THE PUMPKINS LIVE!!!! (Pumpkin Beers Part Deux).

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the bottle shop..........(dramatic pause)............More pumpkin beers cometh!!!!  No one ever expects a horror movie to end on the first go around.  You have to beat any good idea into the ground like it's a stumbling, worm infested zombie. Thus, The Pumpkins Live.

In round one a Pie-in-a-glass (aka P.I.G) scale was introduced to judge the pumpkin pie effect of the selected brews. A 1 rating denotes it's less pie like while a 5 rating suggests a side of whip cream is appropriate.  Let the tasting commence.

Heavy Seas:  Great'Er Pumpkin (Imperial Pumpkin Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels)

If you're launching back into the pumpkin beer sea you might as well go big and boozy.  Great'Er (9.0% abv) is the bourbon aged version of Heavy Seas Great Pumpkin (not reviewed) and there is no denying this beer spent some time in the wood. Bourbon catches air during the pour, lashes out at first sip and remains the dominate flavor. Pie spices, pumpkin and roasted malt are detectable while the bourbon provides a mild sweetness. As expected the warmth kicks in towards the end and hangs on through the finish. Overall Great'Er is good but a fuller bodied imperial pumpkin beer as a base may of worked better with the barrel treatment. P.I.G factor 2. This is one serious drunkin' pumpkin.

Cigar City: Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale

This seems to be the year that brewers want to say, "My pumpkin is bigger than yours". The imperial train keeps on rolling with Good Gourd (9.0% abv). This is one of the few bottles that I didn't drag from my cellar. I was lucky to share this with friends at Craft Ale House one evening. The yummy pie flavors are all present but what stood out most was the great balance of flavors.  Pumpkin, spices, graham cracker, sweetness and booze were all in check. No high octane burn, no sudden nutmeg spikes and not a single sugary rush. Simply a solid flavorful pumpkin beer. The P.I.G is high on this one 4.

New Belgium w/Elysian: Kick (pumpkin, cranberry, barrel aged)

Leave it to New Belgium to put a sour twist on the pumpkin beer tradition.  Part of the Lips of Faith series, Kick (8.5) is a pumpkin cranberry ale that's blended with wood aged beer. In this unique wrestling match for flavor supremacy the cranberry lays a serious smackdown on the old orange gourd. Sweet tart cranberry, crisp citrus and oak flavors barely give the pumpkin a chance to surface. The sour effect is low so it's not a tongue buckler. Pumpkin lovers don't let the kickass Jack-o-Lanterns on the bottle fool ya. This one is more Thanksgiving than Halloween. A very good lightly sour beer that sends the pie a packing. Zero P.I.G.

Rock Bottom Brewery (King of Prussia) Ichabod's Pumpkin Ale

One of the few things that keeps an extended trip to the mall bearable is the ability to sneak away to Rock Bottom for a pint. No shifty moves were needed to seek out their pumpkin beer. Ichabod is a break away from the imperialized trend. In fact it could officially be the anti-imperial pumpkin. The most exciting option offered when ordering a pint was the sugar & cinnamon treatment done to the rim of the glass. I opted out and went in clean. Everything about the 5.5% abv ale is clean and easy going. The pie spices and pumpkin flavors are middle of the road and almost textbook plain. Surprisingly the underlying flavor even leans more towards a traditional macro lager than an ale. Tasting more light hops and malt than in-your-face pie spice isn't necessarily a bad thing. However on the P.I.G it gets you a 2.5.

Pumking on display at Wegmans Collegeville

2010 & 2009
(Ghostly finger provided by Big Dan)

Southern Tier:  Pumking

If there were a heavyweight equivalent to pumpkin beer, Southern Tier Pumking (9.0% abv 2011) would be champ. The hurrah hype that hits every fall causing bottle packed displays to quickly dwindle down to empty cardboard stacks is almost deserved. I've reviewed this beer multiple times so I'll keep it simple this go around. This is the Grand Puba P.I.G 5. Sure, go ahead toss in a dollop of fresh whip cream for effect (just kidding). Sweet cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, yadda, yadda, yadda, yummy pie goodness, you get the idea. To make it somewhat interesting this year I had the chance to taste the 2009, 2010 and this year's draft and bottle versions. The draft had a more pronounced cinnamon sharpness than the bottle and a pallet far better than mine is needed to pick out any subtle difference between the  09 and 10. Whichever one you encounter, here's to raising a pint of pie.

Now that Halloween has passed does this mean a death to the pumpkin beers? Something tells me this tale of spice and hops has not seen it's final chapter.  To be continued..........????

Tis the Season for Smashing Pumpkins

Ahhh, a chill in the air, the vivid colors of fall and watching the kids run from house to house with overflowing bags of sweet treats. The only problem is it's the middle of August, 90 degrees, with rain forest like conditions that have nothing in common with a crisp fall day. So why did I have my first pumpkin beer of the season? It's just like buying Christmas items well before any of us have thoughts of sugar plum fairies dancing in our heads. Some may even say that I am late for my inaugural pumpkin beer tasting since these beers started hitting shelves in July. Brewers who do the pumpkin/fall/harvest beer thing are wise and look to stretch the season to make the extra buck. I'm not sure if Southern Tier Pumking was the first to hit shelves here in Philly. It's the first I noticed and the first pumpkin draft to fill my pint glass.




I am guilty of using the term pumkin pie in a glass all too often but it's very fitting for Pumking. When we think of pumpkin we're usually thinking pumpkin pie. When was the last time you actually tasted real pumpkin without all the pie spices? I'm sure the taste and aroma of pumpkin was in the glass, however the nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, graham cracker, spice blast is what came out on the first sip. The spice hit sharp and only smoothed a little toward the end. As much as I love pumpkin pie and enjoyed this beer, by the time I got to the bottom of the pint my pumpkin love was done. This beer is nice as a treat or to celebrate fall festivities, but you better LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pumpkin pie if plan on drinking several in an evening.

You knew this was coming!