Aug 24, 2012

Magic Hat Hi.P.A.

I’ve been asked whether I review every beer I drink several times through the years. And the answer is pretty simple, really. I don’t. I do the best I can, but sometimes there just isn’t an opportunity to do so, or I’m just lazy. There are several beers that I enjoy on a regular basis taht have never been officially reviewed for this website.

Magic Hat’s Hi.P.A. is one of those beers that I’ve enjoyed on multiple occasions but never really thought to publish my thoughts on it. Until now. This 6.7% ABV IPA packs a solid 70 IBUs and a pile of resinous pine and an appropriate amount of astringent bitterness given the style. This is a beer for hop heads, plain and simple.

Appearance

Hi.P.A. pours a hazy, pale amber in color with a sizable stack of off-white foam that fell slowly to sticky lacing.

Aroma

Pine resin, grapefruit, herbal notes, grass and a touch of lemon dominate the nose as grainy malt sits lightly in the background.

Taste

Hi.P.A. arrives on the tongue with a load of resinous hops that deliver hints of grapefruit, grass and pine. There’s a subtle bready malt backbone that does it’s best to balance out the hop presence, but in the end it doesn’t quite make it. The solid bitterness lingers for a good long while through the drying finish as an ember of warmth glows in the chest from the alcohol.

Overall

Some IPAs are fruity. Other’s overly biting. Hi.P.A. sits comfortably in the middle with a solid resinous pin character and enough bitterness to let you know it means business without destroying your palate for that second bottle. I’d personally like to see a bit more balance in it, but that’s never stopped me from purchasing it in the past, nor will it in the future. It’s a tasty brew that up until a bottle of Hex came my way, was my favorite from this Vermont brewery.

Rating: 3.75/5

This is a review of a promotional sample received from the brewery.

More: ,