Pumpkin Ale

Weyerbacher is a brewery I saw on a lot of shelves when I was living in Delaware this summer but I never bothered to pick up any bottles of their beer. It's nothing personal, I just never got around to it. I'd like to think it didn't have anything to do with the packaging, but these labels are notoriously low budget... It looks like these labels were crafted from the finest clip art galleries available to a community college graphic design student in 1997. Labels don't have any effect on the flavor of the beer, but they might be the deciding factor for someone who isn't familiar with the Weyerbacher name.

Hoppin' Frog has treated me well thus far. I haven't had half the beers in their portfolio yet but I've really liked what I've had. Their Wee Heavy was great and B.O.R.I.S. was amazing. Oak aged B.O.R.I.S. really sealed the deal though. That's a great beer and it made me want to go pick up the rest of their line up. Which is how I came across this bottle of Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin. Pumpkin Ales aren't my favorite style, they're more of a once a year fling between all the Märzens and Christmas beers. They can be really hit or miss so I'm anxious to see what Hoppin' Frog has done. I'm also intrigued by that DOUBLE Pumpkin name. Twice as much of one thing means it's better, right?

Every fall I look forward to the release of Pumpkin Ales. There are quite a few on the market now, more and more every year in fact, so I'm always excited to try one I haven't had before. Today I've got a bottle of Southern Tier Pumking. I've heard a lot of good things about this beer but I've only recently gotten my hands on a bottle of it. The packaging is a little menacing, it's got a sneering Jack-o-lantern on the front wearing a Southern Tier Imperial Series crown while black and orange bats fly around the bottle. At 9% ABV this is the strongest Pumpkin Ale I've seen on shelves and I'm anxious to dive right in.

If there weren't a big Jack-o-Lantern on the label of this beer you probably wouldn't be able to tell it was Pumpkin Ale. Saranac's "Pumpkin" Ale doesn't have that spiced oomph that other Pumpkin Ales pack. There isn't any gingerbread spice or nutmeg in this beer either, it's odd... but I kinda like it. To be clear, as a Pumpkin Ale this beer fails completely. There are really very few similarities between this beer and pretty much every other Pumpkin Beer I've had. As an autumn seasonal beer, this Saranac is pretty good. It has an earthy, nutty flavor that feels warm and is really quite nice.

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale is the Pumpkin Ale that I've come to judge all others against. As far as I'm concerned, Schlafly has made a near perfect Pumpkin Ale. When you open a bottle of this pumpkin beer and pour it into a glass you'll notice two things, cinnamon and nutmeg. This beer smells a bit like a country spice store. The taste is similar to the aroma, it's a lot like nutmeg spice bread or a pumpkin cake. This beer has a rich pumpkin flavor that is balanced out by plenty of caramel malt, cinnamon and brown sugar.

Shipyard's Pumpkinhead ale is a pretty lackluster Pumpkin Ale. This beer has the bare minimum amount of pumpkin spice in it to be classifiable as a Pumpkin Ale. Upon smelling this beer you'll notice that it's got an aroma similar to that of a loaf of pumpkin bread. I really like the aroma, there is a bit of nutmeg and some gingerbread spice. Where this beer falls short is in the flavor department. Drinking this beer is extremely underwhelming. The texture is quite thin and there is practically no carbonation. This means the beer feels a little flat, something that doesn't help when the pumpkin flavor is so mild. A stronger flavor would have made the beer seem thicker. The pumpkin flavor itself is, OK... it's not bad but it isn't anything to write home about.

When you reach for a Pumpkin Ale you expect to get a beer that reminds you of pumpkin pie and cookies. O'Fallon doesn't agree... they seem to think you're expecting to get a watered down Scotch Ale that has some faint pumpkin spice thrown in. That may see a little harsh, but I think it accurately O'Fallon's Pumpkin Beer. This beer isn't all bad though, it's just mostly bad. So, what did O'Fallon do right? Well, this beer smells excellent. It almost smells like a bowl of cinnamon spice oatmeal. There are hints of maple and brown sugar as well. It smells like it'd taste amazing... but, it falls short. There is very little pumpkin, very little spice and very little malt in this beer. Maybe it was just the bottle I had, but O'Fallon's Pumpkin Beer was just too watery and bland for me. It smell great though, so if you're looking for a looking for a beer you can pour in a glass and sniff for a couple hours then this just might be your beer. Otherwise, don't bother.