If you have been reading my blog long for awhile now, you probably know I do not like beer from Magic Hat. Back in my early days of craft beer drinking I enjoyed many of their offerings. Either my palate evolved and their beer was terrible the whole time or their beer has just gone dramatically downhill over the years. The more I talk to fellow beer drinkers, the more I find the latter to be true.
I frequently wonder what happened to Magic Hat's beer from 2005 to now. They were purchased in 2010 and perhaps scaling up distribution did not translate well for their recipes. However, since being acquired, I do remember enjoying their Schwarzbier(Black Lager), Howl. The sad thing about that beer was just when I thought I had finally found something good from them, it was retired. The one good takeaway from Howl is the potential is still there to make a good beer. So, I have started a quest to find a beer that brings back the respect I had in the past for Magic Hat. I do not know how long it is going to take. Maybe the beer I am going to discuss today will bring that respect back. My hopes are not high that this is going to happen but I find myself trying to be optimistic. Perhaps, by picking their limited run Mother Lager, a Euro-Style Lager, I am being too easy on them. If anything, it is a style of beer they could water down to a point that barely any flavor exists. If this turns out to be the case it would still be better than most of the beers I have had from them.
Mother Lager is not a bad beer. So I feel I can start this out on a more positive note than usual. That being said, it is not that good either. It hits the aroma and flavor notes you would expect from a Euro Style Lager. The aroma is bready, grassy, herbal with a light hint of citrus. When I took my first sip I laughed because just as I joked earlier, this is a bit watered-down. However, the flavors that are here work. The notes of bread, grass, pepper and lemon come through. The finish is crisp, clean and everything you would expect from the style. This is a fairly safe beer from Magic Hat. It is by no means good enough to change the negative feelings I have about them. I would equate this to an old friend reaching out to you whom you have had differences with recently. I am trepidatious but hopeful, as well as happy that Mother Lager is proof that they can still make something I won't pour down the sink. I admit, I am looking forward to trying and writing about another offering of theirs in the near future to see if I can continue to build on this optimism. However, at the moment we are talking about Mother Lager. As much as I feel happy I was able to finish an entire 12 ounces of Magic Hat beer, I must tell you that at its price point I can't think of any reason you would buy this over any other classic, readily available European Style Lager. That is with the exception of Stella Artois, that stuff is garbage.
Overall I would rate Mother Lager a 2.75/5. It was drinkable, I finished the entire 12 ounces, so that was good enough for me.
Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!
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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!
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