Brown-nosing Smuttynose

HAPPY NATIONAL DRINK BEER DAY EVERYONE! Every once in awhile in the quest to find one thing you discover something else. That discovery can be as good as the original goal in your journey. While I don't believe I found the biggest diamond in the rough, I'm pleasantly pleased what I discovered in this brew.

It's hard to read from the glare, and label, chosen but this time around we are trying Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale.  The label is a bit dated, but is decorative when it comes to beer labels. The beer label looked washed out, which may either be a label mistake, random bad label batch, or that's literally the way this label comes. It almost works for it, given it an authentic age look. I could be just extrapolating a little too much from just a label ;) Onwards!

It's hard to tell from this picture but the color of the beer is nearly orange with a solid frothy head that took a little time before it settled. Even the foam had the tiniest of color to it. When it came to flavor, the beer had what I'd describe as a raw-er pumpkin flavor. Ever accidentally licked your fingers after carving a pumpkin? Yea me neither, but that's what I'd liken this to. It's got a bit of alcohol strength, with strong caramel sweetness. I'd more accurately describe this as a blend of a fall beer with a pumpkin beer. I really enjoyed it for it's great balance as a pumpkin beer without actually hiding the pumpkin flavor. I give Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale a French PINTRS score as one of the best fall beers I've had. Bravo!

Halloween at the Shipyard

Evening readers!

Tonight's pumpkin beer hails from one of my favored breweries, Shipyard. I've reviewed their beers here before, but this will be the first time a embrace their pumpkin offering, Pumpkinhead, with my palate. Let's see where this ship sails.

I'm so use to the typical Shipyard label that this one throws me for a loop. Small point to critique them on, but I think they could embrace their navel history with a pumpkin twist. But what do I know. This is a very recognizable beer in your local store, and it has been for years.

It's a very frothy pour. lots of carbonation that quickly settles. It's a lighter color, definitely on the lighter side when compared to most pumpkin or Oktoberfest beers. I'd even say it's the color of a turned leaf, which is poignant considering the time of year we see this selection. The aroma is very light. So far, I'm not overly impressed. '

Whereas I've been harsh on beers that are light on pumpkin when they call themselves a pumpkin beer, Shipyard walks a very thin plank and manages to stay on. I'm reminded when I try, and fail, to bake. Were I to try and bake a pumpkin pie, I'm pretty sure I'd leave out several ingredients and come up with a flavor like this. It's a rawer pumpkin flavor, not incorporated with sugar but hinted at with sugar. There's the slightest copper aftertaste in a swallow that is light and bubbly. After several minutes I was surprised at the hidden sweetness in the beer. Halfway through the glass it was more noticeable. Shipyard Pumpkinhead is promoting pumpkin with spices that I thought were balanced in such a way to bring out a pumpkin flavor, not overpower it. For it's balancing act I give Shipyard Pumpkinhead a UK PINTRS score.

So far we've seen lots of average and decent beers, some fails, but nothing excelling. I'm still waiting to be wowed!

Silencing Buffalo Bill

Happy Labor Day Weekend readers!

We're on the hunt, stacking up this year's pumpkin beer selection for who reigns supreme in 2012! So far I've tasted two that I would consider misses, one more so than the other. It's time to introduce you to the 'more so' of the bunch.

I give you Buffalo Bill's Brewery. I've never had one of their beers because, to be honest, every time I have seen one of their selections in the store I have been unimpressed with their bottle art (with the exception of Alimony Ale; that's pretty sick looking). I'll be damned if I let any pumpkin beer I can get skip by just because of 'meh' box art.

It look's pretty solid, right? Not sure if it's just the lighting but the beer itself was much lighter than this picture suggests. It had a nice foamy head, and only a hint of spice or pumpkin aroma. So far, they've lost me on the scent and the look of the bottle. Two strikes before I've tasted it isn't a good sign, though in the glass was more uplifting.

The taste is what we care about, but that's where it missed the most. Yes, there is good spicing. Too much spicing for a pumpkin beer in my opinion. More of a pumpkin beer with Oktoberfest flavors. But where's the pumpkin? Somewhere in this batch there was a pumpkin I imagine but it didn't make it into my bottle. Think of pumpkin zest rather than any real sold pumpkin. This beer, though easy to drink, lacks anything to separate it from your normal fall brew offering. This deserves nothing more than a Flanders PINTRS rating. I'm happy to say it looks like Beer Advocate and it's readers tend to agree with my assessment. Our search continues, and so far we haven't found a positive step this fall yet!

Punk'n Punk'd

Wow so it's been awhile! I've been drinking plenty of homebrew, but just haven't taken the jump to reviewing my own stuff consistently yet. Time to get back on track!

It's pumpkin season...well, pumpkin season is on it's way. What does that mean? Well, it USUALLY means pumpkin beer in another month or so. But, pumpkin beer has already flooded my local liquor stores! It's my favorite variety of beer on the market. So, obviously I grabbed one of each of those that were available and set myself on the quest to find that elusive answer: which beer is the BEST pumpkin beer of 2012!

Punk'n from Uinta (who we've spoken highly of before) is a solid effort at pumpkin beer. Note I say effort, not success. Unfortunately I don't have the picture after its pour thanks to a phone backup but it looked solid out of the bottle. It had a nice dark orange, brass color with a small head. I could be imagining things, but even the foam had a nice tint.

The flavoring is where I have an issue. Granted, I'm looking for a big, bold pumpkin beer. A beer that stands on the shoulders on other pumpkins and squishes gourds for fun. This is not that. The aroma was little different than a sweet Oktoberfest brew. There was a decent spicing and a good mix of sweetness. Subtle but not amazing.

Small head. Im probably making it up, thought there was a orangey hue to the foam. Aroma wasnt pumpkin as much as it was caramel or spiced. Color of amber hue, clear and crisp. Crispy,slightly spicy, sweetness, hint of pumpkin. Subtle but not amazing. Beer Advocate rated this organic pumpkin beer (it does get props for it's organic nature) a 75 and I fully agree. This pumpkin beer won't be particularly memorable among the many fall options, and for that it gets a US PINTRS rating. Till next time!