About
The idea of Magic Hat began where so many good ideas before it began: in a bathtub. This bathtub, located on Vermont’s Goddard College campus and devoid of a plaque of recognition, is where Bob Johnson brewed his first batch of beer. After years of honing his craft, Bob was finally ready for the big time. Soon after he realized his readiness, he re-met Alan Newman, a serial entrepreneur with whom Bob had worked in a past life. Bob told Alan of his plans and before a handshake could take place, the two were jet-setting to the West Coast for research.

Upon their return to Burlington, Bob and Alan began their search for a space to call their own. That search landed them in an abandoned factory on Flynn Avenue in Burlington’s South End, where Bob would finally brew Bob’s First, Magic Hat’s debut ale and, soon after, the first batches of #9, Fat Angel and Blind Faith.

Admin Note: In July 2020, Magic Hat sold their production facility and broke ties with the state of Vermont. All beers are brewed at the FIFCO owned Genesee Brewing facility in Rochester, NY.
Filter & sort
Show
maniac (11815) reviewed
#9 from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
4.2/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 3 Flavor 4 Texture 4 Overall 4
Thick white head, which slowly diminishes, weak hoppy aroma. Very strong wheat taste, with a light wheat aftertaste
Tried on 11 Nov 2005 at 22:20
maniac (11815) reviewed
Jinx from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
6.2/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6
Deep amber color. small off-white head that dissipates quickly. Earthy aroma. Smoky taste with a touch of coffee.
Tried on 10 Nov 2005 at 21:56
Ungstrup (52439) reviewed
Thumbsucker Imperial Stout from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
8.2/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 9
[At RBSG 2005] A pitch black beer with a small brown head. The aroma contains strong notes of bourbon and alcohol, but also has notes of caramel and burnt malt. The flavor is very sweet and the mouthfeel very smooth. The flavor contains notes of bourbon, alcohol, over ripe fruits, and candy sugar. A highly drinkable beer.
Tried from Can on 05 Nov 2005 at 05:06
Clarkvv (17430) reviewed
Single Chair Ale from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
6.2/10 — Appearance 4 Aroma 5 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
On draught at Sunset Grill, 10/27/2005 with SuIIy. Laughable appearance. When I held this up to the light, it nearly resembled water. There was a faint tinge of light peachy-orange, but the beer was obnoxiously filtered and nearly clear in color. Head is fizzy, poorly retained and white, little to no lacing. Aroma does not promise much either. Peaches, apricots, sourdough and diacetyl. Some lightly spicy/herbal hops are barely perceptible. Yeast is quite dominant. Flavor brings forth the yeast character as well, adding some noticeable diacetyl at first, with yellow fruits and a hint of doughiness, before fading off in to a lightly sugary, mildly hopped, soft finish. The carbonation was quite low, however, and the beer had a feathery, soft, aerated texture that was actually quite pleasant and helped work against any wateriness that might have appeared as it warmed. The more I drank, the more my palate warmed up to the light butter notes, and the fruits and spices danced around a bit, providing some tame entertainment. Drinkable it was, however, and pretty flavorful for the style.
Tried on 31 Oct 2005 at 20:48
notalush (7406) reviewed
Batch 371 (Dunkelweizen) from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
6.2/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
One of the few magic hat beers I’ve had that didn’t have that "magic hat taste" - they must use a different yeast for this one, which is good - caramel and clove are in abundance, as one would expect - a bit thin, lacking the heartiness I prefer for this kind of beer - gets a bit sour toward the end.
Tried on 29 Oct 2005 at 10:00
Hershiser2 (8228) reviewed
Batch 372 (Scottish Ale) from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
5.2/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 5 Texture 6 Overall 5
Bottle. Darkish clear brown with a small head. Smells of bread and... well has a nute brown type of smell, with the roasted malts and breadiness. This is a Scottish Ale? Hmm, I may have to disagree. This tastes like a nut brown to me... has a bit of a strange funk to it as well.. still unimpressed with this brewer.
Tried from Bottle on 23 Oct 2005 at 02:22
Hershiser2 (8228) reviewed
Jinx from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
4.8/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 3 Flavor 5 Texture 6 Overall 5
BOTTLED. Brown with a very small head. Aromas of malt, rotten something-or-other, and smoke. Funky burned flavor- gotta be the smoke (I didn’t realize it was a smoked when I was sampling it)... has a bit of a chicoryish flavor, but not quite. I’ve come to the conclusion that the advertising gurus of Magic Hat have come up with the plan to make catchy, nice labels in order to try and make up for the low quality products produced by the brewery. I’ve yet to find something from magic Hat that’s impressed me- but I’ll keep trying.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Oct 2005 at 01:30
Hershiser2 (8228) reviewed
Batch 371 (Dunkelweizen) from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
3.9/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 3 Flavor 3 Texture 6 Overall 3.5
Magic Hat Saint Gootz was supposedly just released, but it may be an alternate name for a beer. Anyway, BOTTLED, pours clear brown with a small beige head... decent amount of carbonation through the beer. Smell... hmm... what is that smell? It has a strong aroma of rotten bananas... almost reminding me of a (and I hate to say this) diarrhea smell (not overly reminding, but, it’s there). Flavor... hmm, what is that? It’s a bit of a paint/paint thinner type of taste, with hints of the banana and a bit of rootbeer. I can honestly say I’ll never have the desire to sample this again. Thankfully, I was splitting the bottle with a couple others so we could all taste it- I wouldn’t have wanted to have to suck down a whole 12 ounces of this.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Oct 2005 at 01:22
Hershiser2 (8228) reviewed
Fat Angel from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
4.2/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 4 Texture 4 Overall 3
BOTTLE. Amber with a large head.. Aroma of some sort of sour stinky cheese. Tastes like old watered down coffee with a hint of dirt. Watery, thin mouthfeel. Unimpressed.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Oct 2005 at 01:07
jcr (3164) reviewed
Hi.P.A. from Magic Hat Brewing Company
20 years ago
6.6/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
A pour of cloudy orange with a dirty ivory head that reduced itself to small bubbles condensed around the rim. Strong nose of sweet citrus and fruits, tangerine mainly with hints of tropical fruits. Seemed a combination of citrus and pine hops with a substantial malt body. The flavor was sweet malts, hints of caramel, with bittering and citrusy hops from beginning to end and after. Thin to medium body with slight syrupy mouthfeel in the aftertaste. This is not your standard Cascade style IPA.
Tried on 20 Oct 2005 at 22:08