magichat: RT @MountMajor: Great article on the head brewer @magichat , another of the breweries we'll be riding to in June. #craftbeer http://t.co ...


It's 2012 and thus another election year. Every four years, we here at Magic Hat put out a special fall variety pak called Participation. With this selection of beers, we honor the democratic process of one voice, one vote with our quadrennial parters HeadCount.org. This year's Participation motivation was inspired by you. Over the years, we've ceased brewing many a beer to experiment with new ones. Each time, you've let us know (sometimes colorfully) that you want them back. This election year, we're giving you a chance to exercise your democratic voice by voting a beer into our Participation Variety Pak.

The first three months of each year are, by far, our favorite. Why? Because preparations for our annual Mardi Gras Parade are in full swing. This year's Parade is our 17th and will take place the weekend of March 2nd through the 4th. As usual, it's a huge benefit party with a conscience for HOPE Works (formerly known as the Women's Rape Crisis Center).

While we plan on partying hard for New Year's Eve in all 32 of the states in which we're distributed, we plan on partying a little harder in NYC. Hey, it's a big place. Our epic run, from December 28th through the 31st, coincides with an epic Phish showing at MSG. Before, during and after they kill the crowd, we'll be throwing some shindigs around MSG. Here's the skinny:
'Tis the season, as they say. And there's nothing quite like a deep, dark porter to celebrate it with. We had a feeling some folks would want something festively fitting of this time of year, and that's why we brought back our vanilla porter, Ravell. Perfect for a little extra warmth while sitting in front of the fire or for a little backyard construction project involving snow (whenever we get some).

Paste Magazine recently released their Top 50 albums of 2011. Tons of great music made it on the list, and many of the bands rocked the 2011 festival circuit. Paste was cool enough to add a jam from each album so we can spend the day with the headphones on, finger drumming. We want to know: What's your top album of 2011? Portugal. The Man. (pictured), Wilco, MMJ, Bon Iver, Gillian Welch...or another band entirely? To help you think, grab a few friends and a few bottles of the current IPA On Tour, Encore, and discuss.

We love music and we love beer. While we can't say that we were into the band Hanson (most of us were too old, or too far into Phish and the Dead by the late-90s), we're definitely intrigued by their new business idea. In a glorious play on their hit 1997 song "MMMBop," they've announced plans to produce an MMMHop IPA. While not the first musicians to experiment in the alcohol sciences, they are perhaps one of the bigger surprises.

Every year around Thanksgiving, we celebrate the oncoming winter season with the release of a very special libation, perfect for nights around a fire, be it indoors or out. Starting just after Thanksgiving, Feast of Fools will once again be available at the Magic Hat Artifactory. This holiday raspberry stout is a perfect combination of elements from several seasons. Its sweet raspberry flavor is perfectly balanced against the chocolate and coffee tones imparted by the roasted malts, and it's got just a hint of hops to round it all out.

Winter. It's cold, gray and seems, at least to those of us here in the Northeast, to last a lifetime. Luckily, there are certain libations that help us break the cabin fever and get us thinking warm thoughts. Encore is one of these libations. Back for its second season of frost-filled days and nights, Encore is the fourth performer in our IPA On Tour series, bringing with it bitter tidings that spawn memories of summer warmth. This warmth is mostly a result of its 6.4% ABV and its delicious grapefruit nose and taste from the Simcoe, Amarillo and Apollo hops we use in the brew (Simcoe and Amarillo dry-hopping as well).

Howl! Our inner void-warming black-as-night lager started going out the door just a couple of weeks ago. If you're not familiar with Howl, it's our take on the traditional German schwarzbier, or "black beer." The first schwarzbiers were brewed in the Saxony region of German way back in the 14th century. It's a style that's withstood the test of time, and for good reason: it's delicious.