I've picked up a couple sixers of Magic Hat's spring time releases lately. The days are getting longer, and I want to enjoy the sunshine instead of sitting inside dark bars and these brews get me in the mood to enjoy what's around me.

I grabbed a Pistil first. This beer shows up way before winter is over every year. And that's because the brewers want to beat the dandelions that they named this beer after. It's "inspired by sunshine". What does that mean? Whatever you want it to mean. It's too bad that the outdoor concert season is just getting started when Pistil vanishes from the shelves because it would make the Dudefest Dozen for best concert beers in my opinion. It's not bitter at all. We're talking 20 IBUs, your standard IPA from these guys generally have at least 40 or 50. If those numbers are meaningless to you, that's fine, just drink your beer. Did I mention that they add dandelion leaves during the brewing process? Well, they do. Get it before its gone.

Dream Machine is a latecomer to the India Pale Lager trend in the craft beer world but as far as they go, this one isn't bad. I personally prefer the Sam Adams Double Agent but this is a fun take on the style. At 5.7% alcohol by volume, it's not as strong as other hoppy offerings but is still worth your while. They also came up with a great slogan: "Turn on. Hop in. Take off." It's almost like drinking a lot of these will make your problems go away. Hold on I think I have an idea, I'll be right back....

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Nope. Nevermind, back to the beers.

Lastly, I tried out Magic Hat's Hefeweizen Circus Boy. I'm not generally a huge Hef guy (unless we're talking about Hugh, I'm a fan of him). According to the brewers, you're supposed to treat this beer like he's in the freakshow at a carnival I guess. It's defining feature is the addition of lemongrass - which is a major part of traditional Thai cooking so I'm already on board with this brew. It's pretty solid all the way through, there's just the faintest trace of bitterness (even fewer IBUs than Pistil). The good thing about Circus Boy (and also Dream Machine) is that they're available year round. You should try these out the next time you're barbecuing or day drinking.