Beer Review #54 – Pumpkin Beers (Redux) (Pt. 9)

Alewerks’ Pumpkin Ale

The heart of pumpkin beer season is reaching its end, and along with it goes this season’s pumpkin beer review series. Thirty-six beers later, and I’ve had some of the best (and admittedly, some of the worst) of what the style has to offer. There’s a lot more I’d like to say, but I’m saving that for next week, where I’ll discuss my experiences tasting pumpkin beers in general. In the meantime, take a look at any articles you’ve missed, and stock up on anything that catches your eye; Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

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PUMPKIN ALE – ALEWERKS – Pumpkin Ale – 8.00% ABV (Eye Choir’s Top Choice)

Appearance: Poured a moderately light sunset orange with vermillion highlights and a one finger, eggshell head. The body is quite transparent, displaying a moderate amount of carbonation. 4.5/5

Smell: Hearty, lightly roasted pumpkin meat aroma which comes together with milder strains of baked apple. Spices are not too far behind, with prominent notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Malt character provides a brown sugar and caramel backbone that is firm, though not too strong. Not experimental per se, but the balance is top notch, with a nice depth of interplay between the different aromas. Very pumpkin pie-like. 5/5

Taste: Initial moderate sweetness summons a flaky pie crust and gingerbread that synergize incredibly well with the fleshy pumpkin and earthy allspice. Gradually, a mild to moderate tartness diverts some of the palate towards a cinnamon apple pie character that helps touch on mild vegetal notes within the pumpkin flavor. This still interlocks nicely with the rounded malt charater, as does the spice-oriented finish, which features a mild, vaguely leafy hop bitterness. Balance is key here, though the flavors are never mild, and there is a lot of inventiveness in the subtleties presented. A paragon of pumpkin beers, and then some. 5/5

Mouthfeel: Moderate to light body, with a very smooth mouthfeel that strikes a midpoint between slightly more full syrupiness and a surprising drinkability. A mild hit of alcoholic heat on the finish accentuates the warm spices, but it doesn’t linger. Great balance between richness and drinkability. 5/5

Overall: Showcases great balance between contrasting ideals. Rich yet not heavy; traditional but intricate; strong flavors but mellow character. As a result, sometimes difficult to describe, but perhaps the best pumpkin beer I’ve had to date. 5/5

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‘AUTUMNATION’ – SIXPOINT  – Pumpkin Ale – 6.80% ABV

Appearance: Poured a moderate orange-brown with a two-finger, light tan head. The body has a light to moderate amount of fine haze, though it appears as though there would have been no visible carbonation anyway. 3.5/5

Smell: Prominent hop nose, with piney, citric, and floral aromas, as well as notes of tropical berry. Also present is a subtle, slightly biscuity toasted malt, with a mildly hearty quality that might be attributable to a very faint earthy allspice characteristic. Virtually no pumpkin is noticeable, unfortunately. Otherwise, the nose is fairly complex and agreeable, though this seems to be a pumpkin beer in name only. 3/5

Taste: Moderate bitterness helps further highlight the bright, clean pine needle hops, bringing out notes of lemon and apricot. However, a mild sweetness comes out behind, bringing a slightly starchy (perhaps pumpkin-y), cake-like quality with the light toffee malt notes. Spices and maybe even squash are noticeable in the slightly drier finish, with a mild tartness, though identifying them is difficult due to their low intensity. Actually very tasty and well-balanced, but unfortunately I have a hard time rating this highly as a genuine pumpkin ale. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Moderate to light body, with a crisp acidic carbonation that fills out the slightly creamy mouthfeel and heightens the bitterness of the sharp hop flavors in the initial sip. Mild alcoholic heat eventually surfaces, perhaps giving more substance to the vaguely squash-like aftertaste. 4/5

Overall: A great pumpkin beer except for its near total lack of pumpkin and spices, which just barely exceed a placebo effect. Other aspects are richly flavored, yet subtle enough that more of the style’s required flavors would have probably tasted excellent. What a shame. 3.5/5

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‘HE SAID’ – 21ST AMENDMENT (feat. ELYSIAN) – Pumpkin Tripel – 8.20% ABV

Appearance: Poured a light orange gold with amber highlights and a two finger, light gold head. Almost completely transparent, allowing the ample carbonation to be fully visible. 3.5/5

Smell: Strong Belgian yeast aroma that is peppery with a hint of funk and overripe banana that coalesces with a soft, stewed pumpkin and slightly bready toast aroma. Top notes of floral ginger and balsamic herbs add to the piquant character. Intimidatingly spicy, but intricate and certainly quite unique. 4/5

Taste: Surprising mild to moderate sweetness puts forward a combination of challah bread and pumpkin puree that recontextualize the pepper and ginger notes. Moderate tartness introduces a cidery funk which serves as a strange counterbalance. Mild bitterness with a fresh herbal and floral flavor comes together with the drier yeast notes in the finish. A little disjointed, but not without balance, and there’s a ton of weird nuances to pick up on. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium to light body with a pervasive, smooth carbonation that contributes to a fresh, slightly crisp mouthfeel. Mild to moderate alcoholic heat arises, but it too is smooth and pleasant. Works well with the flavors. 4/5

Overall: Very unique arrangement of flavors that vacillates between brilliant and bizarre. The odd spices and malt notes give a very ‘food-like’ impression of the pumpkin. A little difficult to comprehend, but entertaining and surprisingly balanced and drinkable for what it is. 4/5

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‘WARLOCK’ – SOUTHERN TIER – Imperial Pumpkin Stout – 8.60% ABV

Appearance: Poured a very dark ruby brown to black with a one-finger, slightly reddish-tan head. No carbonation or haze can be seen, even when held up to a light. 4.5/5

Smell: Heavy spice profile which features sharply pungent aromas of cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg over a perfumy base of sweet-potato pumpkin flesh. Malt is a brown sugar pie crust, with strains of comparatively mild milk chocolate and cappucino filtering through, though these are actually a nice pairing. Similar in a lot of ways to the original ‘Pumking’, and perhaps an improvement. 4.5/5

Taste: Moderate to strong sweetness helps the roast coffee pop out along with the graham cracker malt tones, with a mild to moderate tartness sustaining dark chocolate notes into the drier finish. Vegetal pumpkin synergizes with some subtle earthy and herbal notes that pop up with an eventual moderate bitterness. Spices do a good job complementing the unique malt, but are perhaps a bit unctuous when combined with all the other strong-tasting flavors. Despite this, quite interesting and complex. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium body, with a silky mouthfeel that doesn’t come across as too heavy and is a good pairing for the roasted malt component. A hint of carbonation bite adds some depth and combines with a mild to moderate alcoholic heat to form a subtle tactile aftertaste. 4/5

Overall: Compares to the unique spice and malt balance that is found in Southern Tier’s other pumpkin offering, though the addition of roasted malts pay off. Still, as before, a bit too perfumy and intense, though still fascinating and fairly good in its own right. 4/5