Friday, March 21, 2008

Beer Review: Magic Hat's Lucky Kat















As I mentioned in a previous post, Magic Hat is one of my favorite New England breweries, so when I saw that they were coming out with a new year-around beer (OK, I subscribe to their newsletter, alright?), I had to give it a shot. Lucky Kat is an IPA, and though the beer's details can be found here, what you really need to know is that it weighs in at a hefty 58 IBUs. To put that in perspective, #9 scores an 18 on the same bitterness scale.

And man, can you taste the B in those bitter units. As I get older, I find my tastes (and perhaps personality) veer more and more away from the sweet and towards the bitter. I prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate, and the IPA has gone from one of my least favorite beer styles to a near-favorite. I was surprised that Magic Hat was coming out with this since they already have their seasonal hI.P.A. in the spring, but Lucky Kat packs a bigger hops whollop and is really the bolder beer.

On the first sip, the hops crashes into your tongue--instantly refreshing. There's not much lingering flavor here, no big surprises. This beer is bringing one flavor to the table, and it does that well. It doesn't warm particularly well, however, so I would drink it relatively quickly or keep it well insulated.

I find that a fairly strong IPA like this one can kill the flavor of most foods, so when I have something this bitter I tend to pair it with something pretty spicy. In my case, I was eating pizza with a good dose of hot sauce, and they went together quite nicely. If you're trying to savor something with a rich but subtle flavor, I'd avoid a beer like Lucky Kat.

Verdict: very drinkable (if you're into IPAs), like popping a Warhead in your mouth, but bitter instead of sour.

3 comments:

Nicholas Foley said...

some days, it is only the thought of an after-work IPA that can get me out of bed in the morning.

sir widget is feeling a summer brewery tour of the NE. there's a lot great IPA brewers up there...

EJP said...

Indeed there are. Besides Magic Hat and Smuttynose, there's also Harpoon, Redhook, Otter Creek, Long Trail...and that's not to mention all the private brew pubs (there's an excellent one two blocks from my apartment).

Boston is a beer city. That is all.

Nicholas Foley said...

one on my list to visit: Weyerbacher! high gravity experts. it's beautiful.

ok: what do you think is the best IPA for the money? i would say Redhook Longhammer IPA - hands down. we are now finally getting the 12 pack cases of it down here. however, im still looking for the intravenous bag version...