Try?
Is it really going to be October next week? It is. As I type, it's September 24th, and the 2010 Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany will be a week old tomorrow. Oktoberfest spends more time in September than it does in October, but there it is. What's more, October is the month of Halloween in America, the time for ghouls and ghosts and things that go bump in the night (such as a Bruguru having had one too many beers banging into the sofa). But I digress.
Anyway, one of the wonderful things about the beer world is that you can do so many fun things. Want a beer that combines the American fun of Halloween with the German festival of Oktoberfest? It's yours in every bottle of Magic Hat Hex Ourtoberfest. Ourtoberfest, of course, is about as apt a descriptor as you'll ever find when it comes to Magic Hat. They love to do things their way; always have, always will.
Magic Hat Hex waxes Germanic with its Vienna malt, German ale yeast, and Hallertau hops. Spicy rye and smoked malts along with the eccentric Apollo hop add the exotic flair Americans are famous for. Pale and Crystal malts add body, though they lie in a nether region between the two holidays. Even the label suggests a fusion of the two celebrations, depicting an assortment of monsters enjoying steins full of foamy brew.
Magic Hat Hex Ourtoberfest pours to a ruby golden color with a medium sized but short lived head formation and a decidedly nutty malty nose. As soon as you sip, the toasty nutty malt (Vienna malt to be precise) comes through, but it's quickly tempered by notes of spicy rye and caramel. I don't get much in the way of smokiness, but I do get a soft fruitiness and, in the finish, lots of grassy Hallertau hops.
What an interesting little beer. It's a fusion of course, trying to be reminiscent of a German style Vienna-Maerzen (though this is an ale), and adding a dash of the exotic with rye and smoked malt. The bitter hop finish is a bit more than you'd find in your average Oktoberfest beer, too, and seems more than the 25 IBUs Magic Hat claims the beer has.
Magic Hat beers were a staple of mine back in Rhode Island (the brewery resides in Vermont, a stone's throw away in New England). They've been readily available now in Georgia as well, much to my delight. This one is a keeper, and well worth checking out to satisfy your unholy All-Hallow's Eve/Oktoberfest inspired thirst.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
