Magic Hat #9

As the bottle claims, it's not quite pale ale. It really isn't quite an Indian pale ale either since it has much more flavor to it. It's kind of an orange to amberish color. When drinking the #9, it seems to have a clean start as well as a clean finish. There's definitely a different taste to it, more than any other pale ale. The brewer says it has a apricot taste to it.

Open up a bottle or two or three, and be sure to read the quotes and facts that are printed on the inside of the caps. I did that and won a free Magic Hat bottle opener. The bottle opener I received wasn't even some cheapo piece of crap and actually felt strong and solid. I mailed in the flattened out bottle cap and as well as my mailing info and it came was in my mailbox maybe 2 weeks later.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest we would give this beer a 7.7 keeping in mind the uniqueness of this particular beer. It's the type of beer which someone would look for specifically when they are in the mood for it, nothing else is quite like it.

MD

pict and editing by JHS

Bottle vrs Glass

Which is better - drinking from the bottle or from a glass?

It's a age old question, is it better to drink right from the bottle or pour it into a glass, after all why dirty up a glass if you will just have to wash it? Yes, I know that sometimes there's no choice, at the bar, in a restaurant, over your friends, and sometimes you just don't have one available. This isn't what i'm talking about. I'm saying your at home going to get a brew, will you stop to pull out the glass and make the pour? or is it not worth the effort.

Of course, if you got your canned beer, your best with a glass if you have one available. Despite every know hows - your educated argument that whats in the can is the same as what would come out of a bottle (ok this is true) - You still taste the can- i don't know about you, i will pass on the aluminum taste if I can. luckily right now it seems that bottles are the same price as cans, they take up a little more room to store but there is no taste from the container drinking from bottles
Drinking from the bottle is convenient, you get right to it, no extra step like pouring. Now it's true a good beer drinking glass will have to be cleaned, and stored. It should be special purpose, just for beer drinking, less you contaminate it with other flavors, you can even get different types of glasses depending on the type of beer you are drinking. Shopping for good glasses can get complicated, this feature, that label, what price. In the end I found a few nice ale glasses I keep around to drink from. There nice and thick to prevent easy breakage when people get drunk, although I did like my set of pilsner glasses when I had them (unfortunately - they were not nice and thick).

Now since you can tell I'm on the glass side -there is scientific proof with research done by that king of beers company for the drinking out of the glass side. With a glass you can get the perfect head, and it releases excess carbonation, thus you can drink more without feeling as full or as drunk. You get a sensory pleasure drinking from a glass, see the beers color. If you mist and freeze the glass it can be more refreshing drinking from one on a warm day. And the best argument of all, your kids don't pickup on the glass like they do with the bottles when they are at that certain impressionable age.

JHS

Dogfish Head 90 minute Imperial IPA

Here we have an beer which claims to be perhaps the best IPA in America. The company calls itself a "craft Brewer" which I suppose means it brews smaller batches than the rest. I have seen other "craft brewers" in the past and usually when they get big enough to get into the local supermarket there is something to check out there.

This company makes a few different versions of their Ipa's. The main difference here is how and for how long they hop the beer when brewing. Their main versions include their 60 minute, 90 minute, and 120 minute Ipa's. Each seems to cost about the same amount per package, about what 18 bottles of your average domestic brew on sale costs. The amount of what you get for the premium? Well a package of 60's come with six, 90's come with four, and the 120 well you get just one 12oz bottle*. Remember this is for the cost of your domestic 18 pk on sale.
It should be said that you will probably not find the 90's in your local market, hopefully your distributor may carry it. The 90 comes in at a whopping 9% apv. Strong enough by any standards, and at nearly twice the apv of most domestics, it easily makes up for the premium cost. Considering you only get 4 to a pack, that's a good thing. For most people four can do you for a night, if you need much more well it may be time for a break for a while.

Being a fan of Ipa's we gave a taste. There is the slightly bitter taste which all Ipa's share, perhaps a little stronger than average. However there is little to no aftertaste with the 90's. On a 10 point scale we rate it a 8.25. We also noted that when drinking them slowly they produce a nice mellow drunk.

Best in America? It's a dam good beer, one of the better we tasted. The only downside I see is price and availability. Despite this we recommend a try, what you will miss in quantity, you'll get in quality.

JHS

*Note on the 120 - this may be a beer however it drinks more like a liqueur. It drinks like a nice sweet schnapps - sweet, and strong - best drunken slowly. Chill it and use a small glass, like Champlain. Be sure to share, like the SHPH tipple ice bock, it is not easy to come by and worth a try. If not for only the reason that you can say you did.

Heineken DraughtKeg ®

I know, when you open a bottle of this stuff it can be a gamble. Maybe you get a good beer, maybe it's a skunk. This beer was one of my favorites in my younger days, however those skunks seemed to come more and more so I found other beers to try. Here they came up with something different: It's a keg, small enough to fit in the fridge, since no outside air gets into the can it stays fresh for a month after opening, and it's large enough for most people for a weekend. If you like the container there are tap stations available that can cool and dispense the beer like a small kegerator. I have even seen another name brand use this small type container to dispense their product recently.
In anticipation of trying it I looked around on the web to find some info. Not everybody seemed happy with it, main concern seemed to be foaming. It's been said to read the bottom for the made date code, the fresher the better. On inspection I found there was no way I could figure out the codes when I looked for it. So for warned I grabbed the one that seemed coldest in the case and threw it on ice until tap time.

When it was time it was simple to tap - clip on the hose and dispenser mechanism and it was set to go. The "hot tip" is to poar the first glass, which is mostly foam and toss it. This seemed a wast to me so i put it aside and poured two more. It seemed the second and third was as foamy as the first filling, about a third glass with beer and the rest with foam. The foam wasn't anything abnormal in my opinion, just seemed like any over carbonated keg, or a bottle that got out of control. Anyway the foam died down quickly and I was able to fill the rest of the glass without a problem. Patience seems best here for the best poar. Oh yea the foamies do get better the further you get along.

When drinking I found it to be a great beer, just like I remembered it, and best of all no skunk here. The consensus is it's got a pleasant taste , giving it a bout a 6.5 on a 10 point scale, above average. It's a pale amber colored lager, very drinkable even to the tasters who did not usually enjoy this style of beer. We got about 13 tall glasses out of the keg, making this form of container a little more expensive than others for this beer. The premium comes for the freshness, and uniqueness of its dispensing. I Would put it at about the same price as two six packs of good to premium beer.

In the end we would get another one, not for its container but for the freshness of its contents.

JHS

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