Beer Review: Saranac Pumpkin Ale (2012)

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.4 percent

Appearance: Saranac Pumpkin Ale pours a dark amber. It can better be classified as a deep copper. It also features a few reddish highlights swirling about elsewhere in the body. There's a decent amount of carbonation that's noticeable. The beer's head is very bubbly and cream white. Don't get too excited as it stick around for too long.

Smell: There were decent helpings of cinnamon and clove in this beer. I really couldn't pick up much else. No dark or caramel malts. No pumpkin at all.

Taste: In terms of the spices, I only picked up the cinnamon on the tongue at first. I finally got a slight taste of buttery pumpkin along with a crusty backbone on the finish which resembled that bit of pumpkin pie I expect in these beers. Let the beer warm a few minutes for the clove flavor to come out. As for the texture, what I saw after first pour didn't translate as well as I preferred. It sort of felt watery. Half way through the glass the carbonation bubbles disappeared.

Overall Rating: 

This is an alright drink for a pumpkin ale. The lack of pumpkin in the aroma kinda hurt it in my eyes and it seemed watered down just a tad. It really lacked mouthfeel. I have a few more pumpkin ales left that I planned on reviewing this year, but I'm leaning towards just pocketing those. I hope you enjoyed the pumpkin beers I've shared with you this year.

Beer Review: Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale (2012)

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Post Road Pumpkin Ale pours a shade of vivid/fluorescent orange. The body has a slight haziness to it and the head has a decent thickness, is creamy and white and has excellent retention. Other white bubbles dance around in the glass.

Smell: This beer has a few scents of caramel and biscuit, initially. I also noticed some pumpkin. This is the strongest scent of pumpkin I've come across in any pumpkin ale this year. There are a few pumpkin pie spices, (mainly cinnamon and nutmeg) but they are somewhat tough to notice.

Taste: The pumpkin is very dominant in the taste of this brew. As for other flavors, it's difficult to get any of the pumpkin pie spices on the tongue. Slight hints of the biscuit (possibly a hop presence) and caramel are also there. Overall, the taste of this one comes off as dry to me.

Overall Rating: 

The biggest problems for me with this one is the lacking of the spices to mix well with the pumpkin and the dryness in the flavor. If I remember correctly, this beer seemed to change from last year's batch, too. I remember it being having a darker hue and it boasting more of a hop character.

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: Uinta Oak Jack Imperial Pumpkin (2012)

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 10.3 percent

Appearance: Oak Jacked Imperial (there's that word again) Pumpkin pours a deep and dark ruby red and has a strong sense of thickness to it. the head is thick, frothy and is an off-white color. The best way to describe it is as a cream color. It will leave a ton of ample lacing on the inside of your glass.

Smell: I noticed some ginger and cinnamon in the aroma of this brew as well as some notes of pumpkin and graham cracker, but I'm sure you can guess what was really noticeable. Yes, the oak and booze. For however long this beer was aged in barrels, it really took on the characteristics of said barrel. Those two flavors are very pungent.

Taste: All of the flavors mesh sort of well together. The ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin and graham cracker hints give off an essence of pumpkin pie. The oak and booziness of this beer was just a little too overpowering for me. As the beer warmed those two flavors made it a bit of a struggle. That doesn't take away from the pleasant experience this one provided up until that point, though.

Overall Rating: 

I've never been the world's biggest fan of oak aged beers even though that's the next big thing in the craft beer movement. Sometimes the essence of oak, bourbon and alcohol that gets  soaked up by these beers becomes a bit too powerful for my taste buds. It's calmer as the beer is first opened and the slight presence of that flavor is actually enjoyable for me, but as it warms that flavor takes over the beer.