Magic Hat Elder Betty Review

Name: Magic Hat Elder Betty
Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.5%

In all my years I've been drinking craft beer, I've never had anything from Magic Hat Brewing with the exception of having one of their beers (I can't remember the name, sadly) on tap at The Rail Station in South Minneapolis about 3 years ago. Regardless, that is going to change today because I'm looking at Elder Betty, their summer seasonal hefeweizen that's brewed with elderberries. It's also worth mentioning that I have no idea what elderberries taste like.

Elder Betty pours a fairly cloudy orange color and the head, while initially thin upon pouring, is pretty much nonexistent after a couple of minutes. There is a small amount of visible carbonation with a couple of bubbles here and there.

The nose has very sweet and blueberry-like fruitness, which is probably coming from the elderberries themselves. I'm also picking up on some malted wheat in there also well but for the most part it's very fruity smelling.

The flavor, much like the aroma, is very sweet & fruity tasting, thanks in part to the elderberries. There's also a solid malted wheat base and some citra/floral hoppiness, the latter of which is relatively mild compared to the rest of the flavor.

The palate is very light in terms of weight and carbonation so this is pretty easy to drink. Since this is a summer seasonal, it makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

I found Elder Betty to be a pretty good beer. It doesn't do anything too extraordinary in terms of flavor (save for the elderberries of course) but it's a nice summer seasonal beer and that's all that really matters. Definitely check this out if you get the chance.

Magic Hat Elder Betty - 8/10