Friday Beer O'clock Selections

Stone Cat Pumpkin Ale - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 10-29-2010

This week's Beer O'clock Selection is Stone Cat  Pumpkin Ale from local brewery here in Ipswich Massachusetts - Mercury Brewing Company, Inc.

I'm a bit short on time this week, so I'll have to make this one a quick review.

ABV:

5.4%

Appearance:

Poured with a deep dark color forming a one finger beigh/brown head and leaving pretty even lacing.

Aroma:

Pumpkin spice nutmeg cinnamon top the aromas with molasses, coffee, chocolate, roasted malt and hops mixed in.

Taste:

Dark roasted flavors with coffee, mild bitter hops and subtle pumpkin. Very good balance

Feel:

Medium body with a crisp velvety feel. Moderate carbonation bite.

Drinkability:

Like the Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale, I like this one for it's more subtle pumpkin flavors. It's not high on pumpkin, allowing other flavors (coffee, molasses, roasted malt) to come through and play a bigger part.

Shipyard Brewing Co. Smashed Pumpkin Ale - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 10-8-2010

This week's Beer O'Clock Selection comes from Shipyard Brewing Co. in Maine. I had planned on featuring something other than another Pumpkin Ale, but then I found this sitting wide-eyed on the shelf begging to take it home with me. How could I refuse? Besides, I've heard good things about this one. And the selection is ...... Shipyard's Smashed Pumpkin Ale (Pugsley's Signature Series)

From the bottle:

Smashed Pumpkin is a big-bodied beer with a light coppery orange color and pleasing aroma of pumpkin and nutmeg. The OG and final Alc./Vol. provide the structure and body. Pale Ale, Wheat and Light Munich Malts combine with the natural tannin in pumpkin and the delicate spiciness of Willamette and Hallertau Hops to balance the sweetness of the fruit. To fully enjoy all the flavors, this ale is best drunk at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Smashed Pumpkin pairs well with sharp cheeses, nuts, lamb, hearty stews and desserts like flan or pumpkin pie. Chefs find this an excellent beer to cook with in dishes such as braised short ribs.

ABV: 9%

Pour:

The brew poured with a clear light copper color with golden/orange hues and formed a loose 2 finger head that dissipated after about a minute or less. Carbonated bubbles are pretty active otherwise.

Aroma:

There is the obvious pumpkin but it does not come across as strong as some of the other pumpkin ales featured here. Nutmeg comes out as the dominant aroma here but there is also a good amount of wheat. I also pick up a bit of caramel, maple mixed in here with hops. Organic and earthy.

Taste:

Not much of a surprise here. Tastes is pretty much the equivalent of the aroma. Good organic flavors. Nutmeg, pulpy pimpkin, and maple. Flavors are smooth and consistent blending nicely across the tongue. A bit sweeter on the front and transitioning to a very slight bitterness at the back. Alcohol comes out a bit right away, but more in the middle. Finish is also mixture of sweet malts and slightly bitter hops that lingers a bit. Spices start to come out more as the beer warms. Really good balance overall.

Feel:

Medium body has some weight with an overall smooth, almost syrupy feel. The alcohol sting combined with mild carbonation keep it from feeling flat.

Drinkability:

Another high ABV coming in at 9% keeps this from being pounder, so as usual, pace yourself. I don't feel that it has the "refreshing" quality to consider more that one or two in a sitting but it make for a tasty treat.

Overall:

I can't say I did not like it. What I like most about this one was the simplicity. Compared to other pumpkin ales, this one is a bit less complex. The flavors are not competing as much as they are working together to create a nice blend of flavors.

Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Ale - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 9-24-2010

This week's Friday Beer O'Clock Selection continues with the seasonal pumpkin selections and was chosen based on a lot of buzz and recommendations from others based on their experience with last year's release. So without further delay, this week's selection is ... Souther Tier Imperial Pumking Ale! 

From the Bottle:

Pumking is an ode to Púca, a creature of Celtic folklore, who is both feared and respected by those who believe in it. Púca is said to waylay travelers throughout the night, tossing them on its back, and providing them the ride of their lives, from whichthey return forever changed! Brewed in the spirit of All Hallows Eve, a time of year when spirits can make contact with the physical world and when magic is most potent. Pour Pumking into a goblet and allow it’s alluring spirit to overflow. As spicy aromas present themselves, let its deep copper color entrance you as your journey into this mystical brew has just begun. As the first drops touch your tongue a magical spell will bewitch your taste buds making it difficult to escape. This beer is brewed with pagan spirit yet should be enjoyed responsibly. 

ABV: 8.8%

Appearance:

Poured with a golden brown color, a bit lighter than other pumpkin ales I've had, and formed a generous creamy head at about 3 fingers.

Aroma:

Another Brew pushing my olfactory senses into hyper-drive. A lot of sweet bready/crusty aromas dominating the nose with spices and pumpkin coming in underneath. I'm also reminded of toasted almonds, amaretto and sweet yams smothered in caramel. (hungry yet?)

Taste:

Sweet in front as expected, with genuine toasted pumpkin spice flavors coming out in the middle mingling with crusty bread. Toasted pumpkin spice finally submits to the dominating crusty bread on the back. Finish lingers with bitter, breadiness with hints of sweet caramel spicy pumpkin goodness. 8.8% alcohol bites a bit, but does not overpower the overall flavors, however, it does become more pronounced as the beer warms.

Feel:

It's certainly got some weight behind it but not a heavy beer. Also has a pretty smooth texture and comes across on the dryer side.

Drinkability:

At 8.8% ABV, this one might leave a dent after the first round or two so pace yourself. 

Conclusion:

This is a treat. When I think of pumpkin, I imagine the full spectrum of flavors that come out in the autumn harvest spread across a Thanksgiving table - squash, yams, pumpkin, breads, and the assortment of flavors they bring. This beer comes about as close as you'd imagine to bringing all that together ( even the burps are pretty good ). If I had to take points away, it would be because of the dry bitterness that comes out in the back and lingers in the finish. It just seems out of place here and throws the balance off just a bit for me. But in the end, after getting past the expectations, I do like it - maybe not as much as the Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale, overall - but still, I like it.

This is a complex brew for sure!! If you've tried this one, we'd love to hear what you thought.

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 9-17-2010

This weeks Beer O'Clock Selection is from a semi-local brewery - Smuttynose Brewing Co. in Portsmouth NH.

Keeping up with the seasonal pumpkin stock popular for this time of year, and hoping to continuing some conversations I had on facebook and twitter about pumpkin ales I decided it would be a good idea to keep the pumpkin going this week with Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale.

ABV: 6.3%

Appearance

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale poured with golden orange color with copper accents forming a slightly loose head at about 2 - 3 fingers, breaking down to a dense coating across the surface and leaving sticky lacing covering the sides. There was a fair amount of carbonation activity in the hazy liquid.

Smell:

The first thing to hit the nose for me was a sweet floral perfumish malt scent followed by pumpkin and spice (nutmeg and cinnamon) with subtle bready aromas.

Taste:

Sweet malts on the front, nice pumpkin and spices in the middle with a good amount of bitter hops on the back. The finish comes together nice with bitter hops and the sweet pumpkin and spice flavors coming through together. Good balance all the way through with more hop bitterness than expected.

Feel:

Nice medium refreshing body. Smooth but with a slight carbonated bite.

Drinkability:

6.3% ABV aside, this is a drinkable brew with a nice balance of pumpkin, spice, malts and hop flavors.

Conclusion:

It's a keeper. I like this one a lot. It's not over the top sweet or over spiced, it's got a great balance and I really like the hopiness that I have not found in other pumpkin ales. The 6.3% ABV is not really noticeable, but does leave a nice warm feeling in my cheeks without interfering with the overall flavors and experience.

Have an opinion on this one? We'd love to hear it...

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale – Friday Beer O'Clock Selections 9-10-2010

This weeks Beer O'Clock Selection comes from Dogfish Head Brewers, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Given that we are beyond Labor Day here in the States, marking the popular end to another summer, the fall seasonal brews are finding their way to the shelves. This week's Selection is a seasonal spicy pumpkin brew - "Punkin Ale" (yes, that is spelled correctly)  :)

ABV: 7.0%

Appearance:

This beer poured with nice creamy head at about one finger before slowly withering to a consintent smoot coating across the surface leaving smooth lacing along the sides. Color is a beautiful clean light brown / copper. In the glass there is a nice crisp clarity and lots of carbonated bubbly action.

Smell:

WOW! This smells So good! Right up front is a mixture of sweet nutmeg, pumkin, and spice. Reminds me of Mom's sweet pumpkin pie, only in a glass. I can just pick up some very slight hops in there too.

Taste:

This is the part I was waiting for... And...
Not what I expected. But not necessarily a bad thing. Pumpkin and roasted barley all the way through. Sweet and spicy up front with Brown Sugar, Malts, and nutmeg dominating. Cinnamon and all-spice come out in the middle and play nice while the back brings it all together with some hoppyness. The finish is slightly bitter at the back of the mouth and the alcohol really comes out here as well. In the end, more sweet and spice than pumpkin in my opinion.

Feel:

Overall it is pretty smooth with a little bit of a bitter carbonated bite. Has a nice hearty medium body and a warming alcohol feel that comes out in the finish.

Drinkability:

I can't see throwing more than a couple of these back at a time. It's a nice, warm your gut kind of brew to enjoy on a cool night but I had some trouble getting past the sweetness and, warming alcohol at first.

Overall:

In the end, I did like this. Full of flavor, decent balance, and nice body. It's not a session beer and I'd likely only have one or two in a sitting anyway. It's good, but I did feel a little cheated after the pour and the amazing smell.