Pumpkin Time - Beer that is, though the pie's good too

With Fall upon us, Pumpkin beer is in full-effect. Most folks may only see Anheuser-Busch's Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale (not bad) at their local bar, or maybe Shipyard's Pumpkinhead (bad) and Dogfish Head's Punkin' Ale (very good) if they frequent decent beer bars. Either way, here are a few of the good, bad, and "meh" you might encounter this season. Cheers.


Punkin' Ale
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Pumpkin Ale | 7.00% ABV

B+ / 3.8
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

I'm not sure where this appeared from in January, but I'm not complaining. I had a pint (low-head) with my soup and pizza at Liberty St. Tavern. The hops have died down a bit since October, but this is still about the hoppiest pumpkin ale you can find. It starts with big, pulpy pumpkin meat in the aroma and flavor which is followed by a bitter burst of citrus. This isn't the most complexx pumpkin beer, the malts never really came out. But I'd say it's the most balanced and certainly one of the more pleasant to drink.


Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Pumpkin Ale | 8.00% ABV

B+ / 3.9
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 3.5

Had a bottle, poured into a Weyerbacker pint glass.

Big strong, aroma to start, full of pumpkin meat and crust garnished with cinnamon and nutmeg. The flavor is good, but comes off too spice-heavy, taking away from the nice malts and pumpkin in the aroma. Overall, it feels like a bigger beer, but still hides the 8% well. One of the best pumpkin beers I've tried and tastier than the other imperial I've tried, Pumking.


Pumpkinhead Ale
Shipyard Brewing Co.
Pumpkin Ale | 4.50% ABV

C- / 2.7
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | drink: 2

Wow, this is a far cry from the very fine Blue Fin Stout I recently had from Shipyard. This beer tastes like pumpkin pie juice. Seriously, if someone threw a pie into a juicer and strained the remains, this is what you'd get. It feels thin and watery while the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices are overwhelming. Pass on this unfortunate dud.


Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale
Anheuser-Busch
Pumpkin Ale | 5.50% ABV

B- / 3.45
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | drink: 3.5

On-tap at Mach's Gute in Bethlehem PA at $4 a pint. It appeared clear amber with a short white head. For an A-B beer this isn't bad. It's clean and there aren't trademark bad beer flavors like corn or any rough bites. Really, this is a lot like a Yuengling but with a big smattering of Thanksgiving spices - cinnamon, pumpkin spice, clove. It's pretty thin for the style, but not a bad beer.

There's good beer in Florida - Cigar City Brewing

The name is long, but the beer is damn good. I was in Orlando over the weekend for a wedding and made a stop the first night at Knightly Spirits for a few provisions (local beer). While there really isn't a lot of good beer that's unique to Orlando, I did find a couple bottle from Tampa's tiny Cigar City Brewing. The good news, according to their blog, is that they're started to ship bottles to NY. So next time you're in NYC, you might be able to find a bottle. Best of luck.

Jai Alai Cedar Aged IPA - Humidor Series
Cigar City Brewing
American IPA | 7.50% ABV

A- / 4.25
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4

Picked up a 750 ml bottle from Knightly Spirits in Orlando. Poured a hazy orange with a tall white head. The aroma has a syrupy mix of sweetened grapefruit, toasted cedar plank, and ash, but with more of the focus on the citrus hops. The flavor hits off with the hops - big pine and juniper (almost like gin), and then biting orange peel. Dry, wood flavors kick in to finish with cocoa and toasted crust. Overall, a very well-made and interesting IPA. I hope this beer gets around, it's damn good.

It's still summer to me.

I've been hearing a lot of whining lately about the end of summer and frankly, I think it's pretty lame. It's still hot out. I'm still sweating far more than is comfortable. And despite the appearance of Oktoberfest beers, I'm still drinking summer beers like hefeweizens and pilsners.

You're welcome to give up on summer and start hibernating, but not me. There's still plenty of time until the leaves fall and snow flies. Here's the warm-weather beers I've been loving lately.


Hopfenweizen
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
American Pale Wheat Ale

B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

On-tap at the Newark brewpub. Served in a pint glass, the beer was a clear amber with a short white head. The flavor kicked off with typical Bavarian wheat beer spices: clove and banana. And after the initial wheat malt and yeast character, the American hops jumped in with bitter grapefruit and pine flavors. Very tasty and a great blending of IPA and hefe styles. If you've tried and enjoyed the Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse, this is like a lighter-alcohol version. A great beer for anyone that loves wheat beers and hops.


Voodoo Love Child
Voodoo Brewing Company
Tripel

Brewer's Notes: This is our Belgian Style Tippel aged on intimate fruits of Passion Fruit, Raspberry and Cherry. Lightly spiced with corriander and curqua orange peel and other spices of passion. Light Reddish hue and with a alcohol strength of 10.5% and nicely carbonated in the bottle.

B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

Split a bomber at The Farmhouse for $13. This beer is worth checking out for the bizarre label alone. Wow. The beer appears a hazy light amber with a short white head. The aroma and flavor are big on fresh berry fruit and seeds. I'm reminded of the sensation of biting into a raspberry and chewing on the seeds. In the aroma, however, this smell comes off eerily similar to roasted turkey. Go figure. The label says it has cherries, passion fruit, and raspberries, and the former two play a big part of the taste, while the actual tripel malt just provides a pleasant backbone. Check this beer out. Definitely interesting and tasty.


La Trappe Isid'or
Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V.
Belgian Pale Ale | 7.50% ABV

A- / 4.2
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

Ordered a bottle at Tap and Table in Emmaus, PA for $7. Served in a chalice it appears light amber with a slight haze. Man, this is a delicious beer. The flavor is a subtle mix of lemon peel, vanilla, white pepper, sweet candy bread, and white grape. The spices are very mellow, but the flavors are deep. The body is very drinkable and if it weren't a little expensive I'd order another.