Beer Friday #9

It's Beer Friday #9, and beer is a famous aid to love (ill-considered and otherwise), and it's Date Night in the Bryson home, so...what else could we play but this classic?



It's also the last Beer Friday before Session Beer Day, April 7, so today I'm doing all session beers, as defined on the Session Beer Project page: tasty, multi-pint drinkable, and 4.5% ABV or less. Pretty easy, these days.

Guinness Dublin Porter, 3.8%

I've had this beer three times now: last July at Davy Byrne's in Dublin, last month at...Davy Byrne's in Dublin (lucky, what can I say?), and now today. The other two were draft; this is not significantly different, which is great. One thing that won't happen today is that little frisson of sheer terror I felt when I thought the manager pulled out a pistol in the back of the place while having a sharp discussion with a waiter; turned out to be a heat gun that he was using to touch up the weatherstripping. It was a moment, though, I'll tell ya.

I'll tell ya this, too: if you're looking for "robust" porter, or "imperial" porter, or "Baltic" porter...this ain't it. This is a quaffer, and it has a very light body, a light roasted grain quality, a light chocolate note, and a hint of hop bitterness at the close. That said...if I had another, I'd drink it, like I did at Davy Byrne's. I've heard people slag this beer for being too thin; during last year's "heat wave" in Dublin (got up to almost 80°!!), it was beautifully quenching. Just what it's for. Still, I have to admit, if there were a good mild on, or Deuchar's, I'd probably be one-and-done on this one.

Verdict: Okay

Magic Hat Low Key Session IPA, 4.5%

I'll be honest: "session IPA" has become increasingly problematic for me. It's come to symbolize the depressingly low amount of true variety in American brewing, and the reductio ad amaritudinem of the beer-drinking niche masses. "All Must Become IPA" seems to be the challenge phrase of brewers ("Unless It Is Sour" being the in-group response). And since brewers started making "session IPA", the whining resistance to lower ABV beers has diminished significantly. As I remarked years ago about pilsners; as long as they have their hop-soaked sucktoy, they're fine.

Still, it's all session today, and what's in the fridge is what's in the fridge, so session IPA it is. Magic Hat's had a weird history with IPA for me. There was Blind Faith, which was good, and then not so good, and then good again. There was HiPA, which I loved, till it disappeared, and now it seems to be back again. There's the grapefruit-infused Electric Peel, which despite a growing suspicion of the whole fruited IPA movement on my part, I kinda like. And now there's this. Let's see.

Not screaming hops on the nose, more like a malt-balanced lager with a little bit of lemony citrus in there. Oof. More disappointing on the tongue: this is simply bitter, without much flavor of hop to it at all. I'm trying hard to find redeeming character here, and oddly enough, it's in the malt. There's a half-decent base beer under there, but the overhopping — cack-handed overhopping — is killing it. I'm afraid we have our first Crap beer. Magic Hat can do better, and I hope they kill this, or pull it in for a quick retooling.

Verdict: Crap

Omer Vander Ghinste Kriek des Jacobins, 4.5%

I can't recall the last time I had a genuine Belgian Kriek, and that's a damned shame. I got this sample from Lanny Hoff at Artisanal Imports; Lanny's carried great beers for almost as far back as I can recall, so expectations are high. Fruited Flanders sour, 4.5%: perfect for fighting the Session IPA Blues. Let's go!

Beautiful ruby beer with just-barely-pink foam: happy stuff. Tart cherry nose, with an additional acidic edge to it that's clearing my sinuses. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Roundly balanced, a beer that clocks in on your tongue with BEER over here and CHERRY over there and SOUR over there and JUICY over there, all hanging off opposite sides on the edge of the spinning top that is this beer on my tongue. One small complaint: about halfway through the bottle, it's getting a bit sticky in the back of my throat. I try a big swallow, and that's gone, but a small complaint.

It's not killer. It's not crazy, or over the top, or wicked sour, or any of that. And sometimes I WANT that; sometimes I want to get puckered and almost scared, sometimes I want to get hopsmacked right in the chops. But when I want to have a beer that lets me breathe, just enjoy life? I want a beer like this, a beer that knows what it's doing, does it well, and really delivers. Nicely done. Thank you, Belgium.

Verdict: Good

Doylestown R5 Lager, 4.5%, draft

Named for the old designation of the SEPTA Landale/Doylestown line, R5 has been out and a bout for a bit, and I grab one when I can. Tonight I took a bit of a longer linger with it, and here's what I found. It's a quick entry; I did say, it's Date Night!

Very nice lager, good mouthfeel for a session beer (which so few have), and no off-flavors. Disappearing quickly, too. Not overly hopped. Good quaff.

Verdict: Good

Magic Hat Single Chair

"Golden Beer," it says on the Single Chair label, and I'm thinking, well, this is as about as exciting as it's gonna get. Truth be told, Single Chair is pretty light, but it might just be the ticket to get Uncle Freddy up Beer Mountain. Because the first sip is pretty tame, but by the second one, you're starting to realize that there's a twitchy zip of bitterness in there that you maybe missed the first time around. I'd have liked a bit more body, but it's not all bad. Give me a hot day, and I'd finish a couple of these. They're anchoring Magic Hat's summer assortment 12-pack, and it's worth it just to get to the Blind Faith IPA (do you remember Blind Faith? I sure do).

Magic Hat Demo

Demo is Magic Hat's latest IPA, a dark one (don't know what the music/LP theme's about; they've got a new lager out too: Vinyl), and I liked it. Nice and malty, without the huskiness some of the dark IPAs have, and solid hop bitterness and aroma. 6%, sweet enough to go down easy. Nice job. Might look for more of this.

HOWL!

Happily, I'm not talking about Ginsberg's HOWL*, but about Magic Hat's. Howl is their winter seasonal, a schwarzbier, and I'm liking it just fine. There's a good head on it -- tan and fluffy -- and a black body underneath that promises chocolatey goodness and delivers. There's roastiness, too; not stout-level, but enough to put a dark edge on the chocolate and crimp the finish. This is not as glass-smooth as Kostritzer, but its got pleasingly more guts: horses for courses.

I wish there were more schwarzbiers. You may remember how much I loved Moonlight's Death & Taxes (drinking it repeatedly when the west coast's bounty lay open and willing before me). This stuff's 4.6% and I could drink it all night. Get on the lager beam, my friends, enjoy your beer!


*Call me a philistine, but that poem's crap; I'd parody it for the review --
Beer! Beer! Nightmare of Beer! Beer the wineless! Mental Beer! Beer the heavy judger of men!
-- but who needs it?

Magic Hat Fall 09 Odd Notion

I got a sample of Magic Hat's Fall Odd Notion back in September, stuck it in the fridge to chill...and hit the road. Kentucky Bourbon Festival, moving my mother-in-law (came back from that with 18 bottles of Guinness that I stuck in the fridge...in front of the Odd Notion (and there's a Deschutes Jubelale in there, too, I see...later)), WhiskyFest San Francisco...I forgot about it.

So today I get an e-mail from Magic Hat's publicity guy, Dave Obenour. Hey, he says, are you ever gonna drink that stuff? Good publicity guy! Sure, why not? I don't have to go pick up Nora today, I'll have a beer.

It's a "chocolate Belgian stout," and it pours really, really dark with a tenacious dark tan head. The nose is like baker's chocolate: chocolatey, but dry with it, and a hint of malt and graham. Mmmm... That's the taste, only with some fruit to it -- orange, hints of berry, maybe a bit of grape -- and a solid bitterness on the end. The mouthfeel's better than I've had from most Magic Hat beers lately, too: creamy, not quite rich, smooth but not light. Seems to be asking to be used for cooking, too: this would make an excellent stewing beer. I like beers like this for roasting my pork and sauerkraut.

A lot going on here, but not so much that it isn't quite drinkable. Glad you followed up, Dave. I'll recommend this: it's part of the seasonal Night of the Living Dead 12-pack, with the hoppy Roxy Rolles, #9 (which I saw over the weekend in Louisville), and, well, Circus Boy 'hefeweizen.' I'm sure there are people who like Circus Boy that you could serve this to. I'm not one of them. But this Odd Notion stuff is worth it.

Wacko, in haste

Had to take Thomas to a softball game recently, and I couldn't help noticing that we passed the Hulmeville Inn just before getting to the field. The weather was threatening, but the fields were busy, so I dropped him off and whipped down the road...to the grocery store. I had errands, and I was being responsible!

But when the provisions were packed in the Passat, and I cruised back to the field, the game was still going on. I figured, sign from God, and headed Hulmeville-ward. I'd already had a beer just before I left (didn't know I was going to be the driver) so I had to go session-strength -- and wasn't that a cruel joke, since Our Favorite Sales Rep, Suzanne Wood, was there with a cask of Sly Fox 113. God, that hurt. I averted my determined-to-be-responsible eyes and perused the taplist. Hmmm...Magic Hat Wacko. The beet beer. 4.5%. Gotta do it.

Well, it was clearly beet-influenced: it poured red/pink, kinda like my fingers after I've been making borsch. I was just taking my first sip when the Hulmeville's reigning Alpha Beer Geek, Steve Hawk, tapped my shoulder. Hey! Oh. Yeah. I have a glass of Wacko. That's okay, Steve says, I understand, I had to try one too. Yup. So I sat down with Steve and his fiance (I'm sorry, honey, but I'm pathetic with names), and his prop manager, Rob Strigel (Rob's the guy holding the picture of Steve), and got stuck into the Wacko.

Not a lot to say. Wacko falls into that category of Magic Hat beers -- Circus Boy, Humble Patience, Participation Ale -- that's just kinda there. It's got a bit of earthy sweetness, a fresh aroma, but nothing really interesting except the color. It drank easily enough, but I sure would have rather had a Brawler. There's a low-alc beer with something to it. Wacko just didn't have a lot. I don't understand why a 'summer' beer has to have next to no flavor.

Anyway, when I had about an inch of Wacko left, Thomas called. A thunderstorm had blown up; could I come get him? Sure, I said, where are you? Under the flagpole. Okay. I tossed the Wacko back, said good-bye to everyone, and headed up the road...and thought, under the flagpole? In a thunderstorm? I called him, and said, where am I picking you up? He laughed, and admitted he'd realized how dumb that was just about the time he'd hung up. He was at the snack bar. We went home, and I got a bottle of Sam Adams Lager with dinner. Ooomph.

Magic Pyramid

I just learned that Magic Hat has filed a letter of intent to buy Pyramid, a cross-coast merger that will take Pyramid private, and possibly give it some of that Magic Hat magic. Magic Hat's offering $2.75 a share for Pyramid stock, a nice premium over Monday's close of $1.76. Pyramid's board has approved the transaction, as have "certain shareholders" who own about 29% of the company's stock.

From BusinessWire:

“The combination of these two well established, high profile craft breweries will be very complementary given our respective brand portfolios and the geographies in which we predominantly operate. Additionally, there will be a number of important benefits for Pyramid to be part of a private company versus continuing to operate as a stand alone public entity. This consolidation makes both good strategic and financial sense and is well timed, particularly as the beer industry’s competitive dynamics continue to intensify,” said Pyramid CEO Scott Barnum. “The Company will continue to have offices in Seattle, its historical home, and will seek opportunities to capitalize on the enhanced assets and capabilities of the new combined entity,” he added.

Martin Kelly, CEO of Magic Hat said, “We have a great deal of respect for Pyramid’s brand heritage, award-winning beers and its dedicated employees, and look forward to consummating this transaction, which provides both strategic and financial benefits both to Pyramid’s and Magic Hat’s stakeholders.”

The deal is subject to the agreement on a merger transaction, and is expected to be completed by the end of August. It includes the Pyramid and MacTarnahan Alehouses.

Well...as Scott Barnum said, it certainly looks like a complementary merger. There's not a lot of market overlap -- though it's a question whether either company really has the reach to meet in the middle -- and the portfolios should mesh well. People have been murmuring about Magic Hat looking to be bought for years; apparently they preferred to do the buying. My big question is...how come? Why combine a solidly Northwest brewing company with a solidly New England brewing company? Can't be the great success Redhook has had with their New England expedition. I would suspect it's more a craft-based case of the consolidation fear that's gripping the world's big brewers: pair up and get large now, before all the good partners are gone and you're left as an also-ran.