President of Beers: #13

#9: Magic Hat Brewing, South Burlington, Vermont

We're drinking the flagship craft beer from every state in the Union, counting down from 50-1, to find which is home to the President of Beers.

#13 #9: Magic Hat Brewing, South Burlington, Vermont

State: Vermont and its neighbor New Hampshire are frustratingly similar-looking, but it turns out there's more to the state than costing people points on geography quizzes. Vermont is the second-least populous state in the union. It is also the only member of New England that is not bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. Montpelier is the smallest capital city in the country. Vermont does, however, have more breweries per capita than any other state and is the nation's leading producer of maple syrup.

Brewery: Magic Hat began in 1994 and has since grown to become the sixth largest craft brewery in the country. Along the way it purchased Pyramid in 2008—which is why Pyramid did not represent Washington in the President of Beers—and was purchased by the purveyors of Genessee Cream Ale in 2010.

Beer: #9, dubbed a "not quite pale ale," is the most popular beer from Magic Hat. It finished with a remarkably high score in the election for an ale with a 48 on RateBeer and a 78 on Beer Advocate.

Difficulty of Obtaining in Oregon: Moderate. Magic Hat mostly only distributes east of the Rockies, but it can be found in a few stores in California or ordered online.

Rating: 71.5

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Click on a state to read more President of Beers posts:

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