Tuesday Night Tasting - Magic Hat Brewing Co: Vinyl Lager Spring Seasonal

Magic Hat Brewing Co. – South Burlington, VT Vinyl Lager Spring Seasonal 5.1% ABV, 16 IBU, available January 15 – March 31

Although this is the first official review for a Magic Hat beer, we are well versed in the offerings of Magic Hat. They tend to have great seasonal mix packs, and the Vinyl is a decent addition to the seasonal line up.

This Lager pours a medium golden-brown, highly carbonated brew. It only has a moderate to light thickness on the white fluffy head, and it fades into the body fairly quickly. Vinyl features a nice pale, malty aroma. It also has traces of light hoppiness, which is lightly fruity. It is fairly low on the IBU scale, clocking in at 16, so there are no real overtones of bitterness here in the beer.

The Vinyl has a subtle maltiness, but it is somewhat crisp due to the carbonation level. It has a nice clean finish, is gently sweet, with a slight brown sugar finish. The mouth feel on the beer is medium to light, and finishes rather dry.

It only has a slight aftertaste, which is neither unpleasant nor pleasant…we were pretty neutral on it. The drinkability level clocks in the moderate to high level though. The ABV is at a decent level and is balanced with the flavor and body of the beer. It has a fairly different flavor than say a Samuel Adams Boston Lager, but is a decent beer.

The Vinyl is about to go on hiatus until next January, but if available in a six or twelve pack I would likely pick one up as it’s a decent offering.