REVIEW: Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin

This past weekend fall finally arrived in these parts in a real way. That makes today's beer all the more appropriate. A big 9% ABV imperial pumpkin ale from a brewery that's new to these pages. Newport, Maine's Shipyard Brewing and their Smashed Pumpkin. I had intended to get a bottle of this last year around this time, but by the time I got the chance the pumpkin beers were gone and the Christmas ales had taken their place. But this fall I was able to snag one. To the beer!

REVIEW: MadTree The Great PumpCan

So apparently brewers love Charlie Brown puns. This isn't even the last one you'll see on the blog this year. I've got another one waiting in the fridge. I suppose if you're going to go with a derivative name you could do a lot worse than referencing Charlie Brown. Plus, at least MadTree is putting their own spin on it. The great PumpCan is only available on draft as of yet, but cans will be coming at some point down the road. It's brewed with molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice and clocks in at 7.9% ABV and 18 IBUs. Let's get to it. To the beer!

REVIEW: Heavy Seas The Great'ER Pumpkin

More pumpkin beer! For whatever reason I find myself particularly excited about trying new pumpkin ales this year. Fall Hornin' last week, Heavy Seas' The Great'ER Pumpkin today, and hopefully some more in the coming weeks. Today's is special in that it's bourbon barrel aged. Sounds terrific right? Also, I'm always a fan of a good Peanuts reference. To the beer!

REVIEW: Anderson Valley Fall Hornn'

The first pumpkin ale of the year! A truly momentous occasion. Some people don't love the pumpkin beers. Loyal readers will know that I am not one of those people. Today we've got a brand new fall seasonal from Anderson Valley, Fall Hornin'. A 6% ABV 20 IBU beer brewed with pumpkin and spices. Let's get to it. To the beer!

Fall Hornin' is appropriately autumnal in color. It pours a quite clear deep chestnut ruby hue topped by a layer of off-white head. Quite pretty.  

Spicy notes of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and a bit of nutmeg are contrasted by a sweet graham cracker maltiness. Sweet, spicy, very inviting. 

Fall Hornin' is medium bodied with a wonderful creaminess. The flavors mimic the nose fairly closely. Robust graham crackers sweetness is joined by notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet touches of vanilla come in before an earthy, spicy, balancing bitterness on the finish. 

This is one hell of a good pumpkin ale. Hearty, drinkable, spicy, and just all around excellent. This is one to keep your refrigerator stocked with all through the fall months. 

HD

REVIEW: Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale

I can't believe tomorrow is already Thanksgiving. In just a couple days I'll be listening to Bing Crosby, watching It's a Wonderful Life, and drinking Christmas ales. But not quite yet. To jump straight into the Christmas season is to give short shrift to Thanksgiving, another of my favorite holidays. And in the spirit of the Thanksgiving season it's time to take a look at what will likely be the last pumpkin ale of the year. Now at most liquor stores and bottle shops the pumpkin ales have already come and gone. But there's a reason why Rogue's is coming a bit late. This beer is brewed entirely using ingredients from Rogue's own farms. Including pumpkins that are harvested when ripe, driven immediately to the brewery in Newport, Oregon, roasted, and tossed into the brew kettle. The Chatoe Rogue line of beers is all brewed along these lines. Using ingredients, hops, malt, and in this case pumpkins from Rogue's farm. So, what kind of a beer do you get from all of these fresh, home-grown ingredients? Only one way to find out. To the beer!

REVIEW: Southern Tier Pumking

Happy halloween folks! I know some of the people out there reading this have been waiting for this post for quite some time. I have a lot of friends who hold this beer near and dear to their hearts. I proudly count myself among their number. Hell, that tap handle in the photo up there? My girlfriend Meredith got me that for Christmas last year for a keggerator that doesn't even exist. Just because I love this beer that much. I've had this beer sitting in my fridge for a couple months. I bought it when it hit stores in August. Now, that was far far to early to be drinking any pumpkin ale, let alone Pumking. But, this beer goes quick. If I wanted to drink this beer when the weather turns cold and a hearty beer like this makes some sense I needed some patience. And now my patience has paid off. Also, what better day to talk about Pumking than Halloween! To the beer!

REVIEW: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale

If you'll remember, My first time with a Smuttynose beer was a decidedly positive one. I loved their Shoals Pale Ale, it was delicious. One of the better pale ales I've had in quite some time. With that experience in my back pocket I was quite excited to try out their Pumpkin Ale. I've got high hopes for this one. To the beer!

REVIEW: Sixpoint Autumnation

The two prominent trends for fall seasonals are rich, spicy pumpkin ales and fresh, hoppy wet hopped ales. It seems that the mad scientists at Sixpoint couldn't be bothered to choose between the two. Autumnation is brewed with pumpkin, ginger, and has been wet hopped with fresh Citra. Now I love pumpkin ales and I love fresh hop flavors so this could be something special. To the beer!

REVIEW: Samuel Adams Fat Jack

I suppose I've put it off long enough. Time to finally get into the pumpkin beers this year. Pumpkin ales are a bit of a point of contention among beer drinkers and I feel like there's no real middle ground either. It seems folks either can't stand them, or can't get enough of them. Mark me down firmly in the second camp. Today's brewery is also a point of some contention among beer geeks. Some criticize Samuel Adams of playing it too safe. If you've been reading this here blog for a while you know that I've taken a bit of a shine to Sam Adams' limited release brews. I quite enjoyed both the Cinder Bock and Norse Legend, you can check out those posts by checking out the Samuel Adams tag here.This one is an imperial pumpkin ale brewed with Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, caramel 60, special B, and smoked malt, East Kent Goldings and Fuggle hops, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and 28 pounds of pumpkin per barrel. Sounds good to me! To the beer!

REVIEW: Epic/ DC Brau Fermentation Without Representation

Lots going on with today's beer! First of all it's a collaboration beer, and a collaboration between two breweries that I have never had a beer from. Salt Lake City's Epic Brewing and DC Brau out of Washington DC. I always keep an eye out for collaboration beers. You don't often see collaboration pilseners or collaboration pale ales. Collaborations are chances for brewers to try something they normally might not. This one is no exception. It is an imperial pumpkin porter. Now I know, pumpkin beers are wildly out of season. But I just found this one at Jungle Jim's, I love drinking them, and it's my blog. If I want to review a pumpkin ale in March, there's nobody that's going to tell me not to. To the beer!