How I review & Magic Hat Hex Ourtoberfest

With autumn firmly established and Halloween less than a week away, I have entertained myself by sampling a vast array of Oktoberfest and fall seasonal offerings from several domestic microbreweries.  First on the docket is "Hex" from Magic Hat Brewing Company located in South Burlington, Vermont. 

As this is the inaugural review,  I will explain my procedure. Typically, I do not fall victim to acronyms as I find them annoying and self-help like in nature (this is probably stereotyping, but most "acronym loving people" that I have crossed paths with are supremely bewildering), however, I do use one as an aid in tasting beer.  My method is FART. 

F - Features
-  This includes items such as Color, Head, Lacing, Clarity...actual visual features.

A - Aroma
- This is pretty self explanatory....How does it smell....Agitate and smell again.  Taste is approximately 75% smell, so I make sure to immerse myself in the aroma. 

R - Redolence
- Redolence is a fancy word for taste that I looked up in a thesaurus because I needed it to get the R in FART.  Taste includes several facets.   The first is Sip.  After getting a good smell of my beer, I take a first sip.  How does it taste on the tongue?  What are my initial thoughts...any particular flavors coming to the forefront?  Next is mouth feel.  I take a full drink and swish it around a couple seconds before swallowing.  Again I ask myself what flavors am I pulling out, how does it feel on the palate.  Lastly I take a full drink to get my back taste buds involved. I see each of these as very different, yet very important acts in fully tasting a beer.



T - Terminus
- Terminus is a Latin word that translates as end of a road.  Traditionally, in tasting circles this is considered "Finish."  Here I ask myself what thoughts are running through my head once swallowed.  Is it bitter, sweet, strong, overwhelming, etc...


There it is...That is how I or any contributors on this blog will be reviewing brews. 


Now for the actual review of "Hex" by Magic Hat. 

Hex is a seasonal brew available from August 1st through October 15th annually and has a 5.4% alcohol content.  "Hex" is Magic Hat's take on a traditional Oktoberfest beer.  

F - This was poured from a bottle into a 16 ounce pint glass.  The head was rather small (maybe a 1/2"), white, and disappeared fast.   There was no real lacing to speak of.  The color was a medium amber and very clear.  Features = 5 out of 10

A - The smell was good, a bit malty.  Once agitated, a hint of fruit and caramel released.  I am very excited to delve into the redolence portion. Aroma = 8 out of 10

R - The first sip was crisp and airy with the malt coming to the forefront.  Good carbonation,  The mouthful, was initially good adding slight fruit and caramel overtones.  It starts out sweet with hops soon taking control (but definitely not overpowering), then relenting back to the malt.  The first drink was pleasant with a strong malt flavor revealing hints of fruit and caramel leveraging to the hops, then back to malt with all flavors quickly fading. Redolence = 6 out of 10

T - The terminus (finish) was good.  The flavor goes away much quicker than I had hoped for, but the taste left in my mouth was good. Terminate = 7 out of 10

Overall - Magic Hat Hex - Rating 26/40 (65%)
- Overall I thought this was a very drinkable beer. It is not very complex, however it does seem to take you in different directions with the malt to hops back to malt roller coaster.  This doesn't annoy me like i know it would annoy some.  My major issue is with how quickly the flavor fades.  I would buy this again as it is very drinkable.  Overall I give Magic Hat "Hex" a 26/40 which is a 65%.  What do you think?