Pumpkin Ale article

[Vange]

I got an opportunity to write a pumpkin ale article hopefully I will get more opportunities like this one. It was a lot of fun to write and taste. All comments are welcome.

http://www.app.com/4074/nov2008/vine/pumpkin.html

[Jono]

Terrific! Thanks for that....it will help for my T-day shopping.

[smokinjoe]

Very nice, Vange. I have seen many of these, but haven't picked them up yet, except the Dogfish Head. I couldn't agree more with your take on it. Beautiful stuff, but it's so rich, it's hard to have more than one. As you described, it's truly a punkin pie in liquid form. I think I may take a shot at the Post Road for Turkey Day.

[gothbat]

Great article! I used to be crazy about the pumpkin ales but I've kinda lost interest. The last time I had a few of them to compare was a few years back and I remember the Weyerbacher being my favorite, glad to see it take the highest rating! I wanted to pick up at least one bottle for Halloween this year like I do every year but, sadly, it was nowhere to be found this year. My previous favorite was the Shipyard but that was a while ago and the last time I bought some, probably last Halloween, I didn't think it was so great; sad to see this one slip!

[Gillman]

The Weyerbacher is very good, winy and concentrated in taste: the review is accurate (good article in general). Some others I've had are excellent too and we have a couple in Canada here too, Great Lakes' version (the Toronto microbrewery, different from the one of the same name in Ohio) is considered one of the best here.

I like them when the pumpkin pie spice is not overdone. It should be subtle IMO and meld with the hop and malt flavors and the squashy flavors of the pumpkin puree if used. If anything I'd tone down the cinnamon in the Weyerbacher but it is still superb.

In Colonial times, ales were sometimes spiced, a hold-over from medieval and pre-hopping days, and pumpkin and other gourds were used for fermentable materials. The current pumpkin ales don't need lineage to validate them (if they are good), but as often is the case, what's old is new again.

I've got some Post Roads in the fridge and enjoy them a lot. I find too if you keep them for a while they seem to taste better, the flavors knit well.

Gary

[Vange]

2 others I tasted, but didnt acquire before I wrote this one were the Elysian Night Owl pumpkin ale and the Anheuser Busch Jacks pumpkin spice ale. I liked the Elysian although I didnt take many notes so I cannot recall how much I liked it. The AH pumpkin ale was surprisingly decent, but again no formal tasting notes.

[funknik]

I got an opportunity to write a pumpkin ale article hopefully I will get more opportunities like this one. It was a lot of fun to write and taste. All comments are welcome.

http://www.app.com/4074/nov2008/vine/pumpkin.html

I meant to do this sooner, but thanks very much for this post! My wife and I hosted the in-laws for Thanksgiving and I picked up some Weyerbacher that was a huge hit. I also had a couple of 22s of something called Southampton Pumpkin ale -- not too bad either.

[Vange]

Glad you enjoyed it and especially the Weyerbacher. Like I mentioned it was a fun article to sit down and write.
The Southampton Pumpkin Ale I couldnt find quick enough to add to my review. If I see it though Id love to try it.

[jesskidden]

Never heard of or have seen the 40º74º Magazine- is it one of those freebie magazines found in the foyers of restaurants, etc? I have seen the 3-4 page free newspaper that the Asbury Park Press distributes. Looks interesting. (I'm in Monmouth County).

One note- which may be the result of a typo or mis-reading- Saranac isn't a "microbrew", it is a brand of the 100+ year old regional brewery, the Matt Brewing Co. of Utica, NY. Once known as the "West End Brewing Co.", when it's main brands were Utica Club and Matt's Premium. The article listed it as being the "New York Malt Brewing Co."

Matt also does quite a bit of contract-brewing for other craft brewers- including the Brooklyn-Post Road line (in fact, they brewed what was the arguably the first contract-brewed craft beer, New Amsterdam, which predated "Samuel Adams" by a couple of years).

[Vange]

Lots of ways to get it although the distrubution numbers arent the largest.

1) Paid subscription

2) If you meet a certain dollar value in assets you'll be sent one for free if you live in Monmouth or Ocean county

3) This link shows where it can be picked up for free
http://www.app.com/4074/contactus/wheretopickusup.html