Magic Hat

A Tiny Tale of the Magic Hat Brewing Company

The saturnalian saga of the Magic Hat Brewing Company began in 1978 in a Goddard College bathtub, where future brewmaster Bob Johnson first cultivated his maniacally obsessive interest in making “better beer with bigger flavor.” After fifteen years in various non-ale trades, Bob returned to this first fermentational love and made the decision to go pro on Martha’s Vineyard, an island sadly bereft of breweries. It was then, in a moment of supreme serendipity, that Fate sent him off to an accidental meeting on a random Burlington street with future Magic Hat president Alan Newman. Once both neighborhood acquaintances and coworkers at Seventh Generation, an environmentally friendly cleaning product company, the two had crossed paths many times but hadn’t talked for ages. Light pleasantries were exchanged, and upon hearing of Bob’s plans, Alan offered to help him open a brewery in Burlington. Before you could pour a pint, the two were road tripping through the Pacific Northwest, crash-studying the industry and scheming with a New England brewer to bottle Bob’s very first original ale. Seeking some mash tuns and tubes they could call their own, the pair moved into an abandoned Burlington factory in 1994, finally settling into a much larger (and currently expanding) facility near Lake Champlain’s Bartlett Bay in 1997.

Sharpen your craft brew knowledge by visiting our web site at Magic Hat Brewery.

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# 9

Magic Hat #9 – Not quite Pale Ale. A beer cloaked in secrecy. An ale whose mysterious and unusual palate will swirl across your tongue and ask more questions than it answers.

A sort of dry, crisp, refreshing, not quite pale ale. #9 is really impossible to describe because there’s never been anything else quite like it. Our secret ingredient introduces a most unusual aroma which is balanced with residual sweetness.

ABV: 4.6% IBU: 20


Roxy Rolles

Amber Ale

As the leaves line the trees with colors bright, the Autumnal Amber Ramble comes into sight! Roxy Rolles pours in her wake foliage fallen and a perfect pairing of malt and hops.

ABV: 5.1%
IBUs: 40


Circus Boy

The Hefeweizen

Unfiltered and unfettered, Circus Boy is a unique and refreshing American-style Hefeweizen.
Is he a who? Or a what? Or perhaps some of both?

ABV: 4.4
IBUs: 14


Odd Notion - Fall 2009

A fitting beer for The Night Of The Living Dead, this Black Stout is chock full of roasty goodness, with an amazing complexity that only come from the addition of five different types of malts. The flavors of dark crystalized malts and roasted barley warm the pallet and satisfy the soul.

ABV: 6.2%
IBUs: 50