Hello there fellow beer lovers,

Welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists, last weekend we were on the road again! this time we visited the Magic Rock Tap room in Huddersfield!

Magic Rock was founded in 2011, and is heavily influenced by the vibrant US beer scene. They describe their beers as a marriage of locally brewed British heritage beers and that of our cousins over the pond, and beyond, which creates a beer that is flavourful, vibrant, satisfying and consistent.

We arrived via Train, at Huddersfield station, and from there it was a simple 15 min walk (10 minute march) in a straight line to the tap room. Where we were greeted by a large outdoor area, and the delicious smells of burgers from the visiting stall that they had on (a little more about them later)

But what about the beer?!

They had 13 beers on Tap/Cask and a fair few more in the fridge as well. In true Eternal Hoptimists fashion Sam was quick to get a flight of 6 to get the tasting on the roll.

Name : RingMaster, Original Pale Ale (3.9% ABV)
Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing
Price: £3.40 a Pint
Aroma : Very mild gentle hop, and a slight hint of citrus.
Appearance : Clear, Orange squash with a white head
Body: Light Bodied, well carbonated, medium head retention.
Taste : Very refreshing, and has a nice subtle hop

This one was a very good thirst quenching session ale, it wasn’t big on flavour, but it had a strange moreish quality to it.

Rating : 3.7/5.0

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Name : Stiggy Pop, NEIPA (7.3% ABV)
Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing
Price: £6.50 a pint
Aroma : Scent of mellow grass, followed by a gentle hop.
Appearance : Cloudy Honey, with a thin white head.
Body: Medium bodied, well carbonated, poor head retention.
Taste : Quite a complicated pallet, very refreshing, and a slight medicinal tang to finish.

Rating : 4.1/5

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Name : Saucery, Session IPA (3.9% ABV)
Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing
Price: £4.40 a Pint
Aroma : Slight hint of citrus, mellow hops and a hint of malt.
Appearance : Opaque orange squash, with a thin white film head
Body: Medium bodied, well carbonated, poor head retention
Taste : Biscuity like pallet with a strong twist of citrus, and a mellow hop draw
Not a bad pint at all, i can see why this is one of their most popular session ales at the moment, very refreshing and quite moreish to boot.

Rating : 3.8/5.0

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Name : Fantasma, Gluten Free IPA (6.5% ABV)
Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing
Price: £6.00
Aroma : Strong grapefruit scents with a hoppy undertone.
Appearance : Clear Apple Juice, with a thin white head.
Body: Medium Bodied, well carbonated, good head retention.
Taste : Juicy Grapefruit, followed by a strong backing of bitter hops.

This was a very Juicy mouthful, with hops that makes your mouth water.. very moreish maybe the best pint of the day?…

Rating : 4.2/5

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Name : Dark Arts, Surreal Stout (6.0% ABV)
Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing
Price: £5.00
Aroma : Roasted coffee, and dark chocolate, with a hint of dark fruits.
Appearance : Very Dark, slight red tinge to it, with a mocha coloured head.
Body: Medium to full bodied, well carbonated, smooth mouthfeel, but poor head retention.
Taste : Deep smokey coffee with a twist of dark chocolate with a tingly hoppy finish.

Complete contrast to all of the others.. god I loved it, if I didn’t have to get myself home, and also finish off the other 6… I would have had another!

Rating : 4.3/5.0

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Name : Murk-Life Balance, Hazy Pale Ale (5.0% ABV)
Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing
Price: £4.80 a pint
Aroma : Heavy Lemon & Citrus scent with a very mellow hop.
Appearance : Hazy Lemon, with a white head.
Body: Medium bodied, well carbonated with a thin white film
Taste : Very mellow citrus, and a refreshing hop.

Didn’t deliver the taste I was expecting, it was quite intense on the scent, but the taste was surprisingly mild, still refreshing like most of the beers we have had today, its been a myriad of summer tipples.

Rating : 3.0/5.0

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‘Food?!? Did someone say Food?..’

Magic Rock Brewing often has a guest food vendors, and at the time of our visit Alley Cats were flipping burgers in the outdoor seating area, they had number of burgers, and fries available… but I love me a fil reference.. so when I saw that their Blue Cheese burger was dubbed the Elwood… I had to had one.. and look at this majestic beast.. it was well worth the money, and the wait!

Cheers lads!

So I think its safe to say we had a good time, and I am really looking forward to getting out there somewhere new soon! If anyone has any suggestions on where we should visit next let me know in the comments or drop us a tweet!