Magic Rock come from Huddersfield in Yorkshire, a part of the country that boasts more than 140 breweries, about 10 per cent of the UK total.
In the five years since teaming up, founders Richard Burhouse and Stuart Ross have enjoyed praise, acclaim and solid sales as they took their hop-forward, modern, US-influenced beers to drinkers in Scotland, London, Scandinavia, US and the Far East. Their high quality beers and cool and quirky branding helping them to stand out amid some pretty intense local competition.
For a while, you could find their beers in a few select shops, but, explains Richard, a lack of control over the process (they contract bottled) left them frustrated so they focused on cask and keg. All that’s now changed, with Magic Rock rolling the first wave of beers off their slinky new canning machine, part of a significant investment in the brewery that has seen them move to a larger site and expand their staff to 28. It was just the two of them in 2011.
Magic Rock’s branding is clever and characterful, their names and look a playful nod to the carnival, while the beers themselves are big, bold and lively. As well as Magic Rock, illustrator Richard Norgate has worked with the band Arctic Monkeys and cyclist Bradley Wiggins, as well as Glasgow beer specialist, Hippo Beers.
Magic Rock have also notched up a few collaborations with breweries such as To Ol of Denmark, Evil Twin in the US and BrewFist of Italy. They worked on a beer with BrewDog a couple of years back, and say another collaboration with a Scottish brewer is in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, Magic Rock’s three new canned beers (Cannonball, High Wire Grapefruit and Salty Kiss) are available online and in good beer shops, and although Richard and Stuart remain tight-lipped about their next wave of cans, here are also a few suggestions …
Cannonball IPA (7.4%)
Creamy and smooth with a dry, fruity character, Cannonball is high in hops and alcohol. It’s fruity to the front, with a big delicious aroma of tropical fruits and resin. It slips through a slight spiciness, then a lovely wet finish, a full-bodied blend of bitterness and sweet citrus and orange on a toffee-covered malt backbone.
Highwire Grapefruit Pale Ale (5.5%)
This is all about the grapefruit. Sweet smelling and ripe, there’re caramelised notes here too, though lemon and orange flavours get a look in too. This is no fruity sour though. It’s a pale ale with deep bitter flavours reaching round the whole of your mouth. Amid this a fruity candy rush and flavours of rich tea biscuit malts.
Salty Kiss Gooseberry Gose (4.1%)
A light berry aroma, at least compared to the nose blasts from the other two, and hints of the sharp, fruity tang to follow. First flavours here are a tangy blast of sourness; tart, but not overpowering. This settles down soon enough and the berry flavours emerge as the sour drops off, leaving a salty wake atop a lager/pale ale style body.
Magic 8 Ball black IPA (7%)
If Magic Rock are taking requests for their next can, this ought to be high up the list. Magic 8 is a spectacular black IPA. Smooth yet solid, it offers up a big blast of tropical fruit from the new world hops, a light biscuit malt backbone, and a heart-quenching bitter finish.
Bearded Lady: Imperial Brown Stout (10.5%)
This is a beast of a beer. Rich chocolate malts, coffee and dark winter berries make this a decadent, velvety and potent imperial stout. Smooth and rich, there is a lot going on in this glass. Dig around for flavours of spices, prunes, vanilla, liquorice …
Rapture: Red Hop Ale (4.6%)
Heavily hopped with aromas and tastes of citrus and pine forest, marmalade oranges and grapefruit, with a robust malt body, Rapture is a typically well-made balance of sweet amber malts, new world hops and a big enjoyable bitterness.
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