Tasty Beverage of the Week

This week's edition features a new treat from an old favorite. My love affair with Magic Hat beers dates back to my first taste of #9 at a hazy music festival - it may have been Phish's Big Cypress for NYE 2000, or it may have been my first trip to Bonnaroo... either way, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, beer.
As I once previously mentioned, my wife and I honeymooned in Burlington, VT. It's a beautiful, fun-filled town (actually quite reminiscent of Happy Valley, but with a huge lake). South Burlington is the home to the Magic Hat brewery. I can't describe how much fun the place is. A great atmosphere, and everyone that works there seems to love what they do. But who wouldn't? The trip to VT would not have been complete without a pilgrimage to Ben and Jerry's and Magic Hat. We went to Ben and Jerry's one afternoon; we went to Magic Hat every single day. At that time, they had several offerings on tap that are not available around these parts: Humble Patience, Mother Lager, Single Chair Ale, Jinx, Fat Angel, and Blind Faith (my favorite of all time) to name a few. I brought home several cases worth from that adventure, but it soon ran out.
Before you could buy Magic Hat locally, I drove to Corning, NY to purchase a few cases (it was less than an hour out of the way on the trip home from a Keuka Lake winery mission). Soon after, bars and distributors began to carry the elixers in my hometown.
But enough about the past, let's talk about Odd Notion. A limited edition seasonal brew available in the Feast of Fools variety case.

• The Beer Advocates say: "Odd Notion (Winter '07) is a dark wheat ale that's tagged as an "English Ale," but brewed with 50% malted wheat, pale malts, dark-candy sugar, chocolate and Munich malts, and lightly hopped with Hersbrucker... Pours a dark brown brew with ruby hues and a thick, creamy, tight off-white lace with good stick and retention. Soft fruity and floral aromas with pear and chocolate, a nutty edge and a subtle drop of toffee. Quite smooth; creamy and medium-bodied with a rolling even feel on the palate. Up-front there's a slightly tangy raisin flavor that introduces a flash of hop bitterness, leafy tannins, a grassy bite and floral back. Malt pulls through for some balance with roasted nuts and caramel, with raw cookie dough action and lingering chocolate-cake characters. Alcohol becomes noticeable as things warm up; it first hides among a complexity of spices, but slightly sugary candy notes soon give its presence away. Astringent, husky and tannic towards the finish, leaving behind a bone-dry and wanting palate... Odd Notion is definitely one of the more interesting, complex and drinkable experimental brews to come out of Magic Hat. It runs from smooth to coarse, from sweet to dry, from light to heavy, with changing flavors in each sip. It's a great ride that leaves food-pairing possibilities wide open. For instance, goat cheese with chocolate drizzle and dried date accompaniment sounds good right about now—wrap it in bacon and bake it, even better."
  

The thing about this beer is that the 7.5% ABV is misleading in two ways:

1. You can't taste the alcohol, so it goes down smooth and easy.
2. It packs one hell of a punch, so by the time you realize you had too many, it may be too late! Odd Notion feels stronger than 7.5% to me. (Kind of in the same way that Jagermeister feels stronger than it is.)

Odd Notion is not necessarily the best beer I've ever had, but one of the most interesting nonetheless. Don't miss your chance to experience this cold weather treat - get your Feast of Fools today!