The Definitive Summer Guide To Pumpkin Beers

Wait what?  Pumpkin beers in the summer?  Yes indeed, as the breweries fight to be the first one with pumpkin beers on the shelves the release dates have continues to creep up, to the point where Crown Valley's Pumpkin Smash was released on August 1st this year in Baton Rouge!  Whether you look at Summer in the celestial sense of June 21st to September 21st, or in the Louisiana sense of April-May until basically early October, August 1st is pretty much right in the middle. That being said, here are some of the pumpkin beers we can expect to see around Baton Rouge, and my thoughts...

Ace Pumpkin Cider - Obviously a cider and not a beer, this is a 5% post-Labor Day release. My suggestion: sure, if you really like cider.

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale - No.

Brooklyn Brewery Post Road - A traditional pumpkin ale, it's listed as August-November availability so expect to see it any day now.  It's absolutely worth a try, but don't get your hopes up for something extremely daring.  My suggestion: try it when it comes out, and if you see some still around come Thanksgiving, grab some more. With a minimal hop profile, a little age won't hurt a thing, but at only 5%, it's not going to help either.

Crown Valley Imperial Pumpkin Smash - As mentioned above, this one is already out.  It's a pumpkin imperial stout and it's a good one.  The problem is that it's still way too fucking hot for a 10.6% stout. My suggestion: buy a 4-pack, if you want to try one now go for it, but save the rest for when the weather gets cold. Or maybe buy another 4-pack and save a few for next year and compare to that release.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale - This one isn't available in Louisiana, but if you make your way to Houston for the LSU-Wisconsin game or head to Florida for a late Summer beach trip you might see it on the shelves. It's typically released around September 1st, and my suggestion is to grab a pack if you see it, because they usually go fast.

Harpoon Pumpkin Cider - Yes, Harpoon makes cider.  No, I've never tried it.  I'm not even sure if we're going to get this in Baton Rouge, but I'll be trying it if we do, because I'm a pretty big fan of cider.  This is also an August release, so if I see it I will report back later, but for now my suggestion is that if you like cider, why not give it a try?

Harpoon UFO Pumpkin - Yet another August release, what sets this one apart is that it's unfiltered, and it's 5.9% which is stronger than the rest of the non-imperial pumpkin ales on this list. My suggestion: If you want a little more kick without getting into a real high-gravity beer, this is one to try.

Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela - The name of the brewery is Jolly Pumpkin, and they usually put out some really good and interesting beers, so I'd have high hopes for this one.  I haven't ever tried it, but I'll definitely grab one if I see it on shelves this year.

McAuslan St. Ambroise Pumpkin - I'm 99% sure we'll get some of this down here, I've definitely seen the McAuslan beers before.  They are out of Canada, and they do a really good Apricot beer, so I'd have high hopes for their pumpkin release as well.

New Belgium Pumpkick - Their version of a pumpkin beer is brewed with cranberry juice and lemongrass.  My suggestion: If you like sour beers, this might be the pumpkin beer for you.

Saint Arnold Pumpkinator - Yes!  This one is released every year around October 15th, which is the PERFECT time for a good pumpkin beer. Buy some, enjoy it, age it, share it. You won't be disappointed. Don't try to drink too many by yourself though, or you'll be hurting the next morning.

Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale - According to their website this is not currently brewed... so... I guess I'll have to pass!

Shipyard Pumpkinhead - One of the older pumpkin beers that I can remember, this one comes out in August as well, so sometime soon! It's only 4.5%, and a traditional lighter pumpkin beer.  My suggestion: give it a try, it's not the best on this list, but not the worst either.

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin - This is basically an imperial version of the Pumpkinhead, a little darker and a lot stronger, doubled to 9%.  It's also an August release, and I recommend grabbing a bottle or two, one for now and one for later.  This one should age pretty well.

Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat - No.

Southampton Pumpkin Ale - Another one that I haven't tried, I expect it to be released in Louisiana as I've seen previous Southampton beers on the shelves.  Their Double White and Imperial Porter are both excellent, so I'll give their pumpkin ale a try for sure.

Southern Tier Pumking - They describe this one as an Imperial Pumpkin Ale, at 8.6% with an August release.  I haven't seen any in Baton Rouge yet, but they are probably coming soon as well.  I reviewed one for Feature Beer Friday! a while back, and my sentiment holds true, it's worth picking a few up but not much point in aging these, although it won't hurt anything.

Terrapin Pumpkinfest - Honestly I've never tried this one, but we will likely get some in, as we got the previous seasonal, Maggie's Farmhouse peach ale. It's a german-style brew at 6.1%, I'll probably grab a pack and give it a try.

Wasatch Pumpkin Ale - I can't find release info on this one, but it's likely to be out soon. This one is the most "pumpkin pie" of all the pumpkin beers, and only at 4%.  My suggestion: get some for your friends or family that don't really like beer, they'll probably enjoy it.  And if not, you can always cook with the rest.

Woodchuck Private Reserve Pumpkin Cider - There is no release date that I see, but this is one of their limited releases, so quantity will likely be relatively small.  It's 6.9%, so if like cider and want a little more bite than the Ace or Harpoon, find some of these.

Feature Beer Friday! - Southern Tier Pumking 2013

What's that?  Feature Beer Friday! for two weeks in a row?  That's right, and expect this streak to continue.  No more slacking for me, it's time for regular beer reviews and other content on a weekly basis.

For this round, the 2013 release of Pumking from Southern Tier Brewing in New York.  Southern Tier is a relative newcomer to the Louisiana market, and I've featured a few of their regular lineup before, including the Hop Sun, 2XIPA, and Live.  They have also brought us the Creme Brulee and Choklat stouts as well as a few special kegs of barleywine, and of course their pumpkin seasonal.  Pumking is described as an Imperial Pumpkin Ale, clocking in at 8.6% abv.
 
Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jeff Herman (Tiger Deaux-nuts), Dan Fisher, and Mandi Kaelberer.

Serving: 22 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Deep golden color, not a lot of head, this is definitely more of a traditional pumpkin ale as opposed to a pumpkin stout.

Aroma: Pie crust, not overly spiced or too much pumpkin, but it's there. Both Dan and Jeff said that it reminded them of a pumpkin pie.  

Taste: More pie crust, and honestly it could use a little more pumpkin.  It's like everything is there except the pumpkin itself. Despite that it's still delicious.

Mouthfeel: Finishes easy with a lot of breadiness.  

Overall: This is a pretty solid pumpkin beer among the traditional style of brewing pumpkin beers.  It's not going to rival the Saint Arnold Pumpkinator or Crown Valley Imperial Pumpkin Stout, but it's better (in my opinion) than something like the Wasatch Pumpkin Ale or even the Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale. It's absolutely worth picking up a bottle next fall. 

Overall Rating: 78.25
My Rating: 76

Homebrewing With Midwest Supplies

Not too long ago I was contacted by Midwest Supplies about trying out one of their brewing kits and writing about it, so needless to say I took them up on the offer.  I don't write about as much as I do commercial beer, but I've been homebrewing for about two years now.  I enjoy the art of it, the creativity of creating your own beer, and I don't really mind the consumption of the finished product either.  So far, all I had done were my own recipes, but I know there are plenty of fantastic kits out there, so when the offer arose I knew Mandi had been really wanting to brew a pumpkin beer, so it was the perfect choice.

The kit came with almost all the ingredients required for the beer, everything but the pumpkin really, but that was easy to find on our own, and cheap as well.  Since I wanted to see how well these kits could be used by a less experience brewer, Mandi was the head brewer for this round, and I just sat back as the assistant to take some pictures and drink some beers!

First up, the water... I've always had the habit of using bottled water when brewing extract beers... it's probably all in my head, but the few times I tried with tap water the beer tasted off and I've never had that problem with just some natural spring water... at $6 for a full batch it's worth the little extra money.  I'm sure if you are brewing at home the tap water would be acceptable, but it also can't hurt to take the extra step.

From there, it was time to get the water to steeping temperature (155) and steep the specialty grains.  The instructions said to steep them for 10-30 minutes, and that 10 minutes was fine if you are pressed for time.  I just have one word of advice here... if you are pressed for time, DO NOT start a batch of beer.  It's a long process, no matter how much you try to rush it.  We went for the full 30 minutes on the steep, in a muslin bag that I had already (equipment was not included in the kit, but Midwest does sell a wide range of kits) and got the grains to steeping.

Once the grains were steeped Mandi pulled the bag out and got the water to a boil, while adding the malt extract and brown sugar and stirring until they were dissolved.  Since this was an extract kit, the extra step of malting and sparging the grains to extract all the sugar was unnecessary, which saves some time and I've made several tasty beers this way.  Even the award winning Rosemary IPA (2012 gold medal at the Dixie Cup!) was an extract brew.  As soon as the boil hit, the first hops went in, and then it was just hanging out until the end of the boil, when the pumpkin, the spices, and last bit of hops went into the pot.

The second to last step of brew day, was to chill the wort down to fermentation temperature... I have a copper heat exchange coil which works pretty well but even that can take 30-45 minutes.  It's a lot to ask to bring 5.5 (after boil off) gallons of water from 212 degrees down to 68.  Eventually though, the beer was at the right temperature, and Mandi pitched the yeast, gave it a stir, and the carboy went into the fermentation fridge.

As you can see, there was a lot of pumpkin sediment in the bottom, but that's alright.  It'll settle out over the course of a few rackings and won't make it into the finished beer.  After letting the beer ferment for a few weeks it was racked into secondary, and then kegged.  A couple of days of carbonation later, and the beer was ready to drink!  I thought it turned out very nice... and easy-drinking pumpkin ale with good pumpkin flavor and still some hop bitterness.  This beer actually smelled a lot hoppier when it was fermenting, but it settled down to a nice level for the finished product.  The color is right on for a pumpkin ale, and I must say I was very pleased with the finished product.  Mandi did a fantastic time with her brew, and with the instructions provided it was pretty easy to get the job done. 

If I had any suggestions, it would be that the directions were a combination of too intense, or too simple.  There were a lot of 10-30 minutes, or 5-10 minutes in there that could have been done away with in favor of an exact number. There were also some quick instructions which would have been fine for an experienced brewer but way too simple for someone with little to no experience.  This kit isn't really made to be an introduction to brewing though, it's an ingredient kit and it put out a really nice pumpkin ale.  If you want to get into brewing but don't have the equipment, find a friend who does, buy a kit like this, and get them to help you through it.  Then relax and have a homebrew!

Saint Arnold Pumpkinator is in BR!

Hey groovy beer people, Saint Arnold's second annual Pumpkinator release is upon us.  The word around the campfire was that it was releasing in Houston today, but Baton Rouge wouldn't see any until tomorrow, but that's not the case!  Several stores have the Pumpkinator in stock now (Whole Foods, Calandro's, Matherne's), but it's going fast.  Last year's version was outstanding, one of the best pumpkin beers available, and I have high hopes for the 2012 version as well.  And as an added bonus they brewed twice as much as 2011, so the odds are even better that you'll get your hands on some! 

Also, it'll be on tap at a few places around South Louisiana, most notable for the BR Beer Scene, is at The Cove starting at 8 PM tomorrow, October 16th.  I imagine we'll see it on tap a few more places before the year is up, but there's your draft release date! 

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Beer Time! - Wasatch & Dogfish Head

Alright alright, it's time for some pumpkin beers!  The first two I've tried this season have both been quite impressive, the Wasatch Pumpkin Ale and the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.  

The good news for all of you local readers is that the Wasatch Pumpkin Ale can be found in stores around Baton Rouge.  Wasatch is part of the Utah Brewing Cooperative along with Squatters and both are relatively new to the Baton Rouge market. 

Poured into a pint glass, it's a slightly hazy orange-amber color with a finger or so of white head. It dissipated quick with no lacing. 

The smell is where this beer impresses me the most so far. It has a rich pumpkin flavor with delicious spices reminiscent of a holiday pie. Awesome. The flavor is very much like the aroma, a thick pumpkin pie flavor ripe with spice. It's not terribly complex but it's tasty.

It's light to medium bodied which fits the session nature of this one. Actually pretty impressive considering the low 4% abv. All in all, this is very well done, one of my favorite pumpkin beers despite the low alcohol content which usually translates to low flavor, but not in this case.

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: B

Also on the list this fall, the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale... unfortunately this one can't be found in Baton Rouge, but if you're making a trip to Houston or know someone there have them stop at Spec's and pick up some 4-packs.  That's where I found a few and they should still be available.

Poured into a pint glass from a 12 oz bottle, it's a clear amber color with a small white head. Not much retention or lacing to it but the color is spot on for what I would want out of a pumpkin beer.

The aroma is malty with a good compliment of pumpkin spice. It's not overly sweet and not overpowering, which works pretty well. It smells quite rich overall. The taste is a lot more sweet up front than the aroma, then fades to the pumpkin spice flavor I picked up earlier. You can definitely tell that this beer has a brown ale base and the cinnamon and nutmeg come through as well.

It's a medium bodied beer that's super easy to drink with a well masked alcohol content. Contrasting with the 4% alcohol in the Wasatch, this one is a pretty robust 7% alcohol.  

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B+

There are two other pumpkin beers I'm really excited to try as well... Brooklyn's Post Road Pumpkin Ale which should be available in Baton Rouge, and Saint Arnold's Pumpkinator which might or might not make it our way.  This one is based on the Divine Reserve #9, and will be released soon in bombers.  We got a handful of the last Divine Reserve so maybe this beer will see our shelves as well?

Review: Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale

File this one under:

Beer!

Thanks to Lauren Land for bringing some of these over... not one I would normally pick up but that doesn't mean I shouldn't give it a try and let everyone know what I think!  I poured this one from a 12 oz. brown bottle into an imperial pint glass. It poured smooth, copper orange color, crystal clear with a small white head. There is little retention on the head, and minimal lacing. I like the darker color, but nothing else about the appearance is inviting.

The smell isn't strong, but at least there is some pumpkin in there. Also some malty aromas, a little chocolate even. There is even more pumpkin on the tongue, along with the malt flavors... even a kick of pumpkin on the aftertaste. It's better than I expected for sure.

Not bad at all for a macro beer, not the best pumpkin beer I've ever had... or even had in the last few weeks, but not a bad effort.  I think of all the macro lines of beers the 'Blue Moon' beers from Coors tend to be some of the best. 

Taste: C+

Value: B

Another one from Coors/Blue Moon will be coming soon, their 2009 Grand Cru... so look for that one!