It seems Red Sox Nation (bless them all, every one) also has an individual who goes by “The Voice.” This puts me in a very difficult situation, as I've filed the paperwork to have my name legally changed to The Voice (it wasn’t so much a willing filing, as it was a stipulation in my hiring. The company wanted to make things more “genuine”). But to hear, that out of all the other organizations in the world, Red Sox Nation has their own Voice…this has engaged me in an intense moral struggle.

For years, the Red Sox have been source of joy and pain for me. In 2003, I thought I’d leave the realm of baseball fandom forever, but as soon as the first pitch in 2004 was thrown, I was entranced once again. That, along with the sweet sounds of Jerry Remy’s sultry voice, made me realize I could never leave behind my obsession with the Sox.

And now this. Another Voice.

Well, Voice of Red Sox Nation, you’ve given me no other choice. I challenge you to a duel! A Voice-Off! I don’t know what this will entail, but it will be EPIC. If I win, you give me Red Sox season tickets, directly behind home plate. I’ve seen the same auburn-haired man there for years, and while I admire his locks, it’s time he gave up his seat. You have the power, Other Voice. If I lose, I’ll send you a Magic Hat shirt, and maybe some other stuff. I have the power.

Voice of the Nation 

  What do you get when you put several super smart German engineers in the Magic Hat brewery with a disassembled brew tower?

 

To get everyone amped for Super Tuesday, we're putting on a huge Election Eve Party in NYC (in case you haven't heard). If you can't make it, that's okay, because we'll be broadcasting the show online! Check it out! 

And, as a reminder, VOTE TOMORROW! 

You have but one chance every four years to vote for a President (and to drink Participation!) and to vote on crucial state and local issues. This isn’t about the beer though. This is about exercising your most important right as a citizen of the United States. Make the change you want to see, and exercise your right to CHOOSE! If you're into voyeurism, voting is for you! The eyes of the world rest upon thee! Make sweet, sweet love to that ballot box tomorrow. Vote like you've never voted before, like it's the last time you'll ever do it! Make it count! And when you're done voting, put back a nice cold Magic Hat while you wait for the results. Unless it's 7am, then maybe wait a little while. At least until noon.

Hey there…my name’s Sarah Beal. I’m a recent college grad, who grew up 20 miles due-south of the Artifactory. Now I’m back in Vermont… and loving it. As one of the hand-picked Magic Hat unpaid PR minions, I get to see the inner-workings of Magic Hat…and if it wasn’t so incredibly hush-hush, I would let you in to the party. Jealous? You should be.

It’s no secret that Magic Hat’s high holy holiday is Halloween, and it’s right around the corner. This year, we’re hitting hard the east coast of America and, with the help of dozens of bars and restaurants, we’ll be throwing some of the sickest Halloween bashes you ever seen!

Magic Hat drinkers the country over are oozing ounces of cranial creativity. Here's your chance to show us what you've got!

We've teamed up with Small Dog Electronics and we want to see your creative concoctions! Send us your video ode to winter and include in it yourself, someone else, something else and a dog. The subject and method of motion (or stop-motion) is up to you, but it must include a furry four-legged friend of the canine persuasion. If we like what we see, we'll send you your very own hi-def video camera, courtesy of Small Dog and Magic Hat! Mint!

No need to freak, we've got some examples of videos past posted on our own YouTube Group if you're experiencing a little filmer's block. 

Now that you're armed with knowledge, go! Perform acts of unbridled winter video valor. Show us what you've got and win! For complete details of the contest, hit up our Footage of Fools Site.

The Letter: 

“This June Rex, our dog, was feeling a little poorly and a trip to the vet, followed by an x-ray, revealed a bottle cap lodged in his stomach. Three giant barfs later, helped along by some medicine to encourage his efforts, what should we find but a rusted cap, the crimped edges looking like lace, but with a clear message "Lend your ear to someone who's dear" inside the cap. Rex eats everything and anything, so that's no surprise. The curious part is how your cap found it's way to the western PA town of Sewickley. Rex came from a shelter in another small town nearby, Kittanning, in October 2001. Before that, where he was is anyone's guess. We estimate his age as ten. A truly fascinating story.”

Fascinating indeed. Upon reading this and emailing it to everyone I know, I replied to the author of the letter and offered her a Magic Hat dog collar, thinking that maybe Rex would like a little reminder of what he overcame. Sadly, I have yet to hear back from her. MC, if you're out there, your pooch has some plush doggie knits waiting for him. We're glad he made it. 

 
This past Saturday, Brian Kapschull's friends and family gathered together at the Magic Hat Brewery for an afternoon of remembrance and celebration of his life. Stories of friendships and hijinks were shared under a perfect blue sky, and the dedication of a Brewer's Hall of Fame was announced, with Brian as the first inductee. No one is more deserving of such an honor among our or any brewers. If anyone would like to make a donation in Brian's memory, they are asked to make it to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. 

Those who had the pleasure of knowing and loving Brian are truly "one of many." 

This it is, folks, the only time we're gonna tell you to get on your giddy up and get crackin' on fantabulous float ideas!

America's premier election pre-party is fast approaching. Exercise your right to enter the contest TODAY!

That's right, folks. This year's Election Eve promises to be one of the best on record as Headcount and Magic Hat join forces to bring you a concert you won't soon forget. The lineup for the Election Eve Get Out the Vote Party at the Highline Ballroom on November 4th includes Robert Randolph, ?uestlove, Stanton Moore and many other talented musicians. Register to vote, enter the contest or buy your tickets for the show HERE!

Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to Participate like never before!

The Minister of Fermentation Elation Relations and I recently inherited a lava lamp, the origins of which are as mysterious as a bottle of #9. It came to us via The Keeper of All Things Communications, although strangely, it has nothing to do with communications (unless, of course, those hypnotizing red globules are sending out subliminal messages to us. But we don’t think they are. But then again, we can’t be sure). Whose possession it was in before The Keeper’s is anyone’s guess. The only clues to its origin are two stickers on the base that read “3 for $15”. Whatever it’s history, it now sits upon my desk, a miniature monolith of slow-motion magic.

If one were to observe The Minister and me early in the morning, when Lillian is still cold from the chill of encroaching autumn and the lights have yet to be turned on, they would see us huddled over this phallic 16-inch-high, otherwise useless lamp. Its contents at this time of day are petrified, resembling the Horse Head Nebula. Periodically throughout the day, we drop what we’re doing and observe the lamp, looking for signs of movement. If the phone rings, I don’t answer. If the Minister’s Blackberry blows up, he ignores it. We’re looking for signs of life in a purely inanimate object. More often than not, we are met with a disappointing stillness. Occasionally, though, it does choose to move, and when it does, we’re observing it as closely as a Uri Gellar routine.

Thinking about the lamp every three minutes for the last two weeks has inspired me to do some investigating. What is that urine-colored substance in which the blobs float around? What are the blobs themselves? Will I catch a buzz if I drink it?

The ingredients are as follows and were found on the website oozinggoo.com , which, despite it’s name, does not require age verification to enter. “The lava component is said to consist of ‘a solidified globule of mineral oil with a light paraffin, carbon tetrachloride and a dye.’ The clear liquid is…water and a liquid which will raise the coefficient of cubic thermal expansion and encourage movement.” More made-up words followed: densities, immiscible, coefficients. Looks like the only thing I’d catch after drinking it would be death.

Now that I’ve pondered the intricacies of the lava lamp, I’m leaving it up to you, dear Magic Hat drinkers and blog readers, to give this lamp a name . Make it appropriate, fitting, and absurd. If we dig it, we’ll send you a lava lamp of your own. One that works. Cheers!

At long last, the new Magic Hat bottling line is up and running. Kinks have been kyboshed and bugs have been bullied. 

Outside Lillian, the new, double-wide hullabaloo headquarters of Magic Hat’s marketing and art direction, the sounds of thousands of glass bottles clinking together dance through the windows. The sound is incessant, oddly soothing and draws only one conclusion in our minds: that copious amounts of beer are being made on the other side of the brown standing seam steel wall behind us. I sometimes imagine that this pleasant cacophony is the sound of bottles, suddenly alive, toasting each other in anticipatory celebration of their upcoming fill of Magic Hat beer.

At long last, the new Magic Hat bottling line is up and running. Kinks have been kyboshed and bugs have been bullied. As of today, the bottling line is filling 350 bottles of beer per minute. And when every knot is untied on the machine, it will be capable of filling upwards of 450 bottles per minute! 

The interior of the brewery has been completely transformed. The bottling line begins east of the loading dock where the de-palletizer de-palletizes ominously stacked empty bottles onto the front end of the conveyor belt. From there, they snake along the belt and around some corners and enter the filling room, where they are filled to the brim with any one of our delectable brews. Each time I walk by the filling room, I walk along the wall, as far away from it as I can possibly be. Why? Because it reminds me of the futuristic pod into which Jeff Goldblum stepped when he was transformed into a half-man, half-fly creature in the movie The Fly. I wonder to myself as I pass by it each day, If I step inside, will I be transformed into a beer? Would I then be able to drink myself? What would my ABV be?