Magic Hat: Humdinger Burnpile

Another beer that I got for Christmas was from the Humdinger Collection of Magic Hat Brewing. I still have quite a few Beermas beers and I should probably get working on them since a couple happen to be seasonal. Anyway, I have no idea what a Humdinger is or what this collection was about. I originally thought that was the name of the beer but once I actually payed attention to the bottle I discovered that it is Burnpile, a Smoked Porter. They even promise that there is, A Performance In Every Bottle.

A Humdinger is a very special breed of Magic Hat. Sometimes in 750ml bottles, sometimes only on tap at the Artifactory, Humdingers appear when our brewers want them to appear. Beers like Braggot, Thumbsucker and Chaotic Chemistry are all of the Humdinger species. They're of a single batch and are very limited. But it's worth the suspense if you can get some on your tongue.

I have not had many beers from Magic Hat. I thought Number 9 was alright and I plan to revisit that one fairly soon. I picked up their IPA collection and there were a few of those that were alright but nothing really stood out to me. One that I really want to get my hands on is the "Heart Of Darkness". Not because of anything I heard about the beer. I just want to drink an "Art Of Darkness", "Tart Of Darkness", "Heart Of Darkness", and a "Darkness" if I can get my hands on them. Though, it seems like it will be nearly impossible in some cases.



Smoked Porters are a style that I have had limited experience with and I am trying to seek out. I had a good one from Stone and it's variations and an American Style Smoked Porter from Belgium, Viven. So, I was kind of looking forward to drinking this.

This beer poured a deep black with a quick fading brown head. There was some smoke on the nose but it seemed a bit off. It was a fairly light smoke at that. I think it seemed like more of an off scent that an intentional one. What really caught me off guard were the first sips. This beer was thin as all hell. I was expecting a lot more body. This was pretty much like drinking sweet, roasty water.

You get some dark fruits in here. I cannot exactly put my finger on what... I was thinking plums but it was not that sweet. I also think it was a bit metallic. This is not what I was expecting out of a Smoked Porter. Hell, this is not what I was expecting out of a Porter. I'd give this beer a 2/5. I think it missed all of the key points of the style even if there were issues with my bottle. I was just expecting more.

Cheers!