The Rack is Full

As we inch ever so closer to the time that the winter brews will be hitting the market, I think that it's a decent time to express my thoughts on the crop of pumpkin beers that some of us stocked up on and might have even devoured by now.

If I'll take one thing from this year's pumpkin brews it's that spices seemed to be the dominate aspect in just about each of the pumpkin seasonals this year. More often than not, this morphed into the form of a complaint as I tried more and more of them. Less pumpkin and quite a lot of spice.

Was it because the possible lack of actual pumpkins when some of these beers were made? I've addressed the possibility of using frozen or preserved pumpkin in a post in the beginning of the year. I don't feel like looking for it out of fear of getting worked up because something tells me it could have been posted in the summer. If you remember correctly, that's when a good number of these pumpkin beers actually hit the shelves.

Cisco's Pumple Drumkin. Spice heavy, but this year was my first try.

I understand that some recipes call for a hefty dosage of spices. Still, I just felt like an abnormal number of pumpkin beers this year were unusually dominated by some of those flavors. This year was very unlike those in the past. Is this a direct result of rushing a product to the demanding public? The timing of it all?

If everything goes as planned, I should be at one of my favorite local Pittsburgh pubs that's putting a few pumpkin beers on cask this evening. One of which is Southern Tier's Pumking (which tasted just fine this year) and East End Brewing's Nunkin. A beer brewed with just about everything but the pumpkin. I'd be perfectly fine with being smacked in the face with spices while drinking that one. After all, isn't the the entire purpose of the beer?

Beer Review: Wolaver's (Organic) Pumpkin Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.35 percent

Appearance: This pumpkin ale pumpkin ale poured  a vivid copper color that boasted orange and gold hues on the outskirts of the body. Certainly one of the best-looking pumpkin ales I've seen in 2013. It has a sense of thickness and haze. Decent appearance of strength. The head was foamy, bubbly and white. It had the thickness of about an index finger, but faded back to the usually layer of foam that crowns most brews. I'd prefer a bit more carbonation than hat I noticed.

Smell: This was a little spice forward. These spices tended to drown out any pumpkin in the aroma.That said, there was plenty of cinnamon and clove as well as some biscuit malt.

Taste: Much like the aroma, the taste of this was extremely spice-forward on the front portions of my tongue. There was cinnamon, clove and a surprising dose of nutmeg. Mid-way back came some pumpkin that complimented the spices quite well. A little bit of carbonation provided for a seltzer-like texture that I always enjoy in beer. There was also an above average hop bitterness on the finish that worked great with the other aspects of the flavor. The spices struck back a bit in the lingering after taste.

Overall Rating: 

This was an up-and-down experience. Still, I'm glad I invested in a case of it. It's not overpowering and reminds me of the fall season. It really didn't remind me of pumpkin pie, but not every pumpkin ale is going to. Lovely color, texture was there and the pumpkin flavor came through in the taste. The spices bothered me just a little, but this is still a quality brew.

Beer Review: Ithaca Country Pumpkin Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 6.3 percent

Appearance: Country Pumpkin poured a light amber color with some vivid orange hues on the outside portions in the body. A half-inch wide head crowned the top and faded into just a thinner layer of white foam. This rescinded to a white ring about a third of the way into this drink. The lacing that was left on the inside of the glass was a bit above average, though. I couldn't notice much carbonation, but there was what I thought was to be a few specks of sediment.

Smell: Spice clean-up in aisle five. There was a potent scent of spices in this, but that was about it. The ones I noticed were cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. I love getting a beer with nutmeg (or in anything for that matter) as it acts as a sweeter and mellow compliment.

Taste: I mainly felt the tingle from the spice content in this. Still, the spices were too close to the front of my tongue for my liking and seemed to drown out any pumpkin flavor that was present if at all. There was a small bite of hops on the finish. I wasn't left completely disappointed, though. The aftertaste surprisingly had some pumpkin flavor in it.

Overall Rating: 

This was an alright drink. I was a bit confused at times, but came out somewhat pleased with it in the end. The spice bill on this is a bit much, but I've had pumpkin brews that are completely ruined by too much of them and this was a good bit tastier than most of the brews that hail in that neck of the woods.

Beer Review: Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Eight percent

Appearance: This quite-appealing pumpkin brew poured a very dark, yet reddish copper. The body also glistened some dark and light hues of maroon. This had a lovely color, but one aspect of this beer fell short in my book. There seemed to be a limited amount of carbonation in the body as well as a lack of thickness in the head, which was visible for a matter of seconds before fizzling off and going away for good.

Smell: Sweet and sugary cinnamon dominated the aroma. That was layered with undertones of meaty pumpkin. This is among the closest an aroma of a beer has come to actual pumpkin pie for me. This even beat the buttery scent of Southern Tier's Pumking.

Taste: I got tons of pumpkin flavor on the front. Cinnamon and nutmeg on the way back. Surprisingly, I also picked up what tasted like graham cracker. This certainly puts this beer in my "pie theory" as in graham cracker crust. The pumpkin flavor was just as awesome as it was in the smell. Not quite where you can taste the roof of your mouth and still get the pumpkin, but close enough. Texture of the beer wasn't where I'd hoped it would have been, but the alcohol presence is well hidden with the other wonderful components of this beer.

Overall Rating: 

This was absolutely amazing except for the apparent flatness of the beer's body. Not much carbonation of foamy head. Still, I went into drinking this brew with very high expectations. The word on the street is that this is a strong contender for the best pumpkin ale in the country. It came close to living up to the hype. I've seen photographs of this beer with a much better carbonation level and texture. So, I hope I'm lucky enough to try it again next year. Also, before you ask where I found it read this post from back in August.

A Sufficient Time

It's definitely that time of the year. I wrote last month after Labor Day Weekend that it was an appropriate time to fully take in, consume and enjoy pumpkin beers. It has now got just a tad cooler outdoors and those annoying leaves have been clogging our house gutters and cluttering the sidewalks.

A yummy glass of 2012 Pumking.

With that all said, I now feel that it's time to review some of the interesting pumpkin beers that I've reviewed and snapped nerdy pictures of. The only thing that is holding me back is the fact that I've been too lazy to upload the photographs from my camera and onto the flash drive.

One of the beers I'm extremely excited to review is the elusive Schlafly Pumpkin Ale that I luckily came across a few months ago. It was nearly a perfect beer drinking experience except for just one aspect. For that aspect, you'll have to wait until I get everything typed in and scheduled to post. Other pumpkin beers that I've enjoyed and am ready to review include Ithaca Country Pumpkin Cisco's Pumple Drumkin and Erie Brewing's Johnny Rails Pumpkin Ale.

I'll try to stick to my usual pattern of two beer reviews per-week. That means that tomorrow and Friday will both be pumpkin reviews. Hopefully nothing major happens in the magnificent and eventful world of beer between now and then.

Shut Up Already

I feel like for the last week or so I've been yapping on about pumpkin beer. Maybe it's because it's actually time to consume said style of beer with it being October. Here in Pittsburgh, it's starting to actually feel like fall weather at times. It's been a bit cool, but still has a tendency to heat up in the peak of the afternoon.

What the Hell Did You Put in This?

This weekend my dad and I racked over our homebrewed pumpkin ale into the secondary fermenter. Last year the ABV came in at around 7.5 percent. I tried a sample of the batch we were racking and there was this alcohol burn. I asked what the hell he put in this the week prior. So, we did another gravity test which we ended up having to do a few times. It kept coming out at around 10 percent. We finally settled that this might be a higher ABV than last year's batch. More sugar come out of the pie pumpkins we used? Very possible.

Regardless, the color seems to have taken the same copper/deep amber as it did last year. We shall see how the overall flavor develops. As it sits now, this is looking like more of a two-glass beer and done type of thing.

You've Got to try This

Behold.

October also marks the beginning of something I hope to make an annual tradition. I don't partake in a lot of beer trades between other members of the beer community online. This is mostly in part to the massive collection I have under my kitchen table.

As a matter of fact, I was told last year that there was a beer that I just had to try in Saint Arnold's Pumpkinator aka Divine Reserve No. 9. I tried it and had to get into the fetal position. It was that good. This year I'll be reciprocating with the member of the Texas branch of the Brotherhood of Brew, a group all about trying and sharing different beers. that insisted I try the beer in the first place.

The beer was as black as night and had this amazing nutmeg-like aroma to it. it was just awesome. I'm getting the shakes just thinking about it. Can't wait to try it again. I remember it also having one of the more unique bottle caps that I've ever come across as well. I plan on keeping the cap this time around. Speaking of traditions, one of my favorite drinking nights is the night before Thanksgiving. I saved the bottle for that night last year. It's possible that I make that my official Pumpkinator night.

Monday Rant: Pumpkin and Brown Sugar

Keep your minds out of the gutter. As far as I know, the sweet-tasting yet sticky feeling brown sugar along the glass rim of your pumpkin beer (should your bar choose to do it) is a sweet and sugary sensation that can easily amplify your pumpkin beer. The type of thing is referred to as a "rim-job" as in the rim of your glass.

I've only gone out to partake in this phenomenon just twice this season, but have the same feeling as I have for the past three years when snagging a pumpkin ale at the local pub. It adds an extra kick to the beer, but I constantly find myself complaining half-way through my beers when I get one of these.

I hate to actually sound like some form of a snob on this subject because I rarely end up coming off that way. I know it's ironic given the name of this blog. I just find the dripping of the moistened brown sugar and the stickiness of the fingers that follows to be a constant annoyance. It's almost like a melting ice cream cone, which I find almost even more distracting because I don't enjoy ice cream cones. I'm a spoon and a bowl person. I don't enjoy the fact that I'm re-licking my own spit.

The brown sugar can amplify the taste of said pumpkin beer in terms of sweetness, but as for the aforementioned stickiness. Holy hell. After years of receiving this (and I know you can easily ask for no brown sugar) on the glasses of the pumpkin beers I've ordered I'm not so sure how I feel about it anymore. Nonetheless, I still love pumpkin beer.

Pumpkin Beer Under the Bridge

My favorite local gastropub, Blue Dust, has been planning a reincarnation of its highly successful pumpkin beer festival last October. The festival took place alongside the bar in the empty lot at the corners of Amity Street and 7th Ave.

This year, a new twist has been employed as the lot that was used last year is now being used as some form of a Homestead community garden. The pumpkin beer festival or Son of Pumpkin Fest as it's dubbed this year will happen under the Homestead Grays aka High Level Bridge. Thus, the event goes on rain or shine.

The word is that 12 pumpkin beers will be featured at this year's festival. Those that are supposed to be present are listed on the wall of Blue Dust's event page on Facebook. There was plenty of live music last year. So, expect plenty more this time around.

The pumpkin beer festival is from 2 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Saturday Oct. 12.

Beer Review: Penn Pumpkin Roll Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Six percent

Appearance: This beer poured a dark and shiny shade of copper. The head was thin, white and a little fizzy. It also wasn't able to stick around for any amount of time. Not much was left after the head was gone. I was pretty much face-to-face with the copper body after this happened. Remarkably, there were still many beady trails of bubbles slowly rising upwards despite the lack of head above.

Smell: Amazingly, this smelled like a sweet pumpkin dessert. Big surprise, right? There was plenty of spicy cinnamon with few pumpkin undertones. This brew also featured a scent of prevalent creaminess. Had to be the lactose sugar that was used in the brewing process.

Taste: There was a little kiss of cinnamon on the front of my tongue along with some sweet caramel malt. The generous use of hops, as we usually get in Penn Brewery's offerings, took over from then on before the lactose sugar provided for a rich and creamy finish. The cream flavor also lingered in the aftertaste. The beady bubble trails made for a rich and interesting texture that was felt at the perfect time: when the hops and cream kicked in.

Overall Rating: 

I really anticipated this brew once I heard it was in the works. Still, I hated that it came out in the middle of July. I love when beer reminds me of food. I love holiday desserts. Penn knocked it out of the park with Nut Roll Ale last year and made another winner this time. The lactose sugar that was used makes the beer, in my opinion. The beer looked a tad weak to start, but in the end it wasn't really needed to provide that touch of creaminess some beers provide later in the drink.

Beer Heroes, Too

Honoring and appreciating members of police officers, armed forces and firefighters has become a staple at sporting events in this day and time. Honoring what they do and mean to our communities is something we all should do.

We had a little incident here in Munhall (a suburb of Pittsburgh) this week. It certainly wasn't the largest disaster in the history of mankind, but could have been devastating if our responders weren't there to help suppress the situation.

As some of you usually ask by this point in some of my posts, "What does this have to do with beer?" I say that I'll eventually get there. It's alright to acknowledge some people that are a lot braver than I am.

If you read the article that I linked, you'll notice the name of the chief of Munhall No. 4 close to me. Not only is Dan Rojtas considered one of those aforementioned heroes in his own right, but he can also be classified as a sort of craft beer hero.

Rojtas and his brother Bryan (also a firefighter at Montgomery County Fire Rescue Station 31) recently had an amazing idea to purchase 24 cases of pumpkin beer (even though it's out in the blazing heat of August) and sought out 23 other people to purchase a case that included one bottle of beer from each of the 24 cases. Get the gist? Also, this was of no profit to either. Their aim is strictly to try as many pumpkin beers as possible while being able to spread the wealth and tastiness of beer. Bryan was responsible for a few brews that aren't found in Pennsylvania being included in this "variety pack," which included the vaunted Schlafly Pumpkin. Something that I've never come across even with people out-of-state looking for it.

Rojtas assembling the "pumpkin variety" cases.

They plan on doing something similar in future seasons when the correct seasonal beers come out. This is certainly fodder for future posts in the future. I'm all for hoarding more beer.

Munhall No. 4 has also brought more than great deeds and beer to the surrounding area. It had a mini-fundraiser in recent weeks and sold hoagies (sub sandwiches for those of you outside of Western Pa.) from DiCarlo's here in Pittsburgh. Hoagies that go great with a Pilsner or a Helles Lager. I'll certainly try to let the local folk know the next time this happens.

Monday Rant: Frozen Pumpkins?

Into the stockpile it goes.

Somehow we all knew it was going to happen. After all, our favorite seasonal brews seem to appear earlier and earlier each year. I'm just going to warn you now that this is going to be the paragraph of callbacks. I certainly know I've harped for almost two years about the seasonals hitting shelves on an earlier basis. I recall writing something proposing some kind of craft beer paradox in which seasonal beers end up coming out so early that the release dates are months out of season (i.e. fall beers being released in the spring).

In that very post, I linked to a report of Penn Brewery planning on releasing one of the first pumpkin beers this summer. The month of the release? July. Well the week has come and gone. Amidst one of the hottest heat waves of the 2013 calendar year, Pumpkin Roll Ale has hit the shelves of our beer distributors.

I honestly don't know where a brewery can get pumpkins to have a pumpkin ale come out this early. Did they have a surplus of them last year and freeze the pumpkin meat? That's the only feasible thing I can come up with in my rage.

I told myself all week long that this past weekend was the one in which I wouldn't drink or buy any more beer. As if I didn't need more anyways. In great fear of this pumpkin beer being stripped from the shelves with ultra beer geek speed, I caved and got myself a case on Saturday. Oh, how shameful it is.

I wasn't thrilled at the thought of beers in a can. Slowly, but surely I've grown on that. Canned beer is easily stackable and takes up less room in a fridge. I think we're close to having all of us getting used to beer out of season. Maybe even to the point where we demand these beers year-round instead of this absurdity. One thing we are close to is a certainty. We now have pumpkin beer in July. Which brewer dares to be the first to do it in June? The clock is ticking.

Monday Rant: Seasonal Beer Paradox

I've delved into this subject way too many times while writing this series of posts. I understand the economical facets as to why seasonal beers keep coming out earlier each year. I also understand that distributors and wholesalers don't want to sit on the beer and risk having it go bad. If you're in the restaurant business, that's pretty much the same thing as just having food sitting in the freeze. Just money down the tubes.

I finally partook in the weekly festivities at Pipers Pub on Carson Street this past Thursday that the local online beer community usually attends. While meeting and talking with some of the people there this subject came up once again.



According to a post via Beer Pulse, Penn Brewery is to release its new Pumpkin Roll Ale sometime this July. Is this a sign that most of the other pumpkin beers will be out at some point in July as well? Also, will this pertain to the other times of the year that seasonal brews appear?

If I remember correctly, most of the fall beers were out before my birthday in August last year. Is it just me or are we starting to see a trend of beers coming out earlier and earlier each year? You can only have an earlier release each year so many times before you get to the point when the beer hits the market a season (or maybe two) before it's actually intended.

It just boggles me to think about it. Think of it as the earth's magnetic poles slowly reversing. The more you know.

Beer Review: Rivertowne Pumpkin Spice (2012)

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Rivertowne's Pumpkin Spice pours a vivid shade of orange with some fogginess throughout the body. Yes, it's foggy/hazy, but not in that bad way that resembles one of our rivers. If the beer was a bit darker, we are venturing into that territory. It's head is extremely thick with awesome retention, but doesn't leave a lot of lacing inside the glass at all. I couldn't find out for sure, but if I had to wager anything I'd say this was definitely a nitro draft.

Smell: The three big ingredients you like to see in pumpkin-related desserts this time of the year are all in the aroma of this brew. I got plenty of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Although it was a little tough to discern the brown sugar on the rim of the glass, this beer gives off a few hints of sweetness.

Taste: This is where this beer hits home. It tasted fantastic. There's a ton of pumpkin on the front of the tongue and the spiciness of the beer is perfect. They're not weak nor are they sizzling on your tongue. But the cinnamon is the most noticeable of the three. The thick, white head adds a subtle creaminess that tops this fantastic beverage off.

Overall Rating: 

I'm not quite ready to put this beer above Southern Tier's Pumking, but it's definitely up there. I absolutely loved the combination of sweetness, spice and pumpkin. I'm saddened by the fact I couldn't make it out to Rivertowne's Pourhouse more often to try this a few more times.

Beer Review: Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (2012)

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Seven percent

Appearance: Dogfish Head Punkin Ale pours what looks like to be a peachy color. I picked up both reddish and brownish highlights throughout the body. The beer's head is an off-white and can almost be described as an ivory. It's well-carbonated as evident by the mass amount of bubbles rushing towards the crown of the beer. You will find plenty of lacing that completely encircles the glass as you consume this.

Smell: The fist thing I noticed in this beer's aroma is its tangy hop character. I also got a decent amount of sweet brown sugar, which seemed to be the dominant characteristic throughout. There was also some spicy nutmeg along with some vanilla. I can't forget the tiny bit of pumpkin that was in there as well.

Taste: I got whacked with a ton of sweet brown sugar and pumpkin at first. This tasted amazing. Enjoy those two flavors because the spiciness of the nutmeg takes over immediately and lingers with the hop notes for a long, and I mean a long after taste. If I had it my way, I'd prefer the spices and hops to be a little less dominant.

Overall Rating: 

I only have one complaint with this beer and that's the strength of the hops and spice. Together they're just a tad too strong. I actually think they're a bit more dominant than last year. I feel that the brown sugar and pumpkin are the two best flavors in this beer (it was sweeter last year). Still, we can't blame Dogfish for being experimental as they are known to be. This still remains as one of the top pumpkin ales on my list to buy each season.

Beer Review: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale (2012)

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.8 percent

Appearance: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale pours a deep gold with a vivid orange hue. The head of the brew is white and fizzy, but fades away quickly. It does leave an extremely thin layer atop the beer for the remainder of the drink, though. There are visible amounts of carbonation in this beer, but I prefer a little bit more. If you follow my posts, you know that this year's batch is a completely different one than last year's!

Smell: The spices are dominant in this brew. Nutmeg and cinnamon are the most noticeable. There's also a sugary sweetness you get before taking in the pumpkin aromas. Overall, it smells like pumpkin pie, which hits the mark for most pumpkin ales.

Taste: When I first opened a bottle of this I noticed it looked different. It went even farther south for me when I tasted it. The spices were way too strong. The cinnamon and nutmeg almost start sizzling on your tongue. There's a tad of pumpkin up front that teases you, but fades away quickly leaving you to bout with just the strong spices. A nice bit of mouthfeel from the carbonation is just about the only plus in terms of flavor.

Overall Rating: 

This batch is completely different than last year's Last year, it was much darker and the pumpkin was much more prevalent. After each sip you could taste the roof of your mouth and taste pumpkin. Now, it's just overly spiced.