Magic Hat HI.P.A.

[Greg]

Just cracked open my first bottle. Now this stuff could get me in trouble. Yum!

 

[TenPeaks]

I agree! HiPA is a great beer. If you like that one try Dogfish Head 60 or 90 minute IPA or Middle Ages IPA.

Fizzy yellow beer drinkers need not apply.

Bring on the hops!!!

 

[nelsapbm]

MardiGras

It's Magic Hat's Mardi Gras weekend here in Burlington this weekend.....come on up! Should be a good time....
http://www.magichat.net/mardigras2006/

 

[Marc]

I agree! HiPA is a great beer. If you like that one try Dogfish Head 60 or 90 minute IPA or Middle Ages IPA.

Fizzy yellow beer drinkers need not apply.

Bring on the hops!!!

Yeah, I've had the 90 minute IPA, and holy chit. Talk about hopped up. You take that first whiff and you think your head is in a spruce tree. Strong stuff.

But good. I can't really drink it unless I have pretzels or some starch to mop up some of the bitterness between sips. It is tasty though.

I've been totally hooked on Sam Adams Cream Stout for a while now. I always seem to have some on hand. That and Wachusett's Black Shack Porter. The dark beers are garnering a strangle hold on my beer choices. Not a bad thing by any means, a' course.

 

[skibum1321]

The dark beers are garnering a strangle hold on my beer choices. Not a bad thing by any means, a' course.

Same here...pretty much everything I have been drinking lately has been a porter or stout. A couple of my recent favorites have been the Rock Art Gnarly Stout and Midnight Madness Porter.
On a side note I've been really disappointed with Magic Hat of late. They got rid of their 2 best beers (IMO) - Ravell and Heart of Darkness. The only one of their beers left that I would call one of my favorites is Jinx - their fall seasonal.

 

[pepsi]

Just cracked open my first bottle. Now this stuff could get me in trouble. Yum!

Because I couldn't get on the site last night, at first glance, I thought you started this thread this morning

 

[ctenidae]

Magic Hat makes a quality line of brews, no doubt.

Marc adn Skibum's recent concentration on dark beers is interesting. I remember going through a porter/stout phase, too. I wonder if it's a "Beer Appreciation Stage". Not trying to sound like an old fogey, or a beer snob, or anything, but how long have you guys been drinking "good" beer? I think I started hitting the heavy stuff about 2 or 3 years after I started drinking beer for the flavor, adn I wodner if it's a pendulum thing- once you realize Bud and Busch Light aren't actually beer, do you swing towards more flavorfull brews, all teh way through to stouts and porters? Seems to me my tastes have moderated somewhat. At times porters are just right, Guinness is always a good choice, but for average drinking, I like the medium brown ales (Belhaven Scottish, etc) and various IPAs.

There's a study in here, somewhere. Now, if we can just gather some government funding... "Beer Appreciation Evolution- Socioeconomic and Experience Effects on Preffered Brews," subtitled "Time in the Bottle"

 

[KevinB]

Yeah, I've had the 90 minute IPA, and holy chit. Talk about hopped up. You take that first whiff and you think your head is in a spruce tree. Strong stuff.

But good. I can't really drink it unless I have pretzels or some starch to mop up some of the bitterness between sips. It is tasty though.

I've been totally hooked on Sam Adams Cream Stout for a while now. I always seem to have some on hand. That and Wachusett's Black Shack Porter. The dark beers are garnering a strangle hold on my beer choices. Not a bad thing by any means, a' course.

haha,yeah the 90 minute was too much for much me. I had no problem drinking it (good taste), but every time I did ,the next day I woke up with a stuffy nose. Whatever they use in that beer, the hops,brewers yeast,etc I am allergic to. It's the only beer that does it to me. The also have a limited edition 120 out there.

 

[Marc]

Magic Hat makes a quality line of brews, no doubt.

Marc adn Skibum's recent concentration on dark beers is interesting. I remember going through a porter/stout phase, too. I wonder if it's a "Beer Appreciation Stage". Not trying to sound like an old fogey, or a beer snob, or anything, but how long have you guys been drinking "good" beer? I think I started hitting the heavy stuff about 2 or 3 years after I started drinking beer for the flavor, adn I wodner if it's a pendulum thing- once you realize Bud and Busch Light aren't actually beer, do you swing towards more flavorfull brews, all teh way through to stouts and porters? Seems to me my tastes have moderated somewhat. At times porters are just right, Guinness is always a good choice, but for average drinking, I like the medium brown ales (Belhaven Scottish, etc) and various IPAs.

There's a study in here, somewhere. Now, if we can just gather some government funding... "Beer Appreciation Evolution- Socioeconomic and Experience Effects on Preffered Brews," subtitled "Time in the Bottle"

No, that sounds about right. I started drinking quality beer for the taste about 3 years ago. One year before my 21st birthday, ironically enough.

And since then I have developed that point of view that barley (or wheat) based brews are beer and not corn based, or augmented. Barley, water, yeast and hops. Ever since I started research homebrewing (haven't done it yet) I really started getting in to "good" beer (at the risk of sounding like beer snob as cten pointed out).

But in terms of a pendulum theory, I'd rate dark brews that I've been drinking, or even Guiness which I think of as more mild as less intense flavor than your average IPA, nevermind some of these hop heavy varieties. I'd also put the more extreme double bocks and high alcohol brews ahead of darks in terms of flavor intensity.

BTW, cten, I don't think you're allowed to be a registered user of BA, much less attend one of their events, and claim that you're not a beer snob.

I like the government funded study idea... especially the titles. I volunteer to be one of the test subjects...

 

[ctenidae]

Funnily enough, I'm neither registered on BA, nor have I managed to attend an event. I always want to go, but then never do. In large part becasue I never find out about them until all the tickets are sold out, but mostly because I'm a bit lazy, which contributes to the not finding out bit.

I'll 100% agree that Guinness is mild in flavor. I think it's a gateway dark beer, though- once you reach the level where you try Guinness and realize it's not as scary as you thought, the world opens up. Kind of like that first time you get up the nerve to ski a black trail- if you can handle that, then what can't you handle?

Interesting that you're researching homebrewing- I did the same thing at the same stage, only I actually did some brewing. We started in our dorm room, telling people that the boiling wort was buffalo stew (which they believed. Stupid kids). After moving off campus (and getting busted in the dorm with 20 cases of beer bottle-conditioning), we stepped it up a notch or two, and had a tap system we built from soda-dispenser parts- Cornelius kegs are great. I highly recommend it. Dumpster diving for our first batch of bottles was great (once the owner of the bar who's dumpster we were swimming in came out to throw some shit away. Seeing us, he said "My, how the rats have grown" and went back inside), as was drinking a case of beer at each stage of brewing in order to keep our bottle supply up. I'd start brewing again, except that space constraints in my current apartment make it a difficult proposition. I'm working on it, though.

 

[Marc]

Yeah, I have actually brewed two home batches with one of my buds, his father had the kit and only used it once.

The first was a Honey Brown clone, which turned out to actually be brown, unlike the real thing. We adjusted the recipe and added a bit more toasted oats and grain than the recipe called for and added them a bit earlier. It was very good though. Real honey included.

The second was a run of the mill IPA. That also turned out quite good. We learned to leave a little in the bottom of the ferment to avoid those last silt filled bottles towards the end. Our guinea pigs... err... other friends appreciated that.

We were going to take the next leap in home brewing and start using glass carboys but ran short on time. Once the end of the ski season rolls around there will be more of that.

As for now, I'm just working on "collecting bottles" for when we start up again. Which I enjoy quite a bit. I'd really like to research mini keg brewing.

Did you use malt extract when you brewed or did you ever mash? That looks to be a challenge.

I may try growing some hops this summer. I'll let you know if I do. Maybe I can mail some to you to motivate you to brew some more.

I registered at BA but never post in the forums. I just registered when they started making you to be able to read the reviews. I also keep meaning to buy a ticket to one of the festivals but never do, or not in time anyway.

 

[ctenidae]

We're not so different, you and me.

Which scares me a bit. A lot.

I have a perfect rack room in my apartment- 10 feet underground, rock wall, everything (it puts the lotion on its skin...), except the ceiling is the sidewalk above, and it leaks, so it's only 6 inches of dripping concrete- it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I want to waterproof it, and get some insulation up there to even the temperature (and my heating bills) out, but A) it's messy, 2) It's hard and Third, I'm lazy. But, with teh proper motivation, it would be a great place to condition beer.

 

[Marc]

That is a bit troubling. I need to start drinking.

You need motivation. Start drinking.


I don't know if that will do the trick, but hell, it is never a bad solution by any means.

I have a dug cellar with rock walls (or it gets the hose) that stays a temperate 50 - 66 degrees year round, more or less.

I need to get more batches under my belt (and down my throat). Trial and error takes a while since a brew can take a solid couple months to completely ferment. And even then, we left our second batch in the bottles for about three months, which took a lot of self control and discipline, and I think the flavor settled down a bit and had a bit less bite.

Heh, I just had to say "a bit less bite."

Anyways... time to start planning my hop trelis. I bet I'll get a lot of looks for this one...

 

[skibum1321]

We're not so different, you and me.

Which scares me a bit. A lot.

Could this be the end of the Marc/CT feud?

Anyway, I started drinking good beer consistently a couple of years ago. I haven't gotten into it enough to actually brew my own. I just love a good porter and stout.

 

[ctenidae]

Could this be the end of the Marc/CT feud?

NEVER!

 

[JD]

Alchemist in waterbury has some great beer for hops fans. Broken spoke. El Jefe. Holy Cow IPA. Pretty good food too!

 

[Phildozer]

CT,

Check out www.dejabrew.com.

All brewing and bottling is done on-site.

Waaaay too much fun.

 

[Marc]

NEVER!

Does this mean we're not friends anymore?

If I thought that you weren't my friend, why, I don't know if I could bear it.

 

[roark]

Can anyone recommend a good homebrewing shop? I used to do it a lot (~50 batches under my belt) but haven't brewed in about 3 yrs. Now I finally have some space and a bunch of equipment gathering dust but there's no shops locally. I guess I could mail order but I just prefer the mom and pop brick and mortar joints.

 

[TenPeaks]

I only know of a few shops in NH. Jaspers in Nashua, Stout Billy's in Portsmouth and Mt. Washington Homebrew (I think that's the name) in Littleton.

In MA Beer and Wine Hobby in Woburn is pretty good.

Since the closet shop to me is a 30 minute drive I've been doing a lot of ordering online lately. www. morebeer.com and www.northernbrewer.com have both been good places to shop.