Beer Review: Erie Johnny Rails Pumpkin Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 6.5 percent

Appearance: This beer poured an orangish brown with slight gold and amber hues also touching the body. The body was also a tad foggy. There was a decent amount of carbonation bubbles drifting towards the top, but only slowly. Unfortunately, these bubbles didn't assist in providing any sort of head for the beer. All that was visible was a thin white ring of bubbly foam around the top portions of the beer. This lone ring was enough to provide for a little bit of web-like lacing that quickly hid back in the beer upon tilting the glass.

Smell: This was unusually spice heavy. Cinnamon and nutmeg were at the forefront in the aroma department. My sinuses twitched just a little.

Taste: I was worried about the spices dominating the taste. I was pleasantly surprised. There was something sweet that complimented the strength of the spices in the beer. There was a nice biscuity finish that poked through and paired well with the pumpkin flavor in this. If I can touch on the spices again, they were part of the beer's flavor all of the way across the tongue. I'd prefer a bit less spice content. One thing they provided for on the positive side, was an intriguing sizzle in the texture area. It was a good tingly feeling.

Overall Rating: 

This is still a quality pumpkin ale that's on the local market here in Pennsylvania. A little spice heavy, but still really tasty. The biscuit flavor that snuck its way in there kind of sold me on this one.

Beer Review: Erie Derailed Black Cherry Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Derailed  Black Cherry initially has the look of a wheat beer (although it's a cream ale). It's a fluorescent shade of orange and features a bit of fogginess throughout the body. The beer is crowned with what's a thick and fluffy head at first, but some weak retention caused it to fade away fairly fast. Aside from that, there was a tiny bit of ample lacing left on the inside of the glass.

Smell: The cherry in this beer was apparent almost immediately. It both sweet and tart. I feared that it would be dominated with an aroma that was too sweet, but I was fortunately proved wrong. It also doesn't smell artificial as plenty of cherry beers do.

Taste: Once again the cherry is the dominant sensation. It hits the front of the tongue with a sweet and tart punch. There's also a subdued maltiness to it that you won't catch until the aftertaste. Not much hop presence at all to compliment everything else.

Overall Rating: 

When you look at cream ales, it's a style that usually has its malt and hop characters toned down. So, the lack of it here is actually correct. The only reason I took some points away is the fact that I prefer a cream ale with either a strong malt or hop character. That's strictly a personal preference. I also wish I could have had a head on this beer that didn't run off so fast.