750mL bottle, Batch 610 bottled 8-13-10. Label says 5.9%, not 6.0% ABV. Jolly Pumpkin is a frustrating brewery to me - more of that later. The pour produces a burnt orange hue with a small head that produces some nice, white lace. Looks good. The nose and tastes are well ... Jolly Pumpkin! Light acidity, strong apple notes, plenty of cider character and the light funk and mild Brett character. They meld quite nicely together and the beer offers a sharp, refreshing and slightly ethanoic acid...
Notes on beers in the style
Pumpkin Ale
Heavy Seas-The Greater Pumpkin
I've been generally disappointed with the Heavy Seas, higher ABV (Mutiny) series. 22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. The usual Mutiny series presentation. There is a turbid orange pour which disappoints. I really want a good clarity on any Pumpkin beer. Some low level head and a little bit of lace. The nose replicates the combo of pumpkin and light liquor notes very well. I don't get excited about the aroma much, but it does it well. There is also a VERY strong, alcohol note that...
Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale
$9.99 from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. 22 oz bottle, the usual Hoppin' Frog presentation. Pour has an attractive, deep orange color with good clarity, but a smallish and poorly retained head. Nice combination of spices in the nose and the taste. The dominant flavor is a warmish, ginger. The ginger actually burns a little and is quite strong, with a little heat. The beer is plenty simple and reflects what one would expect from the style, but the ginger heat is definitely the...
Smashed Pumpkin
22 oz bottle, classy presentation with high quality on the paper label that wraps around virtually the whole bottle. Gold foil on the neck. Pumpkin Ales are not my favorite, so I feel a little wary, but this turned out to be a magnificent beer. Pour gives me exactly what i was looking for in terms of color and clarity. A perfectly clear, copper/orange body with a decent head that is a little short lived. Given the ABV I can deal with that, so all in all a great looker. A very light touch of...
Heavy Seas – The Great Pumpkin
22 oz bomber from Green's, Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pumpkin beers are a strange beast as far as I am concerned, and this is no exception. Essentially pumpkin products are virtually unknown in England, and when one considers that amount of pumpkin related stuff that is shoved down your throat in the USA, the contrast is really quite stark. Also, given the disappointment that I had with Prosit and the horrible expeience of the Big DIPA (that was almost undrinkable), I'm a touch wary to say the...
Pumking
=== Updated Review 09/12/10 - 2010 vintage === Having been totally convinced in the past that the smell and the look of this beer were always better than the taste, in 2010 with the higher ABV, I feel a few things are quite different than they have been in the past. Firstly the beer still has a lovely color, but the head, retention and lace are not quite as good as they once were. Secondly the smell is not quite as aggressive (or pleasant) as in years past. Plenty of brown sugar and some...
Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale
12oz single from Trader Joe's in Atlanta, GA, USA. $1.00. Best before April '09 notched on the label. I have lots of success with cheap singles from TJ's in the past, so I am usually happy to throw out a buck in the hope of finding an interesting shot. Pale orange macro like pour with an alarming lack of carbonation, head and lace. Decent depth of color, but looks dead. Nose is suprisingly bland and only has a hint of something "pumpkiny" or "spicy". VERY little there. Tastes have a nasty...
Punk’n Ale
12oz stubbie as single from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. $1.35. I didn't have huge hopes for this but as sometimes is the case, it did really nicely. Very attractive orangey amber pour with a really nice head and a dense looking head. Good retention and carbonation. Nice. Very light sweet malts and spices in the nose with some simple pumpkin notes as well. Easy drinking that reminds me of a Sam Adams O'fest. The pumpkin spice notes are not really very noticeable at all, not at least...
Southampton Pumpkin Ale
22 oz bomber from City Beverage, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. $5.49. I guess that this is the beer that finally tells me that I am not that keen on Pumpkin brews! The reason I say that is that I imagine this is pretty much as good as it gets within the style, and despite that I'm just not mad about it. Beautiful clarity in the pour with a bright, light amber, dark orange body. Nice carbonation, super head and some lace. The body of this beer is very attractive. Both the aroma and taste at least...
Pumpkin Ale
As part of Old Farts/CEO BIF - thanks to Vancer. 12oz single. Being Thanksgiving, I thought it was time to clear out the remainder of the Pumpkin and O'Fest brews. Very pale orange pour, little or no lace, but some head as long as there is aggression in the pour. Some pumpkin notes but muted. Seems a little acidic and the alcohol comes through too strong for my liking. Pumpkin taste is a little off. Doesn't seem fresh, almost a bit musty. Perhaps I should have grabbed this earlier. Not a very...
Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale
12oz stubbie single from Total Wine, Kennesaw, GA, USA. Oh dear, from the get go things are NOT good here. It pours like soda. A very fizzy pour with a "head" that disappears almost instantly and dies to leave a cloudy, orange body. No body. Taste is nasty. Earthy, very earthy and something like a clove infused tea. The pumpkin isn't there for me, but it seems to have been replaced by an all-spice soda. Mouthfeel is weird - fizzy and light, like a diet soda. High carbonation but it's way too...
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
12oz bottle. Thanks go out to Vancer as part of CEO/Old Farts BIF. Golden/orange pour with great clarity. Plenty of carbonation in the form of fine bubbles racing up from the bottom of the glass. This seems on the spicy side of the Pumpkin Ale spectrum. Nice. Very light feel. Refreshing. Good malt basis, dryish finish. Drinks well below the advetised ABV. Quite satisfying overall.
Saranac Pumpkin Ale
12oz single from Total Wine in Kennesaw, GA, USA. Typical Saranac/Matt brew - OK, but ultimately rather ordinary. Light amber/orange pour with a nice initial head but this fades quickly with no lace. Lack of carbonation makes this look a little lifeless. Pumpkin and spice does manifest itself in the taste and the aroma at the beginning, BUT this drops off very swiftly. It becomes a rather bland (but inoffensive) slightly spiced brew. All in all, pretty much exactly what I had expected.
Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Thanks go out to YonderWanderer for the trade. Cheers! 2007 release, 22 oz bomber, $5.99. Mid copper colored pour with not a great deal of head after the initial aggressive pour, and not much lace or retention. Pretty heavy pumpkin and spice in the nose. Cloudy. Reminds me a bit of Sam Adams Old Fezzy. Quite sweet with plenty of pumpkin/spice character. Cinnamon and clove come through nicely. Mouthfeel is rather light, but quite refreshing. Drinks easily. A little warming alcohol in the...
Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale
$6.99 for a sixer at Hiram Bottle Shop, GA, USA. Bought a sixer of this PURELY on the strength of my enjoyment of the AB Winter Bourbon Cask (which I thought was decent). Should have known better than to trust AB for a second time, and I should definitely have gone with some more WBCA instead! To be fair this was fairly unoffensive, but that's where the compliments end. Decent orange color with good clarity but the usual lack of life. No head, no lace, looks dead. Aromas and tastes are mildly...
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
Thanks to Silentsabre for thinking of me on this one. Chill-hazed, bright orange pour with what seems to be an unfiltered look about this beer. Head goes quickly but there is some sticky lacing. Mild spice in the aromas and fairly mild in the taste too. The finish is really very citrus peel bitter - almost soap like. I was a little taken aback by the sharp bitterness in the end. Lingers a little. Not unpleasant, just more than I was expecting. Nice mouthfeel and drinkable and refreshing. A...
Punkin Ale
Additional notes 10/01/2022 (Pictured) Still presenting itself as a malty, slightly alternative tasting Vienna or O'fest. It's a little odd, I'll grant you that, but one bottle a year is a welcome change of pace, and I'll likely keep drinking it in approx. that volume in the future. Not what I'll call a favorite, but 12oz per year is something that I enjoy. Original notes 10/15/2006 Thanks go out to SilentSabre for generously thinking of me on one of his recent trades - I am absolutely...
Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
Nice color in the body, a kind of burnt orange with great clarity. Initially a decent head but fades very quickly to nothing. A little Pumpkin flavor in the aftertaste (a vegetable twang) but not much up front. The aroma has something in it too that I simply cannot place - maybe it's even some pumpkin!! Drinks well with a clean taste about it and a mildly bitter finish. Decent value at around $6 for a sixer, and I might just buy one sixer each year to have on hand for curious guests. I suppose...
Pumpkinhead Ale
Very clear and orange in the pour with some decent carbonation. Looks nice. Aroma is very tempting with obvious cinnamon and spice notes. This is carried into the taste. Very, very refreshing to drink and I really enjoyed its tangy, tastiness. The ironic thing is that it is so refreshing it is suited to being a spring or summer brew. Clean and satisfying in the mouth and in the finish. I really enjoyed this and I am surprised at some of the low scores.
Post Road Pumpkin Ale
INITIAL REVIEW FALL 2004: Well, I guess it's lost a bit on me - the whole pumpkin ale thing. I get a beer that is a clear orange color, quite attractive with a little head but next to no retention or lacing, followed by a drink that has definite pumpkin overtones, but a nasty, peppery, prickly spiciness at the end. I don't much care for it. The aroma is not very nice at all, with a sickly (vomit like) touch. EDIT: Fall 2005, drinking a year old '04 Post Road Pumpkin. The aromas have...