Drunktoberfest Week 1: Magic Hat "Night Of The Living Dead"

Fall is now upon us and October has officially begun. For most that means they can pack away their daisy dukes and start planning their Halloween costume. For people like me though it's the time when you start cracking open some fall time beers. Whether it's an Oktoberfest or a Pumpkin beer no other season offers a better variety of seasonal brews. Last year Mark brought you a slew of pumpkin beers and still can't look at a jack-o-lantern without feeling tipsy so this year I thought I'd open it up to beers that are just mighty good to enjoy this time of year. Step up to the bar folks, it's going to be a fun month.

The first offering I bring you this year is Magic Hat's "Night Of The Living Dead", a mixed twelve pack that comes with four different beers: #9, Circus Boy, Roxy Rolles and Fall Odd Notion 2009. The first two have been around for a while. #9 is a pale ale brewed with apricots that you can find in your local hipster bar and Circus Boy is a Hefeweizen that will normally show up in the same bar around spring time. Despite the presence of established favorites, the Roxy Rolles and the Odd Notion are where the twelve pack shines. I'll focus on those last two, since #9 and Circus Boy are readily available and can be enjoyed year round.

Let's start with the Roxy Rolles. For a red ale it packs a surprisingly strong hop flavor along with a ton of caramel, like a classy candy bar with booze. Sounds good doesn't it? Be careful though this guy is pretty easy to put away. I downed a couple of these right off the bat and from there it was on like Donkey Kong. In fact I first found this twelve pack while down in Virginia visiting family. I was sitting in a room full of women planning a baby shower and before I knew it I had put away eleven of the twelve beers. Luckily my wife had one of the Circus Boy's or I really would have thought that I had a problem.

Then comes the Fall Odd Notion 2009 or as I like to call it, sex in a bottle. It's a chocolate stout that has such a rich flavor to it you'll need to get new dentures. Ir features big time dark chocolate notes with almost a cappuccino aftertaste. It's as good as that sounds, creamy if you will. Do yourself a favor, let it warm up a bit before you drink it. Having this beer ice cold won't do the flavor justice. Give it a few minutes to sit in the glass and you'll want to slap a pigs ass it'll be so good.

So there you have it. A great offering from a great brewery named after one of the all time classic horror movies. I'd suggest splitting the twelve pack with a few friends. I had a terrible morning after downing most of this mix alone and I wouldn't recommend it unless you plan on spending the next day on the couch hating yourself, which I like to call it Sunday. Good drinking my friends, see you next week.