Encore - Magic Hat Brewing Company

zbkai189

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured from 12 oz bottle into pint glass. Off-white, thick (beautiful), frothy head that dissipates slowly. Opaque amber brew.

S - Grapefruit. Tingly, and spicy.

T - A lot like it smells. Lots of grapefruit. Smooth & slightly bitter finish. Medium-bodied but light enough to drink a few. Pale malt.

M - Tingly and smooth. Slight tang from the citrus.

O - Nice medium-bitter wheat IPA. The head is the best part.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2012 22:00:09 | More by zbkai189

searsclone

Arizona

2.83/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

bottle into a globe glass

opaque butterscotch color with a grayish whit head and good lacing

smell is pine and followed by a touch of butterscotch

taste is hops and that's about it.

watery mouthfeel with thin finish

overall, just average. for me, the only thing the wheat did was cause it to be hazy.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 02:19:33 | More by searsclone

beerthulhu

New Jersey

2.05/5  rDev -43.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A: A murky oxidized orange with a dirty bone covering shows little reistance and lacing. Small presence of carbonation. Was expecting a wheat ipa to be more pale in coloring but thats okay.

S: Nose was a bit of soapy oranges and citrus. washy delivery very weak in strength. Encore aroma is en-hiatus.

T: Again the flavor mirrors the nose with some washy, soapy, and detergent like flavoring. (he checks but finds no bottling info). Washed out oranges, bitter but not in a good way, more musky with a catty hint of greenery and moldy orange grinds. Starchy content, old mushy apples and citrus with some wheat and sweat (yeah you read right). Small warming of toasted grain and sour moldy hops leave an unpleasant aftertaste.

M: Wow no surprise here, washy mouthful, detergent like alkaline feel. A bright tart mention of oranges appears out of nowhere to turn to a sour moldy fade.

O: A total washout overall. Feel good about a solid 2.0 unimpressed rating here, has about as much wheat and hop character as i do sympathy for this. no encore sampling here.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 23:11:28 | More by beerthulhu

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

babaracas

Florida

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

Pours a hazy amber with two fingers thick of white foam, settles to a half inch with a few rings of lace down the glass. Smell: grapefruit, orange juice. Taste: grapefruit...rindy, spicy, light caramel sweetness, wheat 'twang'. Medium bodied, active carbonation into a drying finish. Decent.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 06:52:32 | More by babaracas

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

Zorro

California

3.15/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Chill hazed orange with a small white colored head, pretty average.

Smell is malt and hops with a distinct citrus edge to it. Scents of wood, tea and grapefruit. Smells a little woody.

Starts out semi-dry with a tea and wood after taste. Gets a little sweeter as you drink it but the flavor is mostly tea and wood with grapefruit oil, drinkable but could be more complex.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall an OK beer but not one I would buy often, better beer is out there.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 03:10:11 | More by Zorro

JG-90

New Jersey

4.3/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

bottle into chalice

A- hazy golden color, pours a 3/4" head which recedes to a small head and moderate lacing

S- Bready, citrus, hops, spicy, malt

T- Most noticable is a spicy hoppiness. Also nice citrus, malt, and caramel flavors

M- High carbonation, medium-full bodied, a bit of a bready feel

O- I really enjoy this beer, a good mix of wheat beer and IPA, my favorite Magic Hat brew tried so far

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 02:41:37 | More by JG-90

Shaw

Florida

3.6/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle supplied by the brewery.

A hazy amber after swirling the final ounces in the bottle. A short sticky head.

Mild herbal hop aroma. Too mild.

The taste is better. It's sharp and bitter with light bread flavors of a wheat beer. Citrus hop flavors too.

It has the puffy body of a wheat beer.

Overall it's pretty good. After the disappointment of the light aroma, this beer makes it up in flavor and body.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2012 03:26:45 | More by Shaw

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

mckenziac

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

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Samuel Adams Boston Lager glass. Taken from a Magic Hat "Winterland" seasonal variety pack.

Appearance: Pours a hazy, pale golden color. Has a large, foamy head that dissipates slowly and leaves some decent lacing.

Smell: Smells strongly of grapefruit hoppiness backed by some wheat and unfiltered yeast aromas.

Taste: Strong citrus hoppiness up front. Finishes wheaty and spicy with a nice hoppy aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and well-carbonated.

Overall: A well-made wheat IPA. I like the general idea of blending wheat beers with IPAs. Sam Adams does it slightly better with their Whitewater IPA, but Encore is close behind. Magic Hat's IPA series is pretty solid too and this is another worthy addition to that group.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2012 01:22:17 | More by mckenziac

Darkmagus82

Montana

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

Poured from bottle into pint glass

Appearance – Pours a hazy orange color with a one finger white head. The head fades rather fast, but leaves a decent level of lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is heaviest of a pine smell. Mixed with this are notes of a caramel and citrus sweetness as well as a lighter grapefruit and grassy hop smell.

Taste – The taste begins with a bready and light citrus sweet flavor. Mixed with these tastes is a pine hopiness. As the taste advances the sweetness fades and more pine hop comes to the tongue. More toward the end, other hop flavors of a grassy and grapefruit nature mix with the increasing pine hop and the decreasing sweetness, to produce a slightly bitter and drier flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the just above average side in terms of creaminess with the carbonation level being rather average. Pretty nice for the hop as well as the transitions from sweet to more bitter.

Overall – Rather easy drinking, starting out sweeter, but drying out and becoming more bitter toward the end. Not bad.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 01:43:08 | More by Darkmagus82

GilGarp

Colorado

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

12 oz bottle served cold into a goblet.

Encore is a very hazy golden orange color. The head is short and settles quickly but leaves some lacing.

Aroma is hoppy but not overly so. It has good freshness and nice citrus character but just isn't as aromatic as some.

Flavor is quite good and better than expected after the smell preview. Nice balance and depth of flavor. Not one that tears your tongue apart with bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium to light in body and nicely carbonated. Balanced for an IPA and easy drinking as well.

Overall I'm really impressed with this IPA. It isn't overly intense but it's very well made.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 04:30:44 | More by GilGarp

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.85/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pretty decent off white head falls into a nice lacing above a clearish rich well carbonated honey golden colored beer.

A big citrus, floral, and piney hops aroma with some sourness to it.

Citrus fruit with oranges dominating an otherwise dry taste with some hints of floral and pine characteristics to the taste.

A dry aftertaste with some of the hops taste sticking around on this medium bodied beer.

Pretty darn good bottle of beer, Encore, Encore.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 21:29:30 | More by LXIXME

Beaver13

Colorado

3/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle. Pours cloudy orange with red tint and a big meringue like white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is a bit subdued - wheaty malts, some fruity melon and maybe some rye.

The flavor is sweet bready caramel/crystal malts and some melon with a light to medium rye-like hop finish. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and kind of watery.

Overall, it's OK. Seems more like a pale ale than an IPA.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2012 04:18:06 | More by Beaver13

scvance

South Carolina

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

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a slightly hazy golden honey color, with a nice white layer of long lasting foam with good retention and cling. Aroma is of citrus, yeast, and fruity sweetness along with some caramel malty smell. Taste is rather bland for a "IPA" Not much in the way of bitterness at all, there's a good sweet malt character as well as a small citrus and earthy taste from the hops, and that's about it. Medium carbonation, medium low body, smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Overall not a bad beer, it's just not an IPA by any sens of the term in my opinion. Pale ale, it hits right on the head, but could still use some more complexity to the taste profile. I only happened to pick this up as part of their seasonal pack, so I'll be having at least 2 more, but after that, who knows. Good to at least try, just don't expect a hop bomb or anything too complex.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2012 23:21:22 | More by scvance

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

buschbeer

Ohio

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

12oz bottle
Served in a perfect pint

A - It is amber with several inches of eggshell head. A lot of sticky lacing.

S - The first thing I get is bread and biscuit, also some caramel malt and faded citrus.

T - The bitterness of grapefruit is still present. The bread and caramel also come through. I also get some toffee.

M - Moderate

O - It pairs well with "Encore" by Eminem featuring 50 Cent and Dr. Dre and "Encore" by Jay Z. It even sampled well with "Numb/Encore" by Jay Z and Lincoln Park.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2012 01:57:43 | More by buschbeer

Treyliff

West Virginia

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

A- poured in a pilsner glass, color ranges from a murky orange to a copper. Thin layer of white head sustains on the top with a bit of lacing on the sides.

S- Grass, pine, hop oil, tangerine, bready malt, butter and yeast.

T- Grassy and citrus hops with a bit of wheat, not much of a malt backbone. Finishes a bit dry with a slight hop linger.

M- med-light body, crisp foamy carbonation

O- hops seem to dominate with not much malt presence. Still very drinkable, just a bit unbalanced.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2012 02:43:32 | More by Treyliff

gatornation

Minnesota

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

from 12 oz bottle

A- pours a hazed peach color with a staying 1 finger head, some nice lacing lines the glass

S- was malt s first with grapefruit hops and baked bread

T- malty start with sweet caramel bread and floral citrus hops to follow

M- smooth medium carbonation with a noce hop/malt taste for the palate

O- a good IPA smooth and drinkable nothing fight for supremacy but offers a nice IPA to drink

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 21:11:44 | More by gatornation

barnzy78

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle, pours a hazy tangerine color with a fluffy, off-white head that holds good retention and leaves decent lacing on the glass. Aromas are wheat, earthy, citric orange, grapefruit, and lemon. Tastes are wheat up-front followed by grapefruit, mango, piny hops, and orange zest. Mouth-feel is thick and creamy, finishes with some bitterness, but still well balanced. Overall, nice take on a not so common wheat IPA style; reminds me of a home-brew I one did.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 03:01:52 | More by barnzy78

bnes09

Illinois

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

Translucent orange ale. Somewhat weak head. Descent retention and some lace spots.

Fresh orange, pine and coriander aroma with hints of malt in there as well.

Flavor is bright and fresh with hop characters prominent. Grapefruit, dish soap and pine needles describe the hops well. Malt is sturdy in the background and provides a mild sweetness which holds the brew together. Well balanced.

Medium bodied and quite drying from the hops. Plenty of lively carbonation.

Good stuff. I like the wheat IPA concept. Problem is its hard to detect the wheat characters underneath the aggressive hops. This beer allows just enough of the wheat flavor to come through.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2012 02:29:17 | More by bnes09

PDXHops

South Carolina

2.2/5  rDev -39.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

12 ounce bottle of indeterminate age poured into a La Chouffe tulip. Hazy amber with a nice soft and clingy head. Digging that lace.

Fresh bready malt and wheat aromas up front with subdued fruitiness in the background. Plenty bitter, almost to the point of astringency, but with little in the way of hop flavor to provide interest. Some faded leafiness and citrus. Rather lively in spite of being on the thickish side for an IPA, aided in part by the tang of the wheat and in part by zippy carbonation. I've run into a few wheat IPAs I liked pretty well, and I'm inclined to try this one again if I can be guaranteed of freshness. This particular sample, though, missed the mark.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 16:04:47 | More by PDXHops

thedoubler55

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into a pint glass.

A- CLoudy orange color that leaves about a finger of head at the top with some nice retention of lacing around the glass as you drink.

S- Simple nose, grassy and malty with hints of grapefruit and caramel.

T- Same as the nose, earthy with nice notes of tropical fruit and caramel.

M- Medium bodied with medium carbonation and a bit sticky.

O- Nice simple IPA, very easy drinking and taste pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 18:24:55 | More by thedoubler55

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.6/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- Honey colored, slightly hazy, with a big billowy white head. Lacing is decent.
S- Smell is decent with some grapefruit pith and light caramel. A faint bit of pine as well.
T- Fairly bitter up front with grapefruit peel. Quite one dimensional. There is a faint bit of orange in the finish.
M- Drying on the tongue. Coarse carbonation. Medium-light body.
O- This was a decent beer, but nothing particularly memorable. Also, considering it was advertised as having wheat, I missed that.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 01:43:32 | More by jsprain1