Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont • Hacker News Board

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#11

Post by dimitrios1 » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:27 PM UTC

cactus2093 wrote: post #8

nkozyra wrote: post #5

I think while Magic Hat holds a place in the craft beer renaissance story, much of the regional beer from that era was unremarkable. The idea that it was better than the macro beers stemmed largely from the experimentation and derivation from American adjunct lagers. As the smaller, more rabid craft beer industry grew from the late 90s, bigger regional brewers like MH never really evolved. Some of that might have bee…

There's certainly something to the increased competition in the craft brewing space and they seem not to have kept up, but I don't really follow your comparisons. By American adjunct lagers, I assume you mean budweiser, coors, etc? Maybe Magic Hat also made a lager but I was most familiar with their #9 which was a floral, light IPA that was definitely a big step above a cheapo lager. And the article is saying that if…

Magic Hat #9 was delicious. I miss it. I always assumed it was freshness that was a key taste differentiator as well. I figured a case of Budweiser or Miller was more likely to have been on the shelf for many months to possibly years as it worked its way through the supply chain and existing retail inventory. That's why the big 3 did a big "Born On Date" advertising campaign because at one point they were getting hammered by that.

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#12

Post by seibelj » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:28 PM UTC

corporateslave5 wrote: post #7

jdhn wrote: post #4

Wow, this is such a throwback. Along with Hoegaarden (pre-Inbev acquisition) and Harpoon's UFO White, #9 was one of my first forays into craft beer. That being said, it's been years since I've seen any Magic Hat on a shelf. Perhaps I'm not looking hard enough? Either way, here's hoping that Magic Hat makes a resurgence!

There’s a trick to #9. It is 10x better freshly brewed! I went to the magic hat brewery and had #9 there. The taste was so much better, you could tell it was due to the freshness. It ruined the beer for me though, because now I know what I’m buying off the shelf is a bit old.

Most beers are better at the brewery IMO, and most beers are better on draft. One beer I especially like in a can is Boddingtons because of the CO2 capsule that makes its pour quite similar to a draft beer. I think a few other beers have the same innovation. I believe I’m the only person at my local package store who buys it, as they order very little and I always seem to buy the last couple 4-packs.

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#13

Post by corporateslave5 » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:35 PM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #12

corporateslave5 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a trick to #9. It is 10x better freshly brewed! I went to the magic hat brewery and had #9 there. The taste was so much better, you could tell it was due to the freshness. It ruined the beer for me though, because now I know what I’m buying off the shelf is a bit old.

Most beers are better at the brewery IMO, and most beers are better on draft. One beer I especially like in a can is Boddingtons because of the CO2 capsule that makes its pour quite similar to a draft beer. I think a few other beers have the same innovation. I believe I’m the only person at my local package store who buys it, as they order very little and I always seem to buy the last couple 4-packs.

Right, but I think because it’s an apricot beer, the freshness has more of an impact on taste than other beers. Just speculating

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#14

Post by ejvincent » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:36 PM UTC

nkozyra wrote: post #5

I think while Magic Hat holds a place in the craft beer renaissance story, much of the regional beer from that era was unremarkable. The idea that it was better than the macro beers stemmed largely from the experimentation and derivation from American adjunct lagers. As the smaller, more rabid craft beer industry grew from the late 90s, bigger regional brewers like MH never really evolved. Some of that might have bee…

Stagnation of 90s era breweries that started out strong is something I've seen play out on the west coast as well: Bridgeport (Portland), Hales Ales + Pyramid (Seattle), Redhook (Woodinville).

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#15

Post by polygotdomain » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:36 PM UTC

As a craft beer lover, I'm really at odds with what to think about where the scene is today. There are so many breweries out there that are brewing some really great beer and coming up with some interesting styles. In many places there's a recapturing of what I'd call "beer as place" with beirgartens, brew-pubs, and breweries themselves having a more open and inviting experience to hang out and drink beer. It's tasty, fun, and enjoyable.

But there are downsides to all of this as well. The market is SUPER trendy, and breweries have the choice of either jumping on the bandwagon of the style-du-jour or being left by the wayside. Because there are so many breweries and they are so young, the overall quality is just okay with maybe one beer being notable and the rest being slightly sub par. Then you have this issue of investment firms and bigger conglomerates buying up successful microbrews and sucking the life out of them.

I love beer, and in many ways you could say that the American beer scene has never been better. But that doesn't mean that there aren't dark sides to all of that. I drank plenty of Magic Hat over the years, and it's a shame that there are certain names out there (Goose Island is one that comes to mind) that used to stand for a solid craft brewing operation that are now just marketing veneers on top of investment bankers and big corporations.

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#16

Post by grasshopperpurp » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:41 PM UTC

polygotdomain wrote: post #15

As a craft beer lover, I'm really at odds with what to think about where the scene is today. There are so many breweries out there that are brewing some really great beer and coming up with some interesting styles. In many places there's a recapturing of what I'd call "beer as place" with beirgartens, brew-pubs, and breweries themselves having a more open and inviting experience to hang out and drink beer. It's tasty…

I used to be really into discovering beers, but I usually just drink Founders All Day IPA these days, with a German Pilsner as a backup. There are only a couple months out of the year here in Florida where I'd want something that over 5%, though.

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#17

Post by ErikAugust » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:46 PM UTC

Vermont today has much better beer than Magic Hat (even at its height). They tried a lot of different stuff, and most of it just wasn't very enjoyable. What Magic Hat did have was beautiful marketing and wider distribution.

It has to be partially by choice, but The Alchemist and Lawson's make some of the best beer I have ever had, but they are both impossible to find outside of New England and a few parts of New York.

I recently moved back to Vermont, and one of the first things I did was purchase Heady Topper. Even less than five miles from the brewery, it was hard to find!

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#18

Post by pessimizer » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:53 PM UTC

nkozyra wrote: post #5

I think while Magic Hat holds a place in the craft beer renaissance story, much of the regional beer from that era was unremarkable. The idea that it was better than the macro beers stemmed largely from the experimentation and derivation from American adjunct lagers. As the smaller, more rabid craft beer industry grew from the late 90s, bigger regional brewers like MH never really evolved. Some of that might have bee…

I think that small breweries were caught up in the same trends that were going on in (hipster) food in general: it's easier to be incomparable than to be good. I don't know what to compare an apricot beer to, so I don't know if an apricot beer is a good apricot beer. If I'm the type of customer who is attracted to the high-concept of an apricot beer, when I get sick of it, I'm not going to find another apricot beer, I'm going to find another high-concept beer.

If somebody makes a standard porter, not only are they going to lose that high-concept audience, but if it's bad, people are going to know it's bad and not blame it on their own palate. You'd better have a very wacky label or name.

Using a porter as an example here is even strange, though, because aside from the high concepts, a vast majority of these beers are labeled IPA and virtually indistinguishable from generic lagers aside from possible hoppiness and their high concept.

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#19

Post by fastball » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:56 PM UTC

bluntfang wrote: post #3

freefal wrote: post #2

#9 is one of my favorite beers so I was bummed to see the title of this HN post. Reading the article it sounds like production is just being moved to Rochester though.

>production is just being moved to Rochester though. I don't think this really captures how important small business is to Vermont. This is likely culling a lot of jobs across the whole supply chain that locals rely on to survive.

I think GC was more referring to the "fall" in the article's title. This might be bad for Vermont, but it's hardly the "fall" of Magic Hat.

Re: Magic hat leaves behind a transformed craft beer industry in Vermont

#20

Post by tarentel » Wed, Jul 01, 2020, 5:58 PM UTC

ErikAugust wrote: post #17

Vermont today has much better beer than Magic Hat (even at its height). They tried a lot of different stuff, and most of it just wasn't very enjoyable. What Magic Hat did have was beautiful marketing and wider distribution. It has to be partially by choice, but The Alchemist and Lawson's make some of the best beer I have ever had, but they are both impossible to find outside of New England and a few parts of New York…

Lawson's started brewing at Two Roads in CT and got a distributor in CT and it's been a lot easier to find at least here in NJ within the past year. I also recently got Heady and Focal down here but I am not sure where the distributor got it from or if it was a one off thing. You probably already know about them but Hill Farmstead is my favorite in VT. I used to go there a few times a year when I lived closer by.