Magic Missile

During my first visit to Toronto's Halo Brewery, a small and comfortable space near the Junction, they were in the process of rolling out bottles of Magic Missile, a dry hopped pale ale. The stuff was bottled and on sale, though hadn't yet gone on sale on tap. Exciting times!

At 5.5% and sold in 500mL bottles Magic Missile had enough oomph to solidify my buzz (or to wreck a less frequent drinker). The stuff was ruddy gold, hazy, and poured with a thick layer of off-white foam. It had a genuinely luscious aroma rich in passion fruit and grapefruit notes. The flavour was quite effortlessly balanced between sweet juiciness and tart/bitter citrus and hops.

My complaints were pretty minor: the beer was a bit too sweet, and the IBU count could have reached a bit higher. However, my praises were many and fairly enthusiastic. I thought that Magic Missile was a really solid offering from a brewery that, it appears to me, tends toward the unorthodox. This one was a bit more between the lines, but brewed with skill and quite delicious.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.