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: 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: 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.