexity. Crystal malts don’t seem overdone, though there is a significant hardness, almost a leatheriness. A toasty, dry, crackery-like breadiness sits on the end rather dull-like, but enough hop aroma and the freshness of the beer allow it to hang in the balance, for the most part. Pretty clean, with only light minerals and buttertoffee apparent. Still, as much as I appreciate the dryness and hop aromatics in the nose, the malt just seems a bit stripped (from filtration). Too hard even from the nose, but that’s pretty much standard for Magic Hat. Alcohol is not apparent.
If the hop aromatics saved the nose, the hop flavors certainly don’t save the flavor. Light hop fruitiness is gone before you can blink and leaves a trail of acidity in its wake. Hard, crackery/papery malts are way too dry and provide no suppleness in texture. Forced carbonation is a bit obnoxious as well, exacerbating the hardness (as well as the mineral character). Hop bitterness/acidity controls the finish, with light caramel and dough flavors, but very little sweetness. The sweetness that is apparent is just a light sugariness, not a soft, deep maltiness. Acidity, buttertoffee, iced tea flavors (crystal malt) and minerals all make for a very awkward finish. Warming does not produce any thing better.