A curbside pickup

Chances are most people have not heard of Magic Hour Brewing … yet. That’s because the Lancaster-based brewery is a project in the making from homebrewer Josh Ford and a crew of his friends.

“I have a very bad habit of making hobbies into professions,” said Ford. “I wanted to make this the full experience.”

It all started when Ford attended a class on beermaking at Lancaster Homebrew. He was hooked. He realized brewing was a social thing and six months later he was hosting brewing parties. The parties turned into an idea for a brewery, but unlike most breweries, which start with a recipe and work the marketing around the result, Magic Hour starts with a concept—in their case references to classic movies or characters—and create a beer to match the subject (stay tuned for examples).  For now, Magic Hour is still considered a group of homebrewers, legally. They can’t sell their beer.  There’s just a love of beer and the willingness to share. That’s where I came in. After spotting a few Magic Hour posts on Instagram I reached out and Ford was more than happy to arrange a curbside pick up of a Magic Hour six pack consisting of three beers.

The Peppermint Chocolate milkshake stout named after Daniel Plainview from the 2007 film “There Will Be Blood” is easily one of my favorite beers of all time. The reason why? Because it tastes exactly like my favorite cookie, the Girl Scout Thin Mint. The flavor ratios are perfect; it pours nicely; and it is not heavy like some milkshake brews.

Overlook Hotel is a nod to the macabre setting in Stephen King’s classic “The Shining.” The Spruce Tip Old Ale is truly an original endeavor where the combination of bright evergreen and dark malt provides a hint of mint, but the spruce is definitely the predominant flavor. Actually, the spruce is a kick in the mouth at first, but as the beer warms the taste buds ease and envelope the malt.  

Magic Hour’s newest brew is El Coco, a reference I am not familiar with.

“Have you watched ‘The Outsider’?” Ford asked. “Without giving it all away El Coco takes on the form of other people. So, he’s a doppelganger, a double. We made his beer a double IPA.”  

Using Conan yeast and Pearl malt, El Coco clocks in at 132 IBUs, but there is no way a beer drinker could guess that without reading the label.

Ford cannot legally make any money from his beer, but he is able to give away a certain amount for others to consume. You can get in contact with Magic Hour via their Instagram page @magichourbrewingco. Under normal conditions you could even enjoy a free beer while visiting Barley’s Barber Salon in Millersville. If you come across a bottle of Magic Hour beer make sure to scan the QR code on the label.

“It’s a lot of word of mouth and homebrew competitions right now,” Ford said. “Opening up a brewery is the next step for us.” Cheers and thanks for reading!