The saturnalian saga of the Magic Hat Brewing Company began in 1978 in a Goddard College bathtub, where future brewmaster Bob Johnson first cultivated his maniacally obsessive interest in making “better beer with bigger flavor.” In a moment of supreme serendipity, Fate sent him off to an accidental meeting on a random Burlington street with future Magic Hat president Alan Newman. Before you could pour a pint, a brewery was born.