Encore - Magic Hat Brewing Company

tavernjef

Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Unfiltered messy, mucky looking browned pear gold hue with a good medium sized capping of light puffy foam sitiing on top that lasts. Patchy lacing with some spotty sheeting etches across the glass as its consumed.

Aroma is of fresh hay-like/grassy hoppyness, quite fresh and resinous with a nice quality of floral leafyness that brings in a bit of fresh orange peel and tangerine citrus.

Taste has a nice firmness of pungently set hoppyness that's a bit citric and a bit dry and leafy all layered together with a pretty nice complexity. Lightly bready sweet in the malt backbone that comes through in mostly the ending areas of its character as the hops stick about the cheeks with a touch of bittering dryness pinched with dull orange peel.

Body is a firm mediumishness with a good balance and smooth character that allows the hops to get a good hold without completely blowing the palate off the map.

A solid IPA from Magic Hat, quite sessionable too.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2011 01:54:19 | More by tavernjef

mactrail

California

3.15/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Quite lovely in the tall Peroni glass, with plenty of head and a golden amber cloudy color. A nice mouthful of carbonation with a pleasant watery mouthfeel.

This stuff does indeed taste like an IPA, to the detriment of what start out as nice wheaty flavors. There is a fleeting hint of warm malt. The fruity esters get lost in the bitterness. The hops seems to be pretty much just the bittering variety. I can't get much aroma from this. This would be a workmanlike IPA for those who like the straight hop chaser, but to me, this blending of styles would work much better if it was like the Belgian-style IPAs where the yeasty and malty flavors are allowed to come through the bitter taste.

12 oz bottle from Bine & Vine in San Diego.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 05:10:51 | More by mactrail

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Magic Hat Encore

Pours a hazed straw, appearing like an unfiltered wheat beer with a soapy head. Aroma of lemon peel, citrus, herbs and hay. In the taste, wheat malt coming across almost tart, with a moderate bitterness and leafy, oily resins. Lemon, pine, small grapefruit. Not over the top, quite in balance with the wheat taking the lead. Comes off somewhat juicy, essentially a hopped up wit. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, well carbonated, little to no bite. Overall, a mixture of styles, a bit confused, but still decent.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 21:36:11 | More by Stinkypuss

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A real time review --entered as I drink, stream of consciousness-style. Poured chilled into a wilybecker purchased at Al's of Hampden in a mix six.

The color is a deep medium amber with slight golden accent like bourbon with a splash of water -the head is healthy looking, thick and rocky with lots of lace sticking like graffiti to the insides of the glass. The bead is pretty average and clarity is pretty translucent, almost see through which indicates some filtration.

The smell is very fragrant with a hop presence I can only describe as 'woody/earthy' the floral tinges are there, but the notes of aromatic bark seem to come to mind more than any other aroma with slight berry ester from the yeast and mild sweet malt, but mostly and English yeast ester with slight spice and mild pine/woody hop aroma.

The feel is highly carbonation and slightly light in body, but moderately bitter with mild smooth/oily feel and slight sweet /creamy texture from the malt with semi-dry finish with clean overall mouthfeel that is refreshing in a lightly astringent spicy kind of tangy yeasty way

The taste is like sucking on a twig with lots of earthy flavors which I am sure are a comingled ringwood yeast and english hop combination with slight herbal/piney flavors, and mild citrus which focuses more on lime with light astringent and bitter elements. I love the mild acidic taste that seems cushioned by the lightly sweet malt profile, the only thing is it seems to become vegetal and the yeast distracts slightly from the hop quality I enjoy here slightly.

This is something I like - a beer I didn't expect to enjoy, yet proved to be decent. I won't inflate it's goodness here, but it is an ok IPA if you have a hop craving. I think it is pretty middle of the pack reallly but there is something about this that is different which I admire

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2011 05:39:14 | More by Slatetank

kylehay2004

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: half finger head on a murky golden orange body. Nice lacing.

S: orange peel citrus, candy sugar, pale malts and earthy hops.

T: Nice earthy and citrus hop profile on a toasted malt backbone. Grassy and floral notes come in late in the finish and provide a nice bitterness.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation.

Overall: as I drank this I thought how great an APA this is. The hops are about right for that. Not so great and IPA though.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 00:00:42 | More by kylehay2004

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle, $1.69 as a single. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a hazy dark gold color with about an inch off-white head that sticks around for a little while. There's also a good amount of lacing left behind on the glass. Aroma is citrusy (grapefruit, lemon peel, tropical fruit) and pine hops, along with some bready malt. Taste is pretty much just like the aroma, it's mostly citrusy and pine hops, and some wheat and bready malt are noticeable too. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit sticky and has a good amount of carbonation. Overall I think it's a solid brew. It's not a great IPA, but one that's still worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 00:44:18 | More by bluejacket74

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.65/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

kind of a hybrid between english and american ipa styles in taste, but its a wheat ipa. it pours more like an amber, quite hazy though, with a little yellow glow, and a slowly fading white head. the nose is unique, lots of citrus hops, a little piney too, but with a bigger english caramel malt body, not sweet, but round and full. the flavor is the same, fresh bitter hops first, bready malts in the finish. a little of that grapefruit flavor carries through, as it still finishes crisp somehow, but this is more malt forward than most american india pales. the wheat i feel like isnt strong as a malt, but the yeast seems to be something more commonly found in a hefe than an ipa, which works great here. the feel is nice with that little bit fuller body, excellent carbonation, and a quick finish. this was my thanksgiving turkey smoking beer, and i had a fair few of them. expertly made this one. one of my favorite selections from the winter mix this season. id like to see more wheat ipas come around.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 22:16:11 | More by StonedTrippin

tdm168

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Hoyt for sharing this one.

A - bright orange with a big, white head that has great retention

S - wheat, spicy, earthy hops

T - wheat, spicy hops, peppery

M - medium bodied, smooth, well carbonated

This isn't a bad beer, but it leaves me wanting more. I liked the wheat presence and the balance of the hops, but ultimately it was simple and became boring. It would make for a nice session IPA. Anyone who is enjoying this new trend of wheat IPAs should probably try this if for no other reason than due diligence.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 01:56:25 | More by tdm168

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured a hazy copper which was kind of unexpected for an IPA since I have been having many clear ones, with an inch of fluffy head

S - Mostly pine and resin with a bit of citrus and malt. Smells kind of dry hopped.

T - Ow dry hopped is right! I am not sure what kind of hops were used but they leave quite a dry feeling on the palate. The taste is pretty balanced but mostly sweet citrus hops and a prickly pine bite that taste like fresh cut hops.

M - Pretty bitter and dry. Kind of hard to finish.

D - Well I loved the HIPA and dig the Lucky Kat but it seems like a dry hopping flavor from this IPA wasn't clicking with me. For reals I did kind of buy it for the cover art and it still is a pretty drinkable brew but one and done for me.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2010 06:32:33 | More by DrDemento456

Gmann

New York

3.93/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dirty golden color, unfiltered so it is hazy. The head is small and wispy, leaves some nice lacing.

The aroma is of a musty floral hop that has some grapefruit notes. Some lemony sourness. Kind of has a musty homebrewed IPA aroma.

The hops standout nicely in the flavor. Good floral, grapefruit, and pine flavors. This goes along with a lemony/lime flavor. The malt is pretty neutral and just provides a bready base to showcase the hops.

The feel is moderate with fizzy carbonation. The beer has a hoppy bitterness on the palate and finishes with an asprin like dryness.

A good hopped up American wheat ale. Definitely worth a sample.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2011 17:47:46 | More by Gmann

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a light brown color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of hops, a touch of citrus. Taste is piney hops up front, some citrus notes, a touch of wheat is present. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a pretty good beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2012 16:45:27 | More by tone77

Durge

Connecticut

3.95/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Found at Maggie McFly’s in Brookfield, CT as part of their modest craft beer list, this one shows a hazy yellow-tan color with a big fluffy head and decent lacing. The aroma gives off pleasantly sharp citrus wheat and mild floral toffee....not bad. The flavor brings bright citrus and woodsy wheat with a bit of a sunshine bite on the tongue. This is medium-light bodied with a crisp, refreshing feel that would be especially perfect for a summertime backyard refreshment. There is a slight aqueous quality but overall it offers full carbonation to fullfill each sip. I’m generally suprisingly pleased with this offering from Magic Hat and recommend it to anyone that enjoys a hop bite to their brews.

Serving type: on-tap

12-21-2011 00:55:39 | More by Durge

Metalmonk

North Carolina

4.38/5  rDev +20%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Quite a hazy IPA, which would seem to promise plenty of up-front hops. Color is a peachy orange/gold, the head is plenty creamy and long-lasting. Along with all that haze, it looks a right beaut.

Aroma is a wow-er, lots of bright, breezy, clean citrus fruit hops, like a tropical fruit punch spiked with lemon-lime soda. Malts are hard to discern, but there's a sweetness wafting into the nose that's sort of tart and candy-like, and I'll suppose that's them.

Taste is predominantly fruity, with big sweetness tempered by tartness. Tart, super-clean, bright hops are the name of the game here. There's a ghost of a resiny vibe in the background and in the finish, but this mostly remains a pungently fruity IPA. Encore never tips the scales in being too sweet or too bitter/tart, exhibiting a perfect balance. It's new-school for sure, as the malt and everything else is an afterthought, without the entire beer seeming one-dimensional. Ultra-refreshing, especially with a huge grapefruit blast hanging around in the finish. This is great.

A smooth, round, creamy texture is the knock-out punch that could've been but never was. This feels just a little too aggressive and prickly. Let the bright and breezy flavors deliver the electricity jolt, not the carbonation. Still, it feels fine enough, but I would've loved a softer feel here.

I repeat: this is great. I'm sure this would be a much bigger sensation if it were brewed by Deschutes or Alesmith or some such--and I'm not the biggest Magic Hat devotee myself--but gotta call 'em as I taste 'em, and this is a fantastic, fantastic IPA. One of this brewery's best-ever beers. I demand an encore, as in: "Give this permanent year-round status, Magic Hat!!"

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2010 16:38:11 | More by Metalmonk

ngeunit1

California

3.95/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours a hazy golden-amber color with a nice finer of frothy off-white head. The head had decent retention and leaves behind some lacing.

S - Strongest aroma is of the citrus hops. There is also a more broad fruity element to the aroma. Just a touch of floral hops also in the mix.

T - Starts off with a fruity/citrusy flavor with a lot of hops. The bitterness really kicks in around the middle. The finish has some nice floral hops and some nice hop bitterness with a touch of citrus lingering.

M - Medium to medium-light bodied with a medium to medium-high amount of assertive carbonation. Starts off really tingly on the tongue. The dry finish gives a nice crisp feeling to the beer. Just a tad watery in the finish.

D - Very drinkable. Overall, the taste is good, it could just use a little something extra in the mix. The elements that are there are fairly well balanced. Very crisp and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2011 22:28:04 | More by ngeunit1

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz Bottle from Wegman Syracuse NY for 2.50$

Appearance - Hazy copper colour with an above average size fizzy off-white coloured head. There is a fair amount of carbonation showing and there is some decent lacing. The head lasted for over 5 minutes.

Smell - Malts, caramel, hops, grapefruit

Taste & Mouth - There is an average amount of carbonation and I can taste caramel and malts mixed with hops. There is also some grapefruit and some candied oranges. It ends with quite a bit of hop dry hop bitterness.

Overall – Not really what I was expecting based on the style, but a good beer nonetheless. It basically tastes like a american pale ale/IPA, I don't really get the wheat aspect in the flavour. A good beer that I'd drink again.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2012 00:42:06 | More by spinrsx

mdaschaf

Washington

3.43/5  rDev -6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to connecticutpoet for this one!

A: Pours a hazy amber/orange color with a nice two finger off white head. Nice retention and leaves nice sheets of lacing.

S: Nice combination of citrus and pine. Definitely some grapefruit and a ton of orange and orange peel.

T: And this is where it falls flat. The flavor is ok, a little bit of citrus, some bready malt, and some wheat, but it goes to nothing very fast. It almost taste like juice, and not in a very good way. The flavors are fine, but very weak. Based off the aroma I had expected a little bit more.

M: Light bodied with good carbonation. At first it seemed like the mouthfeel was going to be pretty nice, but it goes thin very quickly.

O: Its ok, I had high hopes after the appearance and smell, but the taste didn't live up to it. Decent.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2011 00:57:17 | More by mdaschaf

claspada

New Jersey

2.65/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Aroma is straight citrus and grassiness from the hops mixed with a hint of clove and wheat.

The taste is all bitter, not detecting much malt (barley or wheat) The citrus and grassiness of the hops with only a hint of clove from the yeast. Really not enjoying this one, too much bittering hops and not enough balance in my opinion. Hard to stomach for some reason.

The mouthfeel is full of lingering grassiness and sticky resin. This beer lingers far too much for my taste. It shouldnt be a struggle to finish a 12 oz bottle, but this was...

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2010 20:19:02 | More by claspada

ktrillionaire

Florida

3.58/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Backlog review from perhaps a few months ago

Pours a copper-amber hue, and is capped with a respectable amount of off-white froth that resembles bisquick batter. Leaves a bit of lace.

The nose is lightly fruity, leaning toward tropical tangerine, grapefruit and kiwi. There is a sugar cookie sensibility in both the taste and aroma., The flavor follows the nose, and is really nice in terms of palate, but the volume and intensity is far too low.

Feels like IPA, a bit on the silky side. Pretty decent overall, just underperforming given all the positives it has.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2011 23:50:33 | More by ktrillionaire

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.78/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On the neck: Best by Jan 31, 2011.

Cloudy, peppery, burnt orange color, with an absorbent amount of carbonation, and about a finger of two worth of head with that retained itself nicely throughout the session.

S: Nice citrus bomb, with grapefruit hitting the nose first, followed by orange, wheat, and an entire lemon peel.

T: While there was some of that wonderful citrus juiciness on the front part of the taste, the aftertaste had kind of an unpleasant chalkiness, which killed the sweetness, muted the citrus, thereby making the booze more transparent. Bummer.

M: Like I said, it was a bit boozy on the finish and I wish there was more organic sweetness in general. The carbonation was spot on.

D: Not a bad IPA (MH said on their website that this is a Pale Wheat). While I really dug the nose, I was surprisingly disappointed by the taste. Still, this is better than a lot of Magic Hat's stuff.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2010 23:01:53 | More by Chaney

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours medium gold/orange with a big foamy head. Good head retention, some lace. Towering head and some bubbles in the glass. Pretty beer.

Citric hop aroma up front, some grain in the nose.

Hoppy up front, with grapefruit rind bitterness. Some wheat and unrefined bready notes. Bitterness creeps in at the end with a finish for the hops. The use of whet doesn't do much for me here - in fact it makes the brew seem like it is lacking something.

Carbonation and a medium body. A bit tingly.

Overall, not bad, but something I'd tire of fast. Grill beer or something to chase food with. Hops and bread, and not much else. But that is the nature of the brew. Still, it was ok.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 15:14:01 | More by OtherShoe2

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Golden tangerine color with a thin, clingy head. Cap says "don't eat with your feet." The previous cap said "live where you love and love where you live," which after ~9 years of drinking Magic Hat is the first cap I like.

Sharp pine aroma in the bottle settles into a passion fruity meringue hop in the glass. Twinkie malt. Smells good but I like stronger aromatics.

Tastes like orange sorbet with a pineapple acid bite. Good balance of prickly hop bitterness and juicy hop flavor. Wheat adds a mildy creamy dimension to the standard IPA mouthfeel. The ol' 1-2 punch of Simcoe & Amarillo never seems to fail.

Won't ever be confused for a West coast IPA but it's pretty bold by Magic Hat standards. A fine NYE libation.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 14:45:07 | More by donkeyrunner

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.93/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sampled on November 27, 2011. It has a hazy, pale amber pour with a long lasting head that has an ice cream shake-like foaminess. The aroma is solidly floral hops with a slight citrus note. Not much wheat considering they tout it as an American Wheat IPA on the label. Medium body. There is a powerful eruption of bitter hops in the taste. As far as IPA's go, it is a winner. But if this is meant to be a Wheat IPA it does not seem to live up to the marketing. Still, I liked it and found it easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 23:18:38 | More by puboflyons

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

After trying the Single Chair....I figured I better try the Encore...just to make sure everything is ok. The color is a lighter amber with thin white head. The smell has subtle citrus and pine. The taste has some decent hops but not over powering...Magic used a malt to tone down the hops so that it is not too crazy. This beer has a definite body to it which I really do like. The mouthfeel is good....I could drink this at any session. The name works...Encore....I'll have another!

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2011 00:09:19 | More by WoodBrew

alleykatking

Indiana

4.1/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 12oz bottle.

A- Pours a hazy golden orange color. One finger white head shows low retention and caps the beer. Ringy lacing on the sides of the glass.

S- Tons of citrus and lemony hops in the front of the beer. Light pale malts in the background of this beer. Ending has a light grapfruit aroma to it.

T- Nice light bitter hops in the front of the beer. Sweet pale malts in the middle of the beer give way to a citrus blast of hops in the backing of this beer.

M- Light medium mouthfeel. Carbonation is good for the style. Hops and more hops left on the palate with a little bit of alcohol in the aftertaste. Alcohol has light drying on the palate. Flavors were well blended with little off flavor.

D- This beer has a well hidden ABV. I was surprised that this came from Magic Hat but then again I'm not. It is good but a little watery at times...although once again this is Magic Hat so I wasn't that surprised.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2010 02:03:32 | More by alleykatking

AgentMunky

Alabama

4.22/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a pilsner glass. Best before 31 March 2011.

A: Pours very murky, like lots of yeast or sediment is present. Opaque yellow-brown, ranging from a maple center to honey edges. Little head, but decent lacing.

S: Citrus and pine. Hops.

T: A damn good IPA. Crisp and clean, not immediately flavorful. However, very quickly a subdued citrus carbonation comes flooding in hounded by hordes of hops. Malt is present enough to contribute to a brilliantly balanced beer that is a real pleasure to drink. Yum! The aftertaste is quenching, lightly tart and bitter, and moreish.

M: Firm; not quite bready or biscuity, but almost. Enjoyable.

D: One of the best IPAs I've had in recent memory. A shame that it's a limited time only -- this is one of my all-time favourite Magic Hat brews. Absolutely recommended.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2010 23:49:33 | More by AgentMunky