By Jason Jugenheimer, Mahoning Valley Flight Crew

While you could argue he isn’t Houdini, Phill Reda keeps putting on his regularly scheduled magic show at Magic Tree. Each week he seems to pull another brewery out of his hat to provide suds satisfaction, and this week was no exception with the addition of Magic Hat Brewing.

Magic Hat Brewing in South Burlington, Vermont has been brewing up craft beer since 1994, pumping out up to 175,000 barrels of pure joy a year. You’ve seen their variety sampler packs and six packs at your favorite beer grab and go for so long you might have dismissed them in favor of other brands.

Do yourself a favor though, buy another ticket to the magic show and come back to the realization that they just make really good beer. The Mahoning Valley Flight Crew did just that and paid a visit to Phill and Sandy for the Magic Hat tapping.

Here are some of our thoughts:

Jim Cyphert

Big Hundo Imperial IPA, 9.0% ABV and 100 IBU

"I'm always pumped to go to Magic Tree to visit Phill and Sandy. But I was extra hopped up to learn that Magic Tree's Big Hundo was being served. I'm an IPA lover, and this one has high hop flavor with hints of citrus and pine - my favorite attributes of a beer. But this Imperial IPA also has a malty, sweet finish that really balances things out. A must try for the hopsters out there."

Roger Gillespie also shared his thoughts on Big Hundo

"On the advice of Flight Crew brother Jim, I made the call for the Hundo IPA. Jim said that with an IBU of 100 and an ABV of 9% that this was right up my alley. I was expecting a boozy hop slap, but in reality, this was an outstanding mellow IPA. It was an excellent choice."

Dave Shively

Magic Hat Circus Boy, Hefeweizen, 4.5% ABV and 15 IBU

Magic Hat's Circus Boy is a reminder of what a classic American style Hefeweizen should taste like.  This unfiltered beer poured out straw yellow in color, and delivered a dry, crisp, and tart flavor you might expect in this style of beer.   This is an easy drinking summer time wheat beer, which has a splash of lemon zest which comes through from the lemongrass used in the production process.

Joe Sanifilippo

Mother Lager, Euro-Style Lager, 5.0% ABV and 30 IBU

"Once again Phill and Sandy did not disappoint by bringing in Magic Hat Brewing. I ended up enjoying the Mother Lager, which is a Euro-Style Lager. This crisp tasting beer is brewed with Pilsner Malts, Nugget & Hallertaur hops. This is very good lager from Magic Hat Brewery that has a malty sweetness and little hop bitterness at the finish."

Jason Jugenheimer

Magic Hat #9, Not Quite Pale Ale, 5.1% ABV and 20 IBU

“If you’ve ever tried a Magic Hat beer before, chances are it was this one. Magic Hat #9 is probably their most recognized beer and really it might be their most versatile beer. It just seems to go with about anything at any time and is about as consistent a beer as you can brew. Its got a great profile and is a little mysterious in both name and taste. It employs a little dryness, a little apricot and a little hint of unusual taste on the palate. All of these things combine to reveal a great drinking ale.”

Stop in next Wednesday when Magic Tree is tapping some great Fat Heads beers.