Magic Hat Brewing Company

2025-05-20T21:11:40Z

73.227.3.107: /* Brands */Fixed typo

{{Short description|American brewery founded in Burlington, VT}}
{{Infobox Brewery
| name = Magic Hat Brewing Company
| image = File:Magichatlogo.jpg
| caption =
| location =
| coordinates =
| owner = [[Florida Ice and Farm Company|Florida Ice & Farm Co.]]
| key_people = [[Alan Newman (entrepreneur)|Alan Newman]]
| opened = 1994
| production = {{convert|154236|usbeerbbl|hl|lk=on}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2010/09/17/The-10-Biggest-US-Craft-Breweries.html |title=The 10 Biggest US Craft Breweries - CNBC |website=[[CNBC]] |access-date=2017-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012094746/http://www.cnbc.com/id/39233398/The_10_Biggest_US_Craft_Breweries?slide=4 |archive-date=2012-10-12 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| website = [http://www.magichat.net magichat.net]
}}
'''Magic Hat Brewing Company''' is a wholly owned brand of [[Florida Ice and Farm Company|Florida Ice & Farm Co.]], which is headquartered in [[Costa Rica]]. It began production as an independent [[Craft beer|craft brewer]] in [[South Burlington, Vermont]] in 1994, and the brand is distributed across the United States. Their flagship beer, the apricot-tinged #9, is widely regarded as a significant early force in introducing many Americans to craft beer, especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s.<ref name="7days" />

==History==
Magic Hat Brewing Company was formed in 1994 in [[Burlington, Vermont]] by serial entrepreneur [[Alan Newman (entrepreneur)|Alan Newman]] and Bob Johnson, the company's original brewmaster.<ref name="7days" /> It expanded and moved to an industrial park in neighboring [[South Burlington, Vermont | South Burlington]] in 1997. By 2005 it had 64 employees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vermontguides.com/2005/02-feb/magic.html|title=Business People-Vermont: Magic Hat Brewery|website=www.vermontguides.com|access-date=2010-01-09|archive-date=2018-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119120402/http://www.vermontguides.com/2005/02-feb/magic.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008 the company purchased [[Pyramid Breweries]], makers of the Pyramid and [[MacTarnahan's Brewing Company|MacTarnahan's]] brands, expanding to 129 employees.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Joeal Banner | last=Baird | title=Magic Hat reportedly 'days away' from sale | publisher=Burlington Free Press | location=Burlington, Vermont | pages= 1A, 4A | date=29 July 2010 }}</ref>

===Acquisitions and eventual shutdown of Vermont space===
In 2010, Alan Newman sold Magic Hat and all of its assets to North American Breweries,<ref name="7days" /><ref name=acquisition>[http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100812/BUSINESS/8120338/Genesee-Beer-owner-buys-brewer-of-Magic-Hat-9 Rochester, North American buys Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarnahan's]</ref> a subsidiary of [[KPS Capital Partners]], a [[private equity]] firm with a business model described by Newman as "[[asset stripping|stripping out expense]] and [[flipping]]."<ref name="7days" /> The new owners did exactly that: in December 2012, North American Breweries was purchased by Florida Ice & Farm Company (FIFCO), a Costa Rican food and beverages company.<ref>{{cite news |title= Cerveceria Costa Rica to buy North American Breweries |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nab-costarica-idUSBRE89P0UQ20121026 |date= Oct 26, 2012 |accessdate= May 21, 2013}}</ref>

FIFCO soon began producing some Magic Hat beer at their [[Genesee Brewing Company]] plant in [[Rochester, New York]]. The Vermont brewery continued to operate until June 2020, when FIFCO announced that it intended to consolidate the rest of Magic Hat's brewing operations to the Rochester location.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blumenthal |first1=Rachel Leah |title=Boozy updates from Boston and beyond |url=https://boston.eater.com/2020/7/2/21302071/boston-beer-news-summer-2020 |publisher=Eater Boston |accessdate=5 July 2020 |date=2 July 2020}}</ref> Another Burlington based brewery, Zero Gravity, assumed the lease on Magic Hat's physical plant, along with the brewing and retail assets within the space.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/BiteClub/archives/2020/06/16/magic-hat-brewing-is-leaving-vermont-zero-gravity-will-expand|title=Magic Hat Brewing Is Leaving Vermont; Zero Gravity Will Expand|website=www.sevendaysvt.com |date= June 16, 2020 |accessdate= July 1, 2020}}</ref> 43 of Magic Hat's 46 Vermont employees were laid off, although Zero Gravity was in talks to rehire some of them.<ref name="7days">{{cite web|url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/magic-hat-leaves-behind-a-transformed-craft-beer-industry-in-vermont/Content?oid=30705701|title=Magic Hat Leaves Behind a Transformed Craft Beer Industry in Vermont|website=www.sevendaysvt.com |date= July 1, 2020 |accessdate= July 1, 2020}}</ref> Zero Gravity moved into the space and began producing beer there in July 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bendavid |first1=Ike |title=Zero Gravity expands into old Magic Hat facility |url=https://www.wcax.com/2021/04/05/zero-gravity-expands-into-old-magic-hat-facility/ |website=WCAX |access-date=18 March 2023 |language=en |date=5 April 2021}}</ref>

==Brands==
[[File:Magic hat no 9 beer and mug.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Magic Hat #9 in a mug]]
Magic Hat brews five year-round beers: #9 "Not Quite Pale Ale", Taken for Granite, Mother Lager, Citrus Boy, Ob-La-Di, What's on Stage, Nirav, Elder Betty and Single Chair. It also produces up to four [[seasonal beer]]s, seasonal variety packs and several limited release products.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.magichat.net/elixirs/ |title= Elixers |author= |year= 2013 |website= www.magichat.net |publisher= Magic Hat Brewing Company |accessdate=May 22, 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.magichat.net Company website]

[[Category:American beer brands]]
[[Category:Beer_brewing_companies_based_in_New_York_(state)]]

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Magic Hat Brewing Company