12 Beers of Christmas, Day 12: Trader Joe's Vintage 2009

Brewery: Trader Joe's Brewing Company/Unibroue
Style: Strong Belgian Ale
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: January 2009

Sure, this is sold at Trader Joe's and marketed under the Trader Joe's Brewing moniker but the cork cage features the familiar purple "U" that signifies that this beer comes from the great Unibroue brewery. So let's pop the cork and enjoy some Quebecois "ale sur lees".

Pours a deep opaque brown, damn near black, with the signature Unibroue "voluminous head of froth". Lots of yeasty and dark fruity aromas. Raisins, black currant and a breadiness in the nose.

In the mouth, rich dark fruit, really big and deep, dark fruity flavors. So fruity and so luscious and vinous. Raspberry, black currant, ripe plum...bready too. Thick but smooth with just a hint of warming alcohol. Not too sticky in the finish though, the alcohol cleans the palate just enough to keep it from being overly cloying.

If this is not just a rebottled version of Unibroue's Trois Pistoles, it's a variation on the theme. And at $4.99 a bottle, that's a great value for a very cellarable beer. My other bottle joins my cellar collection today and I need to get out to TJ's to grab another couple bottles.

Unibroue

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 11: Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza Special Ale

Brewery: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI
Style: Belgian Kerstbier (?)
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: December 2009

Popping the cork on this bottle reveals a foamer. Foam pours steadily out for many minutes in the sink. Pours a dark opaque brown with a enormous lacy froth on top. I have to wait a few minutes before I can even dip my nose in it. Yeasty and fruity in the nose, some vanilla and sweet spice...clove?

Ooof! In the mouth, it's an explosion of spice, yeast, ripe grapes, alcohol, baked apples, spiced pears and vanilla. Some wine-y flavors, sweet spice, maybe clove, some caramel and toffee flavors way back there too. There's a cidery character and easy to drink considering the complexity and ABV. As it warms, there a rum flavor...or maybe whiskey. No, it's a rummy flavor for sure. Like rum soaked raisins. Long fruity finish and aftertaste.

It's a Belgian-styled wonder of a Christmas ale. Exquisite and highly recommended.


Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 10: Dominion Baltic Porter

Brewery: Old Dominion Brewing Co., Dover, DE
Style: Baltic Porter
ABV: 6.8%
Date Poured: December 2009

I had a version of this beer about six years ago and although it was good, I haven't had it since. This is mostly because I could not easily get Dominion offerings where I lived but when I saw this at my local bottle shop, I had to grab one.

Pours black as night with a thin brown head that quickly evaporates to nothing at all. Smells of roasty malt, mixed with dark fruit and a just hint of smoke.

No surprises in the mouth as it reflects the nose almost perfectly. Roasty and dark fruit (raisiny) with a fairly chewy body but creamy as well. The roasted malt and fruit mix nicely and the creamy texture makes it go down smooth. The alcohol sneaks up on you a bit since there's nary a hint of booziness. Creamy, mocha-like finish and a lingering roastiness in the aftertaste.

It's as straightforward as a Baltic Porter can be, balanced the fruitiness and the roastiness well and is smooth as velvet. What's not to like? Six years is a long time to wait between samples...but I think they have improved the recipe since then


Old Dominion Brewing

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 9: Stone/Nogne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin Holiday Ale

Brewery: Stone Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin, Nøgne Ø
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: December 2009

Here's a unique brew. What do you get when Stone, Nøgne Ø and Jolly Pumpkin get together to brew a holiday ale? You get a 9.0% ABV behemoth brewed with 25% rye malt, white sage, juniper berries, caraway seed and chestnuts. Chestnuts! According to the Stone website, this ale was brewed just once for the 2008 holiday season so I guess I'm lucky to have found some.

It's murky brown in the glass and a thinnish but creamy tan head.Smells very Stone-y if you know what I mean. The malt smells very much like Arrogant Bastard. Big bitter hops with some citrusy hops underneath. Hint of alcohol.

Definitely some alcohol in the mouth, spicy, fruity with a pronounced juniper berry quality adding bitterness, Big bruising malt profile. I mean, this must be hopped but I am having a hard time telling if it's the juniper or some other form of bittering being used.. Again, spicy in the finish, must be the sage. I suppose there's a nutty quality to this ale form the chestnuts but I'd be hard pressed to detect it if I didn't know it was in there. Biug sticky mouthfeel. It a liquid meal.

Very unique ale, very tasty and very well suited for winter. I doubt I can find any more...but I'll keep my eyes open.



Stone Brewing

Nøgne Ø

Jolly Pumpkin

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 8: Bell's Winter White Ale

Brewery: Bell's Brewery
Style: Belgian Witbier
ABV: 5.0%
Date Poured: December 2009

A nasty little illness put my beer drinking on hiatus over the holidays. But the beer's been bought and I'm no quitter! That beer's not going to drink itself so I'm finishing the series heading into the New Year!

Next up is Bell's Winter White. Bell's is new to the Georgia market in 2009 and while I wouldn't think of a witbier as a winter seasonal, it is brewed with orange peel and coriander so in a weird way it works.

Luminous golden color with a snow-white froth. Smell is predictable spicy with clove and coriander present, a touch of bitter citrus and sweet, grainy wheat malt.

Again, spicy in the mouth. Coriander, clove and some other peppery spices. Sweetish finish, nice wheat character. Some muted fruitiness, green apples and pear.

A better white ale than most American versions I have tried. Spicy and lively, easy to drink and, although not a true winter beer, a really tasty ale.


Bell Brewery

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 7: Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery, Akron, OH
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 8.6%
Date Poured: December 2009

Hoppin' Frog Brewery is a small brewery in Akron, Ohio that is most famous for their B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout. That beer is amazing. This is the second beer I've had from this brewery and, again, this was once I was really looking forward too. The bottle for Frosted Frog says this ale is brewed with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

It pours clear but dark mahogany and the head is almost non-existent. Now the first whifff...man, they weren't kidding about the spices. Strong cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in the nose. A bit of fruity malt in there too.

The spice dominates the flavor as well. Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg throughout. It's like drinking a gingerbread cookie, bready, spicy and a tinge of alcohol. A sweet fruity malt backbone but, again, the spices dominate. Not overpowering though, the ale remains pleasant to drink. Sweet spice in the finish.

Unusual and tasty spiced ale. It's a "Wow!" beer for sure.


Hoppin' Frog Brewery

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 6: Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.9%
Date Poured: December 2009

I've heard a lot about Anderson Valley over the years and was looking forward to trying their seasonal offering. Again, I found a bottle in Maryland and brought it home for a sample.

The color is hazy reddish orange with a wisp thin khaki head. Smells of caramel, sweet spice and lightly fruity in the nose. Apricot, orange rind and juicy grapefruit from the hops.

The first thing you notice in the mouth is that the body is kind of chewy. Lots of caramel. Nice mouthfeel with a nice fruity finish. Some light spice, maybe nutmeg and cinnamon. Some light citrusy hops in the finish, some orange rind and apricot. amber ale. Nice finish and sweetish aftertaste.

Imagine an amber ale with a bit more "oomph". That's a basic overview of this ale and it seems a wee bit lacking for a winter warmer at first blush. But it's well crafted, the mouthfeel is nice and if you just let your tastebuds take over, it really is a fine ale to sip while sitting by the fire.


Anderson Valley Brewing Company

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 5: Alvinne Gaspar

Brewery: Picobrouwerij Alvinne, Belgium
Style: Belgian IPA
ABV: 8%
Date Poured: December 2009

I'm not 100% sure that this is meant to be a Christmas beer but I'm taking the Three Wise Men on the label as a sign that it is. The label claims that it is one of the hoppiest beers in Belgium, hopped with Hallertau, Goldings and Saaz.

The body is a lightly hazy copper in color and upon even a gentle pour grows an enormous, billowing white head that leaves a thick sheet of lace on the glass. Yeasty fruitiness in the nose, with apples, muscat grapes and ripe pear interspersed with a peppery spice.

The first taste reveals three competing major flavors: bitter, boozy and fruity. These major themes blend for various combinations throughout the glass of beer. Bright fruit (apples, pears, etc), herbal and citrusy hops, sweet rich malt and some understated alcohol flavors with a bit of warming in the mouth. Medium bodied with a finish that's more bitter than sweet.

Is this the hoppiest beer in Belgium. No way. I like Belgian IPAs and Urthel Hop It and Houblon Chouffe are hoppier in the same style and, off the top of my head, Westvleteren 6 is a hoppier golden ale. But Gaspar is still a pretty tasty beer.

Picobrouwerij Alvinne

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 4: Troegs Mad Elf Ale

Brewery: Troegs Brewing Company, Harrisburg, PA
Style:Strong Belgian Ale (?)
ABV: 11%
Date Poured: December 2009

This is one of the craziest Christmas beers you'll ever come across. It's ruby red, brewed with cherries and Pennsylvania honey, uses a "spicy" Belgian yeast and hopped with the "noblest" of hops, hallertau and saaz. It's an odd concoction that somehow works. I haven't had this beer is years but when I came across it during a recent trip to Maryland, I picked up a bomber.

It's a crystal clear ruby red in the glass with a thinnish ivory colored head. Fruity aromas, honey and ripe cherry. Also smells boozy and oaky.

As you might expect, lots more cherry in the mouth. Very, very sweet. The honey is quite present. Just a touch of tartness fromt he cherries. Sweet spice in the finish, herbal hops in the aftertaste, detectable but faint. Big beer and sticky mouthfeel but the alcohol and the hops clean just enough away in the finish to keep it from being cloying.

It's truly original and, more importantly, really tasty. I wish that I could get it more often.


Troegs Brewing Company

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 3: Scaldis Noel

Brewery: Brasserie Dubuisson, Belgium
Style: Strong Belgian Ale
ABV: 12%
Date Poured: December 2009

This one is called Bush Noel in its country of origin and Scaldis elsewhere due to copyright laws.

It pours a murky reddish chestnut topped by a creamy, inch thick, khaki colored head. The head fades to a wisp but persists in that state. In the nose, it's boozy with dark fruit, sweet spice and yeasty.

There's a lot more dark fruit (raisins, fig, black currant) and sweet spice in the mouth. Now, there is certainly some booziness in the flavor and warming in the mouth (as well as warming as it heads down the gullet) but it's not harsh at all. It's lovely. Lots of flavors lurking about..vanilla, toffee, all that dark fruit especially raisin, sweet spice and just a hint of oak.

Smoother than you would expect, certainly smoother than regular Scaldis but make no mistake, this is a big beer. Big flavors, big sweet mouthfeel and the warming alcohol....leaves my ears hot by the end of the glass but an incredibly pleasant drinking experience. This might have to be one of my new Christmas traditions and, of course, I need to get some to cellar.


Brasserie Dubuisson

12 Beers of Christmas, Day 2: New Belgium 2 Below

Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 6.6%
Date Poured: December 2009

New Belgium is new to the Georgia market this year so I felt it was appropriate to include thier winter seasonal as one of the 12. I have been a big fan of New Belgium for a few years now, always making sure to pick some up when I head west (especially the magnificent La Folie).

Orangey copper with a rocky ivory head that leaves thick sheeting lace down the side of the glass. A very odd hop profile in the aroma with a very sweet citrusy hop smell reminiscent of limes...but I don't think that's right. I think it's a combination of very bright citrus and piney hops that is creating a unique a heavenly hop aroma. Some biscuity malt evident in the nose as well.

In the mouth, there's a distinct honey-like quality to the malt with the bright hoppiness delivering a juicy bitterness that pierces the malt and balances the sweetness in the finish. It's crisper in the mouth than you would expect. Bready and biscuity malt but, again, the hops balance that sweetness in the finish and aftertaste.

Is it a winter warmer is the classic sense? No. Is it good.?Yes. Is it a good beer for winter to my tastes? Borderline but definitely unique and worth a try.


New Belgium Brewing Company

12 Beers of Christmas: Southern Tier Old Man Winter

Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 7.2%
Date Poured: December 2009

I always like to start this series (even in its abbreviated form) with something I know is going to be good. I don't want to start it with something that will leave make the rest of the beers a let down but I want something that I know will be a solid offering. Enter Southern Tier. Southern Tier will occasionally wow you but even their standard fare (the IPA, the porter) are tasty and enjoyable. Combine this with the fact that I love a good Old Ale and Old Man Winter was the logical choice to kick off the 12 Beer of Christmas.

This one is lovely in the glass. (There's the picture...I mean, just look at that!) The body is a crystal clear chestnut with a thinnish tan head. Fine lacing left on the glass. A surprisingly hoppy aroma, floral hops with a caramel underneath.

A rich, lovely blend of caramel and hops in the mouth. Good body, nutty malt, floral and citrusy hops. Lightly sticky and sweet but creamy and sneaky smooth, no hint of alcohol in the flavor. Lovely balance, great drinkability but plenty of flavor and body to qualify as a great winter beer.

A good start. Go get some.

25 Beers of Christmas? Not So Much...

For the last two years, I have done the 25 Beers of Christmas. While I enjoy the feature immensely, 25 straight days posting about Christmas/winter beers leaves me with a blogging hangover (and occasionally, an actual hangover) heading into the new year and my posts tend to drop steeply on January 1st.

So, in an attempt to sustain my beer blogging a bit more heading into 2010, I am shortening this feature to the 12 Beers of Christmas and will begin posting them on December 13th. I am looking forward to it!

After all, it's the most wonderful time for a beer...

Tasting Notes: Mad Hatter India Pale Ale

Brewery: New Holland Brewing Company
Style: IPA
ABV: 5.8%
Date Poured: July 2009

This is one I picked up during a recent trip through North Carolina. I would imagine Georgia will start to see the beers from this Michigan brewery soon.

Pours an bright orangey-gold with a rocky ivory head leaving big chunky lace. Floral hops in the nose, underneath is a light, sweetish malt profile.

In the mouth, sweet malt with a strong herbal hop profile. Somewhat sticky in the finish with long herbal hops in the finish. The hops are a bit harsh and heavyhanded. It's not unbalanced per se but this beer is just trying to hit you over the head. Nothing wrong with that in itself but it's just not that tasty. It goes for bombastic instead of good flavor. Just doesn't work that well here.


New Holland Brewing Company

The Session #33: Framing Beer

This month's version of The Session is about "Framing Beer". I'm not sure what Andy had in mind exactly but my mind seized on this sentence:

I have not done much blind tasting, and I would be intrigued to hear about this ‘frameless’ evaluation of beer.

Well, I have never done any blind tasting and I have always wanted to do one. This installment of The Session gives me the perfect excuse.

Now, it wouldn't be a perfect blind tasting...I was having my wife pick out 4 12oz bottles out of my cellar. I am vaguely familiar with what is in my cellar so I imagine that this colors my "blindness" during the tasting but I have enough inventory that I can't keep it all straight. My wife grabbed the 4 bottles, poured me a sample of each and did not tell me what beers she had picked until after the entire tasting was complete. Here they are in chronological order.

Beer #1

Lots of dark fruit in the nose and a bit of alcohol. Taking a sip, big flavors from this one. Pronounced alcohol is evident first. Fruity, oaky...and roasty. The roastiness comes out more as it warms with lots of sweet dark fruit in the finish. Warming alcohol as it moves down the throat.

After sipping on this for a few minutes, I am pretty certain that this is am Imperial stout. It felt like a strong old ale at first but the dark roasted malt flavors gave it away. No idea what label the beer is but if you made me guess, I'd say a young version of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout.

The Beer Revealed: Duck Rabbit Imperial Stout

I had the style right and I was pretty happy about that. Again, the roasted malt and strength of the alcohol flavors gave it away.

Beer #2

Big caramel aromas in the nose...some faint herbal hops too. The flavor takes a 180 from the smell. The aroma was big and rich, the taste is difficult to detect. Perhaps this is because it follows the Imperial stout but I struggle to get anything from my first couple sips. The body is thin and light, the finish is fairly clean. An American wheat beer? A golden ale? That doesn't go with the smell though. No idea on this one...I'm stumped. If I had to guess, I'd say a strong Belgian pale ale.

The Beer Revealed: Anchor Christmas 2005

Amazing. Without being able to see the beer, I picked up none of the porter-like elements I usually detect in this beer. The age on the beer explains the thinnish feel of the body.

Beer #3

Big malty caramel in the nose. Alcohol too and some pronounced bitter hops. For lack of a better phrase, it smells like a barleywine. In the mouth, big fruity and caramel malt. And hops. Lots of hops followed by an alcohol bite. The hops bite too but you can detect some citrusy notes there too. Some dark fruit and warming alcohol.

It's assuredly a barleywine, almost surely American. If I had to guess, I'd say Rogue Old Crustacean.

The Beer Revealed: 2004 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine

I am surprised that a nearly 6-year-old sample still has that much hop flavor going on. Wow.

Beer #4

Bright fruity aromas, roasted malt and no hops to speak of. Roasty dark malt in the mouth and a lot of carbonation, more than you would expect from what is almost certainly a stout. It's creamy and certainly thinner in body than the Imperial stout I had earlier. There's a character that I can't put my finger on that leads me to believe that this is not an ordinary stout. It got something extra...maybe a milk or cream stout?

The Beer Revealed: New Holland The Poet Oatmeal Stout

I love oatmeal stouts but couldn't identify that oatmeal quality beyond "something else".

Conclusion:

So what have I learned? I learned that, unsurprisingly, beers with big bold flavors are easier to identify than those with more muted and subtle ones. I was still pretty pleased that I was able to identify about 2.5 beer styles out of the 4 I sampled...I've seen blind tastings that go far worse. I am also curious what would happen if I sent my wife to the local Whole Foods with $10 and told her to bring back 4 random single bottles what this exercise would look like. Hmmmm........

For more entries for this month's installment of The Session, check out this post on I'll Have A Beer, this month's host.

Beer Hunting: Green's Discount Beverage in Atlanta

If you peruse this blog on a regular basis, you know that I cellar beer. Well, a second child and the economy in general has slowed down beer acquisitions for my cellar over the last couple years. But when my wife recently gave me some birthday money for beer, I knew there was only one place to take it...Green's.

Green's offers the delightful combination of the best selection and the best prices when it comes to beer in Atlanta. There are two locations but the Ponce location downtown is my store of choice. My goal was to get some new bottles for the cellar.

The only problem with Green's is that it's easy to get sidetracked. And that's what happened to me. Seemingly, for every beer that I got for the cellar (like 2007 N'Ice Chouffe) I found another that was for drinking now (like Sweetwater Wet Dream Ale). But really, it's a good problem to have.

It goes without saying that if you have to pick one place to buy beer in Atlanta, Green's is the runaway winner. Best selection, best prices and, at the Ponce location, a climate controlled beer cellar where much of the Belgian beer is housed.

The haul:

Moylan's Ryan Sullivan's Imperial Stout (2 bombers, 1 for the cellar)
Smuttynose Big Beer Series - Baltic Porter (1 bomber)
Sweetwater Dank Tank - Wet Dream Ale (1 bomber)
Smuttynose Big Beer Series - Imperial Sout (1 bomber for the cellar)
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (1 750ml bottle)
Unibroue Trois Pistoles (2 750ml bottles for the cellar)
Gueuze Girardin 1882 (1 375 ml bottle for the cellar)
Terrapin Side Project #8 - Pumpkinfest (1 bomber)
N'Ice Chouffe 2007 (1 750ml bottle for the cellar)
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (1 750ml bottle)
Houblon Chouffe (1 750ml bottle)
Stone Cali-Belgie IPA (1 bomber)
Heavy Seas The Great Pumpkin (1 bomber)
Stone Vertical Epic 09.09.09 (1 bomber)
Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale (1 24oz bottle)
Brew Dog Riptide Stout (1 bomber)
Samuel Adams Imperial Stout (4 12oz bottles, 3 for the cellar)
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (4 12oz bottles)
Weyerbacher Old Heathen Imperial Stout (6 12oz bottles for the cellar)
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale (6 12oz bottles)

Still, it was a nice addition of "new blood" for the cellar and I'll have to re-inventory the thing to reflect the additions as well as recent subtractions.

Tasting Notes - Pumpkin Beer: Dogfish Head Punkin' Ale

Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
Style: Pumpkin Ale
ABV: 7.0%
Date Poured: October 2009

Brewed since 1994, this is another old favorite. Brewed to honor the Punkin Chunkin Festival in southern Delaware, this may be the oldest pumpkin beer currently brewed.

Pours an orangey copper with a quarter-inch tan head. Smells spicy. Clove and nutmeg and light cinnamon in the nose. Sweet spice. Tart and fruity underneath, spiced baked apple aromas.

Lots of spicy flavors as mentioned in the smell. Nutmeg, clove, allspice, cinnamon. Some pumpkin flavors in there as well. Fruity malt behind all the above. Some hops in the finish. Good body and lightly sour. A bit creamy. Pretty easy drinker around the holidays. It's a regular at my place every fall


Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Tasting Notes - Pumpkin Beers: Clipper City The Great Pumpkin

Brewery: Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD
Style: Imperial Pumpkin Ale
ABV: 8.0%
Date Poured: October 2009

Clipper City has been doing their Heavy Seas series for awhile now which features their big beers like imperial stouts, double IPAs and such. Now they have a subset of the Heavy Seas series called Mutiny Fleet that have limited runs and come in 22 oz bombers. I picked one of these beers, The Great Pumpkin.

From Hugh Sisson's blog on the Clipper City website:

To be sure that we created the best possible recipe, small 5 gallon batches were made using different yeasts, spice blends and other ingredients.

Then the entire crew got together and held a taste test, discussing what was working and what could be improved. Recipes were assigned a number so ingredients were not known to the tasters.

Then we tested one more time just to be sure... Everyone cast a vote for their favorite recipe.

And here it is.

This beer is a very hazy pale orange with a thin head that disappears completely. Pie spice in the nose,(clove and cinnamon) with some alcohol detectable too. Lesser aromas include some fruity malt and some pumpkin.

In the mouth, big flavors, not the least of which is the alcohol. Lots of pumpkin spice, especially clove. Big fruity malt and sweetness. However, outside of the hotness from the alcohol, the beer is well balanced. Spice and malt are equally strong and provide a nice stasis. Spice dominates the aftertasteand sweet malt dominates the aftertaste.

Really tasty and pretty drinkable, even with the strength. I would like to get a bottle for the cellar just to see how it is once it calms down. After a full bomber, the 8% ABV will leave you a bit woozy. Split with a friend if you need to drive!


Clipper City Brewing

Tasting Notes - Pumpkin Beer: Smuttynose Pumpkin

Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth, NH
Style: Pumpkin Ale
ABV: 6.3%
Date Poured: October 2009

When I lived in Maine, this was the best Pumpkin beer available in New England and it was a fall tradition at my house. Smuttynose became available in Georgia this year and this fall saw the return (for me) of Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale.

From Executive Brewer Dave Yarrington's notes on the Smuttynose blog about the first batch of Pumpkin Ale in 2003:

So we started with a base beer that is orange in color and fairly hoppy. We knew the spices would need some sweetness for balance so we used a mixture of crystal and carastan malts. To this we added pumpkin pie spices at the end of the boil. We actually found that adding pumpkin into the fermentor at the end of primary gave us the most interesting pumpkin flavor, and so that's when we add the puree. We've gotten a great response to the beer which I think is well desreved. (sic)

It's hazy orange in the glass with a thin ivory head. Lots of bubbles rising in the glass. Smells of clove and just a touch of nutmeg.

Very fizzy in the mouth. The malt is masked by the carbonation. Bitter in the finish, herbal hops. Detect just a little pumpkin flavor, especially in the finish. Cloves and cinnamon in the mouth. Crisp and a fairly clean finish.

It doesn't deliver the pumpkin and sweet spice flavor at the same level as Terrapin Pumpkinfest but it's a pleasant beer, well crafted and very drinkable.


Smuttynose Brewing Company

Tasting Notes - Pumpkin Beers: Terrapin Pumpkinfest

Brewery: Terrapin Beer Company, Athens, GA
Style: Pumpkin Beer
ABV: 6.1%
Date Poured: October 2009

After taking a break from the pumpkin beers last year, I decided to jump back in this season with a couple new selections and a couple of my old favorites. Thus, a mini-theme for the week leading up to Halloween of pumpkin beers of various varieties.

First on the list is the latest from the Side Project series from Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, GA. This is #8 to be exact, a beer they call Pumpkinfest. According to their website, this beer is a traditional Oktoberfest beer melded with ingredients for a typical pumpkin ale. So you have all the maltiness of a traditional German fest bier (Munich and Vienna malts) coupled with 1 pound of pumpkin per barrel with pumpkin pie spices (allspice, ginger, cloves and cinnamon). Side Project has rarely disappointed and I am looking forward to see how they pulled this one off.

This one pours a crystal clear orangey copper with a thin ivory colored head. Clove and all spice in the nose. Maybe cinnamon. Sweet caramel malt too.

First sip tastes like pumpkin pie. Sweet caramel malt, lovely mix with the spices, sweetish finish with the sweet spice in the aftertaste (allspice, cinnamon and ginger). Sweetish finish and creamy body.

Terrapin does it again. They manage to strike the right note while combining two disparate styles.


Terrapin Beer Company