Brewery
Date and time reviewed: Tue, 08 Nov 2016 22:01:09 EST
Overall Score: 43.3
Selection: 2.5 | Service: 3 | Atmosphere: 1 | Food: N/A
Reviewer: Curmudgeon
Wife Persimmon and I once did a comedic magic trick in a vaudeville show for several years. One of our personal favorite oleos was an illusion about a magic hat, which never worked.
So when we traveled into Vermont on our one year sabbatical around the country and found the Magic hat Brewery, we had to stop.
It was a bit un-settling.
The parking lot was being re-surfaced so we had to go “in” the “do not enter” space to park, make our way around the tar being poured to the front door will a sign reading “Artifactory.”
This is a brewery?
Yep.
Once inside, your senses are immediately on over-load with all the merchandise available; everything from growlers to flip-flops emblazoned with “Magic Hat” in case you wondered where you bought the stuff, years from now, when it’s gathering dust in some attic / garage space you’re trying to clean up.
There is no beer here. Well, there is free beer; 4 tastes per person but they don’t have a “pour” license so you can’t sit…because there is nowhere to sit…or stand and have a brew. You can buy a bottle(s) of your favorite, or have a growler filled but I would not classify this as a friendly place to spend a couple of hours talking with fellow beerophiles.
The young men at the bar were very friendly and offered some good advice on where to get a fine dinner in Burlington and for that alone, they deserved a nice tip.
But when I visit a brewery, I like to sample the atmosphere as much as the product.
So, I guess I did at that. Sample both.
Neither impressed me much but Magic Hat is carving out a name for itself in the upper New England area.
Good for them…but the reasons escape me.
Source:Magic Hat Brewing Company