Magic Hat & Dropkick Murphy's BarRoom Hero Pub Ale

It is almost the time of year when every single bar you walk into adds a whole lot of Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly to their playlists. It's like Christmas music for people who enjoy a pint of beer or a shot of whiskey with their friends & family. It is also a sign that Spring and warmer days are ahead. I am a Dropkick Murphys fan and while I may not know a lot from Flogging Molly's catalog, I can hold my own singing along to “Drunken' Lullabies” with the best of em. I truly welcome and love this time of year. However, one thing I do not love is Magic Hat Brewing Company. Now, I have written ad nauseam about my strong dislike for Magic Hat's beer, so I will skip doing that this time. All I can say is that even though I typically avoid Magic Hat beer, I decided to give their collaboration beer with Dropkick Murphys a fair shot, for one, because I love Bar Room Hero, the song it was named after and more importantly, the beer benefits the Dropkick Murphy'\s charity, The Claddagh Fund.

My biggest hope for BarRoom Hero was that it would turn out to be an easy-drinking session beer with a decent amount of flavor. I also hoped that I would be able to make it through the entire 4-pack that I purchased. Normally, I am not that bold with my purchases of Magic Hat's beer since it is usually completely undrinkable, but since BarRoom Hero was priced under 7 dollars for a 4-pack, I decided to gamble and buy the whole pack. So, as I opened the first can I tried to be optimistic and that optimism was surprisingly rewarded.

The aroma of BarRoom Hero is toasted bread, roasted malt, nuts, chocolate, caramel, toffee with a touch of coffee and spice. The flavor was almost identical to the nose. The flavors of roasted malt, toasted bread, chocolate, nuts, toffee & caramel shine before an herbal, spicy, slightly bitter hop finish. The beer is balanced, easy-drinking, and actually tastes good. On the downside, BarRoom Hero is super thin and watery. At 4.2%, this is expected and honestly, maybe tasting less here is why I think this is the best beer I have had from Magic Hat in years. It works as a beer that fits the season and when an occasion calls for a second or third pint. Look, this beer will not make you a fan of Magic Hat, but it does provide you a good beer to hold a glass to when you sing-a-long to “Dirty Glass” with your friends.

Overall rating: 3.5/5


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!

Magic Hat Mother Lager

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!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Narragansett Summer Ale, Anderson Valley Summer Solstice & Magic Hat Stealin' Time

While summer has officially arrived, summer beer has been here since April. While that is all well and good, I am not interested in drinking a beer with a beach or sun on the label if snow could still fall at any moment. Now that it's late June and there have been consecutive 90 degree days, it's time for some light, crisp summer beers. But where to start? Beer aisles right now are loaded with summer beers trying to catch your eye and find their way into your coolers. So instead of letting you know if just one beer is good or not, I am going to review three very different summer beers so you can have a better idea of what is out there.

First up is Narragansett Summer Ale. This is a light, crisp pale ale that pours a clear gold with a white head. The aroma of bready malt, citrus and pine is very light but pleasant. After tasting, the flavor is very similar to the aroma. There is a light malt sweetness up front before the light flavor of citrus comes in and washes away fairly clean. I keep using the word light because that is exactly what this is. To be specific, it is a watered down pale ale. Normally I would make this a huge issue, but for a summer beer it works. This is an easy-drinking, sessionable beer that would work perfectly on a very hot day. Its 4.2% ABV puts it on the same level as Bud Light, it just tastes a lot better.

Overall I would rate Narragansett Summer Ale a 2.5/5. If you are looking for a light, easy-drinking beer for a day at the beach, this works nicely. If you are looking for something with a bolder flavor profile, I would leave this on the shelf.

Next up is Anderson Valley Summer Solstice. This is an interesting cream ale that pours a slightly hazy ruby brown with an off-white head. The aroma is slightly sweet, with caramel and lots of vanilla. Much like the aroma, the vanilla really stands out in the flavor as well. Right off the bat I was hit with caramel malt, followed by the bold flavor slightly sweet vanilla. These initial flavors work really nice together. They provide just the right amount of sweetness. But pleasant flavors then give way to a bland hop finish which really takes away from how good this beer could have been. That's not saying it's a bad beer, it's not. It's just a fun take on a cream soda beer with an underwhelming finish.

Overall I would rate Anderson Valley Summer Solstice a 3/5. I wanted to love it, I really did, but the finish just did not work for me. That being said, it's still too fun not to try.

Finally, we have Magic Hat Stealin' Time. Before I get started, I want to take a moment and mention that I really wanted to like this beer. This past winter I reviewed Magic Hat's Snow Roller and gave it a fairly harsh critique(you can read that by clicking here). I was hoping this pale wheat ale with ginger would restore my faith in the Magic Hat name. I am sad to say, it did not. Stealin' Time poured a crystal clear golden yellow(I thought it was unfiltered) with a fluffy white head. The aroma contained wheat malt, citrus, pine and ginger. Just from the aroma, I was fairly optimistic I would like it. When I tasted it, I realized how mistaken I was. Grainy malt comes through right away before pine, a light hint of lemon and a whole lot of ginger. The ginger is fairly strong and it could have worked if not for the strong metallic flavor that came along with it. Midway through the glass, all I could taste was ginger and metal. I ended up dumping out my glass which makes this the second Magic Hat beer I've reviewed and not finished.

Overall I would rate Magic Hat Stealin' Time a 0.5/5. It certainly lives up to its name. It steals time from drinking a good beer.


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　

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!