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beer and reflect, what beer it would be and where that beer would take them. Todd gushed, “I’d definitely have our 10 percent–plus Thumbsucker Imperial Stout. We started this high-priced product (our “Humdinger” series) as a barrel-aged beer. Thumbsucker goes into Bourbon barrels in which our barley wine had aged for three years. It all began as a homebrewing experiment and my wife and I often reflect on how it all started. People’s response to this beer is fantastic. I can’t help reflect and appreciate how much depth the Thumbsucker has and how maturing really creates flavor nuances. These beers aren’t ready until they are ready; the alcohol complexity changes with time.”

Todd goes on to tell me that they also brew a Braggot, a strong, 10 percent–plus ale brewed with one-third honey fermentables, saying, “We keep bees outside the brewery in a small apiary. The 15 hives provided over 300 pounds of honey we used in this year’s barrel-aged Braggot.” Chamomile flowers were also added, and the ale was eventually aged in French oak.

In the near future they will be blending Cabernet grapes, pomegranates and blueberries into a Belgian Flanders–style brown ale infused with a fruity-producing Brettanomyces yeast culture and aging it in used Cabernet wine barrels.

Number 9, their most popular beer. Label courtesy of Magic Hat Brewing Co.

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MAGIC BOLO #9.1

With an apricot aroma and smooth, fruity flavor, this is a year-round drinking beer, low on lupulin but high on smoothness. Recipe details were shared by the brewer at Magic Hat and adapted to a homebrewed-size recipe. This recipe can be found in About the Recipes.

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Todd recalls one of their most unusual brews: “We made a bottled garlic beer, also flavored with rosemary and horehound. It was an elixir for our Halloween bash, ‘Night of the Living Dead.’ We put one clove of garlic in each bottle. I didn’t reminisce too much about that beer.”

As we finished our conversation, Todd had one final bit of wisdom: “Things that ferment have such great taste.”

I’ve had the pleasure of having almost all of the elixirs presented to me and getting to choose the order in which to try them. It was like beginning a journey into a secret and mystical universe, where up is down and east is west. As I gazed into the foamy head of each brew, I could appreciate where those bubbles come from as they slowly rise to their surface. To say that these beers have personality would be an understatement. I asked Alan, “So if there is one beer that epitomizes all that could be in a Magic Hat, what beer would that be?” He knew the answer: “That would be #9. It’s a beer that brings it all together, a low-hopped ‘not quite pale ale’ with this wonderfully evocative apricot character. It comes through much more in the aroma than in the flavor. It’s very distinctive and it’s our best-selling beer.” And I mentally noted he concluded his description with “yet undefined.” It’s not your typical fruit beer.

I am realizing the addiction that can build for Magic Hat beers. It draws you farther and farther into the matrix of what Magic Hat is all about. Alan reminds me that it’s not necessarily all about the beer. Yes, you must have a world-class beer. That’s what Bob Johnson started, and now head brewer Todd Haire carries the scriptured tradition forward. Great beer is your “entry card” to play as a brewery. Alan says, “We strive to resonate with our customer. Connecting emotionally drives success.”

The Magic Hat Brewery is not just a brewery, it’s a community. Visit with a beer or stroll into the mystical at www.magichat.net.

A Mindset for Sustainability

Otter Creek Brewery & Wolaver’s

Organic Beer

COMFORTABLY NESTLED in the northern Vermont community of Middlebury, the popularly acclaimed Otter Creek Brewery has enjoyed a passionate following among beer drinkers since 1991. Every season celebrates the rites of brewing and Otter Creek beers. Now under the leadership of Morgan Wolaver, the brewery continues to brew Otter Creek brands in addition to Wolaver’s Organic Beer.

Morgan says,