Oct 6, 2011

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale photoMoe pumpkin beer!

The run of new pumpkin-based beer continues strong here at The Barley Blog headquarters. Our next brew in this style is from New Hampshire’s Smuttynose, the maker of some really tasty products that I’ve been fortunate enough to get my hands on in the past (Big A IPA as an example. My experience with the company has been nothing but fruitful and I was expecting just as much from their Pumpkin Ale.

Appearance

Pouring a light amber in color the beer sits proudly with a cap of light orangish tan foam that fell quickly.

Aroma

The beer certainly smells good as a healthy dose of pumpkin mingles with light spices and grassy hops.

Taste

Here’s where things get a little interesting. All of the elements of your standard pumpkin ale are there — earthy pumpkin and moderate spices — as well as a more pronounced hop presence which is nice. There is also, however, a tartness to the beer. I don’t think the beer was spoiled as the tartness wasn’t nasty or palate wrecking, nor was it the tartness you find in a lambic. It could have been from the additional hops, but that didn’t feel right either. It was only slightly off-putting since I did, in fact, drink all the bottle had to offer.

Overall

While I enjoyed the additional bite that the hops had to offer in conjunction with the pumpkin/spice combo, the tartness that I came across wasn’t what I was expecting and I’m not entirely sure that it should have been there. At any rate, I’ll see if I can find another bottle of Smuttynose’s Pumpkin Ale and update this post in the future.

Rating: 3/5

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