Imperial Pumking, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood NY

Ah yes, the eerily excellent Imperail Pumking ale!

Pours a brilliant copper.

The smell is spicy - a full aroma. There is brown sugar, caramel and I detect a very dominate oatmeal cookie smell with the slight cinnamon.

It is smooth and velvety - a full body. It is packed with flavor - thick caramel with pumpkin. The brown sugar is there along with that oatmeal cookie flavor. It has a general spice, but doesn't overwhelm the flavor, by any means.

It lingers nicely, leaving a spice flavor in the mouth.

This is a delicious way to end the pumpkin beer season! Southern Tier beers are available all over the East Coast and most recently, I discovered they are available at Bottleworks in Seattle, WA - for those in the area. Excellent beers! I have several more on reserve that we will be tasting soon!

From the bottle: 9%.

Malt: 2-row, caramel (remember from our beer lesson #1 that 2-row are popular in Europe & tend to be more starchy than the 6-row in the US)

Kettle Hops: Magnum

Aroma Hops: Sterling

with pureed pumpkin!

There is also a nice history of Puca (a mystical Celtic creature) which ties into the Halloween spirit - printed on the bottle.

Cheers!

Pumpkin Head, Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland ME

So I was indeed excited to see Shipyard beers available here on the West Coast. They are from Portland, Maine and if you are near that area, they have tastings and a great store with a full stock of their beers available. Most of their brews are only available on the East Coast, but I have found Pumpkin Head at several stores around the Northwest. Let's give it a try....

It pours a pale amber color, and on their website, that it is a wheat beer.

The smell is definitely pumpkin pie, with cinnamon and nutmeg are noticeable. It definitely has a fall aroma.

The taste is predominately nutmeg with a little cinnamon. It lingers nicely on the palate. It is a crisp and refreshing beer. It has a light body and is very drinkable. The spice might be a little strong for a newcomer of pumpkin beers, but it settles nicely over the course of the beer.

The aftertaste is all spice, which lingers for a bit.

All-in-all, a great fall beer! Crisp and refreshing!

Cheers!

Punkin Ale, Dogfish Head, Milton Delaware

Our next pumpkin offering comes from Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware. They are home to some fairly extreme ales, so I am excited to see how punk the Punkin is....

It pours a dark amber, more pumpkin in color than the other's I've sample so far. It has a medium creamy head.

The smell is very spicey, it has a very full aroma.

The body is a little light. It tastes of an array of spices, kind of a mash up of the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and brown sugar - which gives it a general spiciness. It isn't too pumpkin pie and the pumpkin is too predominant. It's not sweet (due in part - I believe - to the fact that it is a brown beer). It is mildly malty. As it warms the malt comes out more, but the spice hangs in there as well.

The aftertaste is a little thin. It rounds out nicely, but a little quickly, leaving just a mild spice in the mouth.

All-in-all, not overly extreme, so still quite drinkable to the new-comers of pumpkin beer. Punkin ale and other Dogfish Head beers are widely available. It is 7% with 24 IBU's,

Cheers!

Pumpkin Ale, Bison Brewery, Berkeley CA

Our next beer is an interesting and exciting choice. This is the first beer I have had from Bison, which is an organic brewery out of Berkeley, California. Straight to it....

The beer pours a bright amber, it is cloudy with a thin head.

The smell is mild, slightly sweet, and mild pumpkin pie.

The taste is a little bit of a surprise. There is hop and yeast noticeable in the beer. The yeast makes the beer a little like a White beer with a little white pepper taste in it. It is spicy and the pumpkin is definitely there. It is slightly reminiscent of a Belgian beer, but for the pumpkin spices.

The aftertaste is sweet, then white peppery and spicy with mild pumpkin.

This is a delicious departure from the other pumpkin beers due to the presence of yeast. I highly recommend grabbing one while they are available. I bought mine at Belmont Station here in Portland, but I've seen it all over the Northwest. Check for it in the 22oz bottle.

Cheers!

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale, Buffalo Bill's Brewery, Hayward CA

Alright, let's forge ahead and try out this season's specialty: The Pumpkin Beer! The first comes from Buffalo Bill's Brewery, advertised on the bottle as "America's Original Pumpkin Ale", so it seems like a logical start for us. Buffalo Bill's is in Hayward, CA, the beer is brewed and bottled by Pyramid Breweries (Seattle, Portland & Berkeley).

It pours a bright amber with a thin head.

The smell is all pumpkin and spice. Not too sweet. The spice is hard to distinguish: cinnamon, clove, allspice...all together.

It is a light body with a decent amount of spice. I wouldn't call it bold, it is fairly balanced for being a "flavored" beer. It has a slight coppery taste - not unpleasant, it balances with the sweetness. The spice is again a general flavor.

The aftertaste is very mild. It dissipates quickly, which is nice. With flavored beers, I've noticed that there can be a sweetness that lingers a little too long. A general toasty taste remains for a few moments.

In all, a great beginning to our pumpkin season. It's not overly intense, so a new-comer looking for to ease into the pumpkin beers might find this one a good starter. I have about 5 more ready to go in the fridge!

Cheers!