Magic Hat Creating Fancy Grade to Benefit Lake Champlain

From Magic Hat:

South Burlington, VT  – The newest addition to Magic Hat’s limited-edition Humdinger
Collection taps into one of Vermont’s most popular natural resources – maple syrup – while
helping to preserve one of its most beautiful – Lake Champlain. Fancy Grade is a maple
doppelbock whose sweet side goes far beyond flavor and into the realm of generosity: it’s
brewed to honor the stewards of Lake Champlain, the Lake Champlain committee (LCC).

Doubling Down on the Doppelbock

Fancy Grade is a very Vermont take on a traditional doppelbock. A hearty addition of dark
maple syrup from Palmer Lane Maple in Jericho, VT, provides balance to the toasty, roasty and
bitter characteristics that the dark malts provide.
“Any time we can, we love to work with local ingredients for our beers,” said Magic Hat head
brewer, Chris Rockwood. “As we were talking through the flavor profile we wanted in our
doppelbock, maple syrup proved the best fit.”
Fancy Grade is a deep amber colored, full-bodied lager with subtle notes of maple and malty
hints of toast, biscuit and caramel. It comes in at a totally tappable 7.8% ABV with 17 IBUs.
This Humdinger will be available in 4-packs of 16-ounce cans and on draught from September
through November.

About the Lake Champlain Committee

Based in Burlington, VT, the Lake Champlain Committee works hard to protect Lake
Champlain’s ecological health and accessibility for future generations. Magic Hat has made a
donation from the proceeds of this beer and will provide volunteer support to the LCC
throughout the year.

About the Humdinger Series

When chaotic chemistry, humble patience and blind faith converge under just the right
conditions, a special kind of beer takes shape. The Humdingers are a collection of distinctive ales
brewed for discriminating palates and generous spirits. Each bottle contains decades of collective
brewing experience and is the result of much deliberation and imagination. Every Humdinger has
its purpose and should be enjoyed whenever and wherever the spirit moves you.