Odd Notion - American Sour Ale (Winter 2009)
Magic Hat Brewing Company

 

Sits in the glass looking like an amber ale with a deep hazy amber colored body. It is about the color of apple butter. Head is a solid inch of very light tan head that fades in minutes and leaves a solid wall of lace. Nose is slightly fruity with lots of candy like sweetness and some yeasty tones. With first sip you get a moderate tartness up front but this quickly fades to a body of thin crispness that is far more hollow feel then I was hoping for. The flavor profile stretches to find yeasty fruit esters. It is a weak palate overall. A bit flat and thin on the mouthfeel. This beer is drinkable but quite boring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light reddish brown color, with a short off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains dark fruit, Belgian yeast, some spices and caramelized malts.

T: The taste starts out with some sweet flavors of caramel, dark fruit and spices. Then some breadiness comes in from a hearty malt character and some Belgian yeast followed by a little sourness. The hops presence is mild but creates some balance. The after-taste slightly tart and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, very mild kick, decent representation of style, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but there isn’t much that’s too good about it either.

reviewed from notes, this one was serve in a pint glass during a magic hat tasting i had with my brother in law down at his apartment.

a murky brown pour yields a semi pour head of off white that barely sticks to the glass long enough to produce any lacing with a light ruby color around the edges of the glass. aroma is sour but not in a good way, light wet hay that was peed on, just off in every aspect, malts that seem moldy and brown sugar? not a good mixture, the flavor was even worse with just a wrong overall profile that did not work in any manner at all. a drain pour for me.

overall i am not sure what this is supposed to be but it was not good.

Reviewed from notes.

Why, why, why would you do this to anyone? This is a terrible, terrible beer. Just absolutely disgusting and I cannot understand why this would be released to the public. The color is an inoffensive brownish color with no head--likely because of the demons that lurk inside. Small is totally acetic and tastes like a beer that has been left out for days and days. In fact, I have a really apt description--this smells exactly like our kegerator's drip tray when I get lazy and don't change it for a few days. I imagine the taste is along the same lines, but I don't want to subject myself to that.

They got the sour thing; maybe I should give them half a point somewhere for that? Likely not, as I think the tactic on this was just leaving the beer out and then bottling it. This is really acetic with a hefty dose of cardboard. Overall, just an epic fail. Please don't try this again.

A - Murky brown in color with thin white head that slowly fades.

S - A medicinal malt aroma that has twinges of sweetness that are not very inviting.

T - After doing some reading I noticed that Magic Hat used acidulated malt, and there are no bugs in this one. Nothing that really makes it an American wild ale. Sour yes, wild no. There is a bit of a mouth puckering sour mixed with tainted moth balls. This is terrible.

M - High carbonation with a thin body.

I'm sorry, but I can't keep drinking this one. I think I'm going to die from tainted moth balls.

A-Hazy amber with a smaller head.

S-Has that Magic Hat scent. Sickly sweet. Not appealing.

T-Ew. They just puked into a bottle and called it a wild ale. Not a fan. Really sweet. Tangy bile like taste.

M-Medium bodied.

D-Not for me thanks. Had to really get focused in order to slurp this back.

Bad Notion

12 oz bottle poured into a Sprecher nonic. 4.5% ABV, Best By F '10 notched on label.

A - Odd Notion Winter '09 pours a clear brown color with a quickly forming off-white head. The near three-finger head was poorly retained and quickly dropped to a sudsy layer of thin bubbles. Tiny specks of lace were left behind.

S - Sweet caramel and toasted amber malts erupt from the beer. It's very sweet initially. A small tart astringency barely comes through in the back end to clear it up a bit. Very low level of floral hops. Not very mild.

T - The malts almost make it borderline sour brown. Toasted amber malts and caramel once again but that is overpowered, this time by a slightly astringent, sour finish that lacks a good "wild" funk. Definitely could be the age though as it is a lower ABV.

M - Medium-light bodied and smooth with a slight carbonation tickle to the swallow. Dry and sour astringency finishes it out.

D - It probably would have been a little bit better fresh but I can't see it changing all that much from the standpoint that it was in a cooler the whole time. It's not bad for a mild wild ale, it's probably just overshadowed by the saturation of good beers in this now-popular style.

12 oz. bottle dated 2/2010 poured into a pint glass

A- A nice red color with a three finger head the goes away quickly. When the head goes away it looks almost like soda.

S- A brunt caramel/toffee smell with a hint of grapefruit.

T- Different but good. The grapefruit taste is big up front, very sour, and finishes with the brunt caramel/toffee with a hint of bitter hops. Very smooth

M- Tons of carbonation and a little light.

D- This is just a really different funky beer that is very easy to drink and leaves you wanting more.

Bottle thanks to mntlover. Pours a hazy brown body with a small beige head that leaves some wispy lace.

Aroma is very subtle. Hints of toffee and sour green apples.

Light medium body with below average carbonation. Feels a bit thin.

Taste is sour Granny Smith apples with a hint of toffee. Kind of funky, for sure, but hard to identify any Brett. Tart and sour into the finish.

Very drinkable, very strange. I liked it but it's difficult to review in that it's so different from any wild or sour ales I've ever tried.

I have seen a few people criticize this beer for being 'average'. I personally was very excited when I heard MH was making a Wild ale. Whats even better is that it is in a 12 pack. Can anybody else fill me in where I can buy Wild Ales in a Twelve pack? Please, let me know because I will be alll over it.

Pours a copper penny amber with a respectable tan head at 4.5% abv.
Smell of light brett, biscuity flavors similar to #9, some pale malts, and a bit of caramel. A light aroma.

Taste of slightly bitter lemony sour, there is a minor hop presence, but just barely noticeable, possibly aged fuggle. Taste is light bodied , just the right amount of carbonation , and very drinkable. Extremely sour? No, but I would buy this in 6 packs if it were available at the same price point as other MH 6'rs and would stock up on it. This has been aging for about 4 months and has gotten slightly more sour IMO, I would definitely get more of these were they to come in six packs.

Pours a brown with amber hints foamy cream colored head that falls and leaves some sparse lace.

Aroma is malty, with good fruit notes doesn't really smell tart like it is. Molasses and sugary hints.

Taste is well different then most winter seasonal's. Starts out malty then turns flanderish if thats a word, more like a flanders ale then wild eh who knows. Malt is nice dry vinegary flavors at end are little strange.

Mouthfeel is medium and dry carbonation is nice and mellow.

Drinkability is not great not what i was expecting really.

A gift from an unlikely friend.

Appearance: Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a large flute glass. A hazy bland brown with a bit of murk to it. Half way through, what the hell, pour the yeast into it.

Smell: Smells of vinegar lightly, also some quite out of place chocolate malt.

Taste: Tart and roasted with a lingering acidity. A little earthy, chalky due to the yeast. Kind of like grapefruit juice. This is a weird brew. Sour Light? Roastedness, nutty, funk, acid. Sounds like a 70's frat party. Tastes like one too.

Mouthfeel: Sprizty carbonation, light bodied enough. Lingering bitterness.

Drinkability: One weird brew. Sour and tart. Light and even a bit quenching. Interesting stuff, but drinking more than one would be odd.

12 oz bottle poured into pint glass

A: Rich brown color with noticeable amber hues, cloudy, head reduces somewhat quick, off white and around .5 finger

S: Crisp clean malt flavors, with some unique hops, also a big sweet fruit presence

T: Pretty thin flavor, dominated by a sweet/tartness, cherries, but not quite as sweet, kind of like a combination of Wacko and #9

M: Tart, but not real dry, a tad less than medium in body

D: Ok, easy to drink but a little less than I was expecting

Notes: Magic Hat can make consistently better than average beers. However some of their fruity creations just don't sit that well with me. This beer is still not a bad beer, but for a wild ale, it is definitely very average.