Hostile Takeover
Magnify Brewing Company

 

Traded for this recently as I was eager to give this a go, given the two brewers that had a hand in creating this. Not the biggest fan of Magnify but they *are* the closest to here that brews beer and their recent collaborations have been wonderful and that was true with this as this contained both theirs and District 96's footprint in it. The haziness and snake fruit were toned down a bit but with so many wonderful hops in good proportion, the end result was an easily enjoyable beer that soft, plush, and a bit exotic all at the same time.

No surprise that this had a golden hue to it that was plenty translucent with a nice amount of light to it. Plenty of head topped it off as the lacing left behind was quite layered and extensive along the back side of my pint glass. Lots of pineapple, Hawaiian Punch, fruit cocktail, bright orange, and radiant floral notes in the nose as the taste added some sticky tropical fruit pulp, gooseberry, white wine, and turbid nectarine to the mix.

Nicely balanced, lively carbonated, and fresh as this was canned on 4/7 (a first, from Magnify!), this had enough booze in it but that fit in well with the underlying dankness and stone fruit vibe that this ultimately gave off. A bit more of D 96's signature flavor would have elevated this nicely but as it was, this was plenty filling and sticky as it easily left me wanting more. Takeovers like this are what Magnify needs to elevate their offerings to the next level!

 

 

Reviewed 3 days after can release. Poured into a tulip glass. It pours an opaque, dirty orange with a large, fluffy, eggnog-colored head and a thick coating of lacing. The smell is more floral than fruity. But the fruit is evident in the first sip. The Citra hops in the whirlpool and in the dry hopping provide lots of lemon, grapefruit, and melon. They combine with notes of berry and cannabis from the Strata and pineapple from the Nectaron. At mid-palate I'm tasting the influence of the Nelson hops in the dry white wine. There are also notes of earthy cedar. It's complex and very flavorful. The mouth feel is surprisingly lite for a TIPA and it doesn't feel like 10% ABV. I drank the first can right down. Overall, Hostile Takeover is very good. You can detect the influence of both brewers. There is a touch of D96's Snake Fruit but it's toned down a bit. Similarly, the big, bold hoppiness I'd expect from Magnify is dialed-down. It's really fun to drink a beer brewed by two brewers I know well and enjoy a lot.