Name: Magic Hat Wacko
Brewed By: Magic Hat Brewery
Brewed In: Burlington, VT
Brewed With: Pale malt, Beet color, English ale yeast strain
Type: English Ale
ABV: 4.5%
What they say: “Crisp like the morning, cool like the evening and quenching all day long. It’s the beer that dances to the beat of summer. Pop the top and set your summer loose. Wacko is the liquid song of summer.
A delicious, beet-red summer beer with a big malty aroma, a subdued hop bite and a clean, slightly sweet finish.”
Website: As I alluded to in my last post, the Magic Hat website is somewhere between animation-intensive and annoying.
First Thoughts:
Head: Thin, white, quickly dissipating, very little lace cling.
Nose: Light, bready, maybe a wee bit of fruit at the back.
Color: Like a rosé wine, almost grapefruit.
Presentation (5): Another unique label (as per Magic Hat). The Wacko label boasts a stylized beet tattoo with “Wacko” and “Summer Seasonal” surrounding it in large and small banners, respectively. The beet vines whimsically terminate in musical objects like a guitar, microphone, sax, metronome (no dime bag?). Keeping with tradition, there’s no real information (aside from the ¾ pint ale) other than the ABV, website address, and beer name. 5
Originality (5): It’s a, er, vegetable beer? The beet color is evident in the glass, but it’s hard to tell if it adds anything to the flavor profile other than just a whisper of sweetness. That said, it isn’t often I come across a beer flavored/colored with a root veggie, much less something telling me it’s a summer brew. 5
Body (10): There isn’t much, but one would expect summer beers to not be outrageously heavy. The mouthfeel is medium-to-slight, a little earthy-ness in mid-sip (due to the beet, perhaps?), but dies off at the finish. There is a slight bit of malt evident in the swallow; though the beer still feels like it’s missing something. I feel like English-type pale ales should have a bit more, well, “English” to them. 6
Taste (10): Sadly, this is lacking as well. The beer is malty, and I feel like the beet addition puts that layer of earth-y flavor into the taste, but I can’t really say this beer tastes like anything specific. I kind of expected more out of something labeled as a “summer” beer—something like citrus, or spices, things of that nature. There’s a very slight fruit-sweet essence at the beginning of the sip, but there’s not too much here to write home web about. 5
Efficiency (10): At 4.5% ABV, we’re into “session beer” territory with this one, so this isn’t going to put a rosy glow on your face after a few. It’s something you can drink a few of, but with a so-so taste, would you want to? 4
Versatility (10): Since it’s part of a 12-pack, you can kind of lump its versatility in with the rest. It’s ABV makes it a decent session beer. It’s uniqueness makes it a good conversation piece (“That’s a beer? Why is it red?”). It’s refreshing on a warm day, but only in the same way that a glass of anything cold is refreshing on a warm day. This beer can occupy the slot of “Eh, there’ll be someone there that will drink this.” 7
Final Score: 32 – Good Beer
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