What the Brewery Says...
This tasting was conducted a little differently. Instead of choosing one beer for the panelists to taste I asked them to try whatever pumpkin beer that they wanted and to send in the review. A pumpkin beer is pretty much what a brewer wants to make of it. To learn more about pumpkin beers you can check out an article I wrote for another website - An Overview of Pumpkin Beers.
(Want to be a part of the beer tasters panel? Check out beer tasting panel information and FAQs.)
This tasting was conducted a little differently. Instead of choosing one beer for the panelists to taste I asked them to try whatever pumpkin beer that they wanted and to send in the review. A pumpkin beer is pretty much what a brewer wants to make of it. To learn more about pumpkin beers you can check out an article I wrote for another website - An Overview of Pumpkin Beers.
(Want to be a part of the beer tasters panel? Check out beer tasting panel information and FAQs.)
joesterm tasted O'Fallon Pumpkin Ale - 4 out of 5
This beer pours a cloudy amber color with very little head – nose of nutmeg and pumpkin pie. Very smooth flavor, subtle pumpkin notes but not overpowering. Some pumpkin ales slam you with the pumpkin flavor and forget about the beer but the balance between beer and pumpkin flavor here was very nice. The beer finishes with a nice hop balance that keeps you wishing for more. All in all a very solid pumpkin ale for the fall season.Dawn Allcott tasted Shipyard Brewing Co. Pumpkinhead Ale - 4.5 out of 5
Shipyard Brewing Company’s Pumpkinhead Ale tastes, quite simply, like pumpkin pie in a bottle. This wheat ale is somewhat light-bodied, with a golden hue.Poured slowly sideways into a pint glass, the ale had no head, only a thin ring of foam around the side of the glass. Either I’m getting good at pouring beers, or Pumpkin Ale isn’t foamy. I asked my more experienced beer connoisseur friend and she said, “Probably a little of both.”
From the scent to the sweet taste, everything about this beer says “pumpkin.” I detected no bitterness at all, only cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin. There was just enough carbonation to keep the beer from tasting flat. Note: the pumpkin taste is stronger when the beer is drank out of a pint glass rather than the bottle.
I’m a big fan of Shipyard’s full-bodied ale. Pumpkinhead emerges as my favorite pumpkin ale.
As intriguing as the multidimensional taste is the bottle design. The brown bottle sports a dark blue label, orange print and a very New England-esque design. An image depicting a bronze statue of what could be Paul Revere riding his horse sits atop an orange ribbon that reads Pumpkinhead. The rider’s head is replaced with a very cartoonish, yet evil-looking jack o’lantern. The statue’s upraised hand holds a pint glass of dark beer.
The artist in me is annoyed by the fact that the standard blue and red Shipyard Brewing Co. bottle cap doesn’t match the color scheme of the rest of the bottle.
And that is the only negative thing I can say about this beer.
Well, that and the fact that it is only around for two months out of the year.
Kyle Sanders tasted Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale - 3.5 out of 5
This beer pours a clear, deep copper, with a short-lived head. The aroma of pumpkin pie is faint, but definite, and tastes very much like liquid pumpkin pie. The hops provide a good clean decently long finish.Although definitely a seasonal beer, it is quite pleasant for a change of pace. It has flavor and balance and although I think the style in general is a bit odd, I enjoyed it. Give it a try.
Dawn Allcott tasted Post Road Pumpkin Ale - 2 out of 5
Post Road Pumpkin Ale is another microbrew, brewed and bottled by Utica, NY’s Brooklyn Brewery.In spite of being a native New Yorker, I had never heard of this beer until I approached my local beer distributor desperately seeking, “All the pumpkin ales you’ve got! Any pumpkin ale at all!”
After the deliciously candy-sweet taste of Shipyard Brewing Co.’s Pumpkinhead Ale, I was expecting more of the same in Post Road. Instead, I got a bitter tasting ale, the hops overpowering the rich pumpkin flavor.
The beer was amber in color, full of carbonation, and it poured into the glass with a thick, foamy cream-colored head.
The copy on the bottle states that back in 18th Century colonial America, pumpkins were favored by brewers “for their rich, spicy flavors, which melded perfectly with the malted barley.”
I tasted none of the rich spicy flavors or complexity present in the Shipyard Ale. I detected a faint taste of pumpkin after letting the beer sit on the back of my tongue for a few seconds. The aftertaste was more bitter—like Bass or a good IPA—than the yummy sweetness of Shipyard’s pumpkin brew.
Inhaling deeply, I could smell the pumpkin, but it was still overpowered by the hops.
While this review sounds overly negative, let me clarify. Post Road Pumpkin Ale is not a bad beer.
Those who prefer more hop-py ales would find Post Road palatable—even delicious. But it left me feeling bloated from the carbonation, with a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, probably exaggerated because I was expecting a sweet brew.
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