is an American brewery based in South Burlington, Vermont, founded in 1993 by Alan Newman and Bob Johnson. The brewery made its first sale in early 1994 at the Burlington, Vermont, Winter Blues Festival and soon found its beers on tap throughout the city. Unusually, Magic Hat employs open fermentation and brews more beer by that method than any other American brewery. All beers are fermented by the Ringwood ale yeast strain, which can give signature fruity flavors, but is notoriously difficult to work with. Spurred on by sales from its flagship apricot-flavored ale “#9,” Magic Hat quickly expanded distribution and by 1999 was available throughout New England as well as in New York City. Recognizable on shelves by its swirling, colorful, and quirky labels and its whimsical beer descriptions on bottles and packaging, Magic Hat created a loyal following. By 2002, the brewery produced close to 120,000 hl of beer annually (almost 100,000 barrels). By 2008 it was the 12th largest craft brewery in the United States and was able to acquire the West Coast Pyramid Breweries Inc, including its MacTarnahan’s brands, for about $35 million. This gave the brewery distribution on both coasts as well as in the northern states from Maine to Illinois. In 2010, Magic Hat was itself purchased by North American Breweries Rochester, New York, which is one of the companies of KPS Capital Partners, LP, of New York City. Along with Magic Hat’s former family of brands, North American Breweries also controls Genesee Brewing Company and its Dundee Brewing brand, and it manages Labatt USA, which sells and markets Labatt beer brewed in Canada.