So there I was in the JetBlue terminal at New York’s JFK airport last Friday, looking for a place to park my carcass & watch a little World Cup action. As a combination Polish/Ecuadorian, I was particularly intrigued with the Poland-Ecuador game going on at that moment, and wouldn’t you know it, right there in the terminal was the “New York Sports Bar” or something like that – showing the game live! Well I bellied up to the bar to order a nice Sam Adams, since of course that’s usually the best thing on tap in New York. Then I saw the “beer menu” – 40-some-odd beers on tap. Wow! I looked at the menu and identified the one I’d never heard of, and placed my order within seconds. My blind pick was MAGIC HAT BREWING’s “Blind Faith” IPA, which was a fine choice indeed. This IPA was a real balanced brew, with an attractive copper tone to it and just the right amount of sweetness vs. intense hop flavor. The bitterness was refreshing in the sense that these guys figured out exactly how to counteract that with the right concoction of malt and deep yeasty tastes. Nice. I gave it a 7.5/10, and felt like I was truly spelunking for the first time in the East Coast microbrew scene, just as I'd spent many hours obsessing about, getting to drink something that will likely never come to California, where I live. I subsequently learned from one East Coast beer enthusiast that Magic Hat is “overrated” – but that’s what he says, right? What I say is what counts.By the way, is Magic Hat’s web site about the worst thing you’ve ever seen? Someone let “Flash” boy loose & he created the most unnavigatable site of all time. Can you crack its code??
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4 comments:
Yep, I hate their site. Most Flash beer sites suck, but this takes the cake. I think the key is you have to be on crack to navigate it.
I live just up the road from the Magic Hat brewery - while Blind Faith is in my Vermont top ten, much of the company's other beer is average at best (and, sadly, Blind Faith is rumored to be discontinued within a few months). Their flagship brew, called #9, is pretty nasty after one or two bottles.
They make it a point to be weird and different - labels on the bottles usually contain little information about what kind of beer is actually in the bottle. The byzantine website isn't surprising.
magic hat makes great beer, way above average. Over rated, not even close. All the beers they make are top of the line. And all the lables do say what kind of beer it is, take a closer look.
This beer is way over rated. They try way to hard to be different, its like some sort of stupid gimmick. They are trying way to hard to be some uber craft brewery but they are more like buds version of craft beer.
I agree that their website is so poorly done that it looks like my 8year old son made there site. I dont think they ever heard of a clean design.
The funny thing is I live in vermont and me and all my friends think this brewery makes awfull beers with stupid names. I dont really know anybody who likes them. I heard that they dont even sell most beer in vermont they are 3rd behind long trail, Otter creak and harpoon now that tells you something. If you are a stupid chick then this is the brewery for you. O if you are one of those jam band losers then you would also like this beer.
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