HICu
Magic Hat Brewing Company

HICuHICu
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From:
Magic Hat Brewing Company
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
Fruit and Field Beer
ABV:
4.2%
Score:
62
Avg:
2.54 | pDev: 33.86%
Reviews:
35
Ratings:
215
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 04, 2019
Added:
Apr 15, 2013
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  16
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Jadjunk:
Photo of Jadjunk
Reviewed by Jadjunk from Georgia

3/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
"Create a Haiku inspired by the HiCü you have in your hand." Brewed in the style of a Fruit Ale with a central focus on cucumber and hibiscus. This beer was the throw in Variety Pack exclusive included with the Summer sampler in 2013, possibly a one-off beer. While beers that go to this level of wildness are often overly criticized, I'm going to give this one a fair shot.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to my Magic Hat pint glass. Served north of 48º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) A vigorous pour yields an ecru cream head of a stale dish suds consistency over a maple amber body with moderate carbonation and very heavy sediment. Retention is average at best, lacing is specked and thin. There's not much to value in this appearance. 2.5

(Smell) There's most certainly a strong sweet cucumber candy aroma up front that doesn't conflict significantly with the pale malt build aside from being an incredibly unusual choice and admittedly an appealing aromatic element. Some herbal and vegetative aroma chimes in to lesser effect, likely the hibiscus element, adding some aromatic bitterness through fresh-cut vegetation, it's unlikely that hops are equally utilized otherwise in this beer. Potency is medium. 3

(Taste) Going into this beer, I vowed not to let the cucumber nor hibiscus angle be the focal of any criticism I had for this beer, and I feel certain that neither tarnish the beer as individual entities nor collective ones. My biggest concern is in what malt build compliments these two unique flavor choices while offering balance to highlight them. Ultimately, the balance issue is glaring to anybody with a seasoned palate. There is a lacking sweetness and also a shallow, uninteresting malt body. Cucumber provides mostly flavor (which I found very enjoyable) yet very little sweetness to remedy this issue. What remains is a very sharp garden greens medley of characters that generate a great deal of leafy, herbaceous bitterness, led by the hibiscus plant, without significant malt body to compliment or counteract. In conclusion, I appreciated the thought and enthusiasm that went into crafting a beer concept as audacious as this, but the actual beer side of the recipe was not as well orchestrated as I had hoped. 3

(Mouthfeel) The texture is thin and dry, a touch chalky. Carbonation adds a touch of crisp liveliness and fizz. The body is light/medium for the style, light+ overall. Alcohol presence is very low. As before mentioned, balance lacks sweetness and body and preferences bitterness of the raw leaf and herbal variety. If you're not put off by the herbaceous bitterness, this might be a nice sessionable choice for you. Finishes generally clean. 3.25

(Overall) A nod to the "what if" kind of beer drinker, HiCü showcases gloriously the art of cucumber and hibiscus together in a single bottle. Cucumber does, in fact manage to come out wonderfully in this beer, and I can see this fruit being used in many different kinds of beer with favorable results. The dominant issue resulted from either an overemphasis on hibiscus for bitterness or through a lack of body and sweetness to counter that bitterness. Either way, I was not as put off by this drink as the angry mob scouring their Facebook page would like to make it seem, but I think it could have used some more thought from a "beer engineer's" angle to truly pull it off well. Kudos to Magic Hat for trying, though. 3

Magic Hat Brewing Company's
HiCü Cucumber Hibiscus Ale
3.00/5.00
Nov 15, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of JonathanX
Reviewed by JonathanX from Massachusetts

1.53/5  rDev -39.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1
Starts with an overly powerful cucumber essence and ends a the bitter hibiscus aftertaste. Rather than being pleasantly fruity, it is just unbalanced and hard to drink.
Mar 04, 2019
Photo of udfan07
Reviewed by udfan07 from Ohio

1/5  rDev -60.6%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
This is the worst beer I have ever had. The cucumber was the worst aspect of the beer and it didn't provide anything at all flavorful. Terrible taste and a terrible beer. If I could give this a zero I would
Mar 12, 2016
 
Rated: 1.98 by 2ellas from New Hampshire

Dec 24, 2015
 
Rated: 3.17 by AMarkle6524 from Pennsylvania

Dec 20, 2015
 
Rated: 2.5 by Oidmoe from Austria

Oct 20, 2015
 
Rated: 2.58 by hozersr from Pennsylvania

Oct 19, 2015
 
Rated: 2.48 by PJCarnell from Massachusetts

Sep 16, 2015
 
Rated: 2.5 by Lettsgo3 from Maryland

Apr 12, 2015
 
Rated: 2.49 by TheBeard89 from Alabama

Apr 01, 2015
Photo of VTSoxfan
Rated by VTSoxfan from Vermont

1.99/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Easily the worst non-spoiled beer I've tasted. Bitter, the flavor balance was way off, and the combination just didn't work.
Mar 15, 2015
Photo of Duff_Man
Rated by Duff_Man from California

3.16/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Starts off well but finishes very bitter. Could be really good with some tweaking.
Mar 07, 2015
 
Rated: 2.43 by JNForsyth from Pennsylvania

Dec 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by knicks19947 from New York

Oct 30, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by fossage78 from Massachusetts

Oct 01, 2014
 
Rated: 2.42 by Ainman11 from New York

Sep 24, 2014
 
Rated: 1.75 by Robloc303 from Colorado

Sep 16, 2014
 
Rated: 2.48 by Ryanpro from Connecticut

Aug 31, 2014
 
Rated: 1.5 by twillingthenoz from New York

Aug 24, 2014
 
Rated: 1.5 by Grodd87 from Pennsylvania

Aug 17, 2014
HICu from Magic Hat Brewing Company
Beer rating: 62 out of 100 with 215 ratings