Magic Hat Odd Notion - American Sour Ale (Winter 09)

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

Ok, so I have to start off by saying that a) I’m not a sour kinda person, and b) I was completely caught off guard by this installment of the Odd Notion series. I figured it would be a festive winter ale or belgian or something. So when I tasted my first sip, I thought , ’dear god, what have I bought?!?’ I didn’t like the first two or so much at all, but it started growing on me. The aroma is malty caramel with a lemony, almost apple cider vinegar smell with some wet woodiness that blends together pretty well.The color is dark brownish amber, and there’s not much head to it. the flavor is definitely tart, but with some caramel and bread notes. The aftertaste is malty with a lingering tartness. Fizzy and thin, but enjoyably so.

Thin head of varing sized bubbles. Grainy aroma with some cardboard, oranges and a bit of tartness. Color is a hazy dark mahagony brown. Light sourness and tartness. Almost the kind of sourness you get from a cranberry drink. More grainyness and a bit of fruit again. Finishes tart and succulent. An ok brew but not something that I would seek out.

For a dark beer, it pours an almost white head, but there’s little aroma. The head only lasted a few minutes with a little lacing. I enjoy sour beers so the taste was acceptable - perhaps not sour enough for me. It’s light in the mouth, but other than being a bit sour, the finish is nothing remarkable

12oz bottle poured into a shaker. This sour ale pours mahogany brown with a medium-sized persistant head. The nose is mild with lager and malt tones being prominant. The body is medium to medium-light and nicely carbonated. The flavor is that of a slightly sour brown ale. It’s refreshing and tasty and wets your thirst nicely. The finish is tart and rememberable.

A nice amber color with decent carbonation but minimal head. The aroma is more of a solid brown ale than a sour. This is reminiscent of La Folie sour brown with a few months of sour action going on. I really do see dueling brown and sour ale characteristics going on here. This is certainly no Cantilon as far as sours go, but its an exceptional sour for $1.34 a bottle. Much better than a few other collaborative sours I’ve had this year. To magic hat: just send me 12 packs of this stuff for $16!!!!

Sample at the Smugglers Notch BrewFest - Poured a cloudy brownish amber in color with a light tan head. Aroma is faint of vanilla and stronger of apples or pears. Flavor is initially quite sour, but not unpleasant, and it surprisingly becomes sweeter as it warms in your mouth. Style-wise this is not a particularly good sour ale, but it was more drinkable than I expected.

12 oz bottle: Pours a clear brownish/amber with a medium off white head that lings for quite a while. Aroma is floral, sour, fruity and candy-like. Taste is slightly sour kind of weak for a sour ale in my honest opinion. A nicely acidic taste makes your mouth pucker only slightly. Palate has nice carbonation with a lingering sour taste in that aftertaste. OVerall, Looks decent, smells good, Taste is alright, and palate is decent. Nothing to write home about, but drinkable. Cheers!

Watery amber pour with little head, lots of visible carbonation. Very grainy aroma. Flavor has the slightest hint of sourness. Very watery with husk notes. Watery palate. I dunno, seems to be one of the lamest sours you’ll ever try.