Devils Backbone Ichabod Crandall
It seems as though Fall-oriented beers like this Devils Backbone Ichabod Crandall (a 5.1% ABV Pumpkin Ale) are arriving on store shelves earlier and earlier each year. In fact, I cracked open a bottle of this brew on August 17th:
Way too early for pumpkin but this is darn tasty. — Drinking an Ichabod Grandall by @dbbrewingco — http://t.co/E1yM5u0GgN
— The Barley Blog (@barleyblog) August 18, 2013
Now, I’m all for meeting market demand and all that, but that’s just ridiculously early — Devils Backbone isn’t the only company guilty of pushing these products too early. I was seeing other examples of the style on store shelves a week or two earlier!
At any rate, now that it’s sub-50° outside in the mornings when I leave for the office, I feel more comfortable in not only enjoying a pumpkin ale, but also finally publishing a review for one. As far as pumpkin ales go, I’m pretty picky. Devils Backbone’s take on the style gets past my own personal preferences for the style easily with this easy drinking and refreshing brew.
Appearance
Icahbod Crandall pours a light orangish amber in color with a quickly disappearing cap of off-white foam.
Aroma
A decent amount of pumpkin and earthy spice notes arrive immediately with light caramel, hints of honey and toasted malt. I like this style of pumpkin ale. It doesn’t remind me of a sweet desert, but still has all the characteristics necessary to match the season.
Taste
A light malt sweetness and pumpkin puree arrive first with a blend of spices quickly in tow. This isn’t an overly sweet beer and it does carry a nice earthiness to it, but it also reminds me of canned pumpkin that my wife uses for Fall deserts. It’s a tasty little brew that is pretty simple in it’s presence. It’s got a medium body with a crisp, refreshing level of carbonation.
Overall
I know that I initially drank this beer way too early in the season, but I made sure to reserve final judgement until after having a few more bottles through September and early October. Ichabod Crandall is a tasty brew with the expected flavors and drinkability, but it’s also sort of middle of the road — much like many of the pumpkin beers that I encountered the past couple of months (those reviews will be arriving on the site soon).
Rating: 3.5/5
