Magic Hat is a brewery that many individuals start with for the true introduction to craft beer. I know many of my friends that have tried Magic Hat #9 and have never looked back. This year, they brought us the return of the Blind Faith IPA at 6.2% ABV, a bit lower than the IPA-norm.

The Blind Faith poured a nice, golden-amber color in body with a slight haze from the yeast that is involved and topped generously with a full off-white foamy head. A nice lacing forms that sticks around as you enjoy this brew. The nose on this brew is wonderful, consisting primarily of heavy floral hops. The citrus tones here are orange zest and white grapefruit, providing a balance and slight complexity to the nose.

It seems like there is a good sense of citrusy hops up-front on the palate, which is to be expected with most IPAs. This brew shines through with the true, well-balanced taste of sweetness and bitterness that we’ve come to love in an IPA. The hops did run a little heavier on the citrus side in the mouthful with hints of grapefruit dominating, though this again is quite typical. The finish is soft and delicate with a great medium-bodiedness and pulls in some earthy spiciness to coat the mouth.

The Blind Faith is fantastic and really hits all the great aspects of a traditional English IPA, which is what we’ve come to expect from Magic Hat. If based on drinkability and how smoothly this goes down, it would be almost off the scale. While this beer in particular may not be the gateway beer for non-craft beer drinkers, it certainly may be the one to get them into IPAs.

Overall: 9/10