Magic Hat Odd Notion - Poppy Agave Pilsner (Spring 09)

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

This didn’t really work. The flavors don’t integrate well and it comes across a bit confused. Still, the foundation is solid and it had a nice slighty sour spritz.

Cloudy yellow pour with mild lemon alcohol aroma. A mild grainy taste with some hop notes present.

Bottle. Pours a pale golden yellow with a thin white head. Aroma was grainy and wheaty with corn and some lemon/grass. Flavor was light pale malts, sweet grains, light fruit and faint hops with a slight bitterness in the finish.

Bottled. Poured near-clear medium golden with a short cap of white head. The aroma picked up slightly sour agave character, orange zest, and a pinch of honey-like sweetness over a bready base.. came across as syrupy, and definitely interesting. The flavor opened with sour agave and bitter floral notes, rolling onto a tacky bready core.. bitterness stuck on all facets, sometimes refreshing and sometimes annoying.. warmth brought out more interesting floral and agave, but I only barely caught the poppy a ways after the finish. Light-bodied with a heavier feel than it should have had.. carbonation was tight and assertive.. different, but I’d probably pass on another.

Growler - I never thought I would be defending Magic Hat, but this is the second beer I’ve had from them lately that was supposed to suck, but I wound up liking (the last was Single Chair) - sure, the agave is a little strange and vegetal at first, and it’s a little sweet up front, but those noble hops come on strong - the sweetness is clean, so the bitterness overcomes it and shines through from the middle onward, leaving a semi-dry, lightly floral finish - the poppy and agave are actually quite subdued - a bit of bready, buttery character through the middle - not as crisp or refreshing as I like my pilsners to be, but it is certainly a tasty beer.

Had no prior notation of Odd Notion Series or this version contained agave. Had a vegtable flavor that wouldn’t leave the pilsner base. I’ll give Magic Hat props for releasing and wonder if other beer agave beer exsist.

Note to self, stop buying the odd notion series. Mildly hazy yellow with a thin white quickly fading head. Aroma of noble hops, poppy seed and ass, not the most appealing, but hey, it’s odd. Taste is mega-meh with burnt malt and hops and a mild noble hop finish. Didn’t get too far into this one before it went down the drain.

Pours slightly hazy orange with a thin white head. Wheat and sweet fruit aroma. Taste is grain and earthy bitterness. Pretty bad actually.