Name: Magic Hat Odd Notion Summer
Brewed By: Magic Hat Brewery
Brewed In: Burlington, VT
Brewed With: Pale malt, Belgian candy sugar, Belgian yeast strain
Type: Belgian Ale
ABV: 5.9%

What They Say: “Golden in color and light in body this low hop bitterness ale is refreshing to drink and finishes with a subtle spicy complexity from a very unique Belgian yeast strain.”

Website: Magic Hat’s web site is slightly less annoying than Blue Point’s, but not by much. After just clicking whether or not you’re 21, it opens to a graphic of an iron tower, links appear as clickable flags on the side and are marked well, but there’s clickable things all over that seem cluttering, and a marquee blimp that flies overhead with a clickable link on it as well. Scrolling through the list of beers is annoying, as once a category of beer is selected, mousing over an arrow “scrolls” the list—stop too early or late, and you’re between 2 links, neither of which you can read. While I imagine this goes over awesome with the locals (“Hey man, you ever see Magic Hat’s website? You ever see Magic Hat’s website…on WEED?”), for the rest of us it comes off as frustrating.

Why this one, Show?: After purchasing the Magic Hat Summer 2009 12-pack last week, I discovered to my pleasured surprise that I had one each left, and figured I’d ease my way into doing a series with a pack that only has four varieties in it. Magic Hat, for me, has always been a good “go-to” beer—one that I can grab in a bar or the store in a pinch and never be dissatisfied with.

First Thoughts:
Head: Thin, white, quickly dissipating, very little lace cling
Nose: Orange/citrus, nose-filling, straw underlying
Color: Slightly cloudy, golden/straw

Presentation (5): The bottle bears a unique label, as per Magic Hat. It’s some sort of iron tower in the desert (a daylight version of the one that the website features). There’s a single flag outside with “Odd Notion” in it, and a “Summer ’09” sign outside. The colors of the label invoke the color and taste of the beer, and while that’s mostly psychosomatic, it’s nicely done. Also, not much information (which is also Magic Hat’s wont, other than the “¾ pint of ale” that all labels are graced with) other than the ABV, website addr, and name. 4

Originality (5): Well, it’s Belgian, and now that I’ve read that I know why my brain kept telling my taste buds that they’ve totally had something like this before. Heavy on the orange flavors, which I like. It’s a good Belgian summer beer. That alone isn’t the most unique, but bonus points for also kind of combining this and a nice citrus Wit beer, even if it’s just fooling my taste buds. 3

Body (10): I’m giving the initial call, medium-to-heavy. There’s good carbonation throughout the sip. The beer holds on to carbonation in the glass, as well. The nice orange taste stays in the mouth after the sip, but doesn’t really beg you to take another sip—the body is a little too much for that. It’d be best to drink this one in savoring sips rather than thirst-quenching gulps, even if it does do a good job of bringing summer to a glass. 8

Taste(10): The flavors emerge in this order: orange, yeast, little hop bitter, finally a bittersweet finish. I really like the orange flavor in this beer. I would be very pleased if this went the way of circus boy and got its own release. There would also be nothing wrong with throwing an orange slice on to the rim of the glass to compliment it. 8

Efficiency (10): This was not as high as I’d hoped, but in my estimate that’s due to the body. This is a perfect summer sipping beer, and at 5.9% ABV it’ll put a glow on you after a few. The issue for me lies in the fact that you can’t pound beer after beer of this (but for the love of Koch, why would you want to?) before the heaviness of the mouthfeel and body force you to stop. This is counterbalanced by the fact that there’s only three of these in each summer 12-pack, which to me is the perfect enough-to-bring-to-the-cookout number. 7

Versatility (10): As above, as versatile as any summer beer, with the added kick of some ABV (the highest of the four in the pack). This is great to bring with you somewhere, but would also be just as at-home in your own fridge for the times you want to sit out on the desk on a warm evening. As with most citrus beers, this could be enjoyed as much with light fare (a nice grilled fish), as on its own. 9

Final Grade: 39 – Really Good Beer

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