Posted in Brooklyn Brewing, Seasonal Return

SEASONAL RETURN: Post Road Pumpkin

You wouldn’t know it immediately by the label, but Post Road Pumpkin is brewed by Brooklyn Brewing Company (Brooklyn, New York). Post Road Pumpkin is the latest in pumpkin beers to hit shelves for the season.

Commerical Description:

Early American Colonialists, seeking natural ingredients for brewing ale, turned to pumpkins, which were plentiful, flavorful, and nutritious. Blended with barley malt, pumpkins became a commonly used beer ingredient. Post Road Pumpkin Ale brings back this tasty tradition. Hundreds of pounds of pumpkins are blended into the mash of each batch, creating a beer with an orange amber color, warm pumpkin aroma, biscuity malt center, and crisp finish.

Beer Rundown:

Style: Pumpkin Ale
Hops: Willamette and American Fuggle
Malts: American 2 Row Malt, British Crystal Malt, Belgian Biscuit and aromatic malts
Availability: Late August – November. Seasonally. 12oz/6 pks

5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay August 26, 2010

Posted in Matt Brewing Company, Seasonal Return, Smuttynose Brewing

SEASONAL RETURN: Smuttynose Pumpkin

Arriving from it’s home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire it’s the brewery’s newest seasonal – Smuttynose Pumpkin. According to their press release, it was contract brewed by Matt Brewing Company (brewers of Saranac beers, Utica, New York.) While the packaging has gotten an update this year, the recipe of course remains unchanged.

Commercial Description:

“Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale is our homage to the craft and heritage of America’s brewers. Recipes calling for the use of pumpkins in beer date back to early colonial times, when brewers sought to extend their supply of costly imported malt with locally grown ingredients, such as squash and “pompions.”

In that spirit, we brew our ale with the addition of pumpkin to the mash, along with traditional spices to create a delicious American original.”

Taste Expectations: Spices – nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice. Sweet malts throughout this brew with of course pumpkin beers making this a fall favorite.

Availability: Mid August – October seasonally

6.3% ABV

by Reid Ramsay August 25, 2010

Posted in New Releases, Shipyard Brewing

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin Arrives!

Following on the heels of Shipyard’s seasonal release “Pumpkinhead” comes another pumpkin beer – “Smashed Pumpkin.” Smashed Pumpkin is part of the imperial bomber series by Shipyard dubbed the “Pugsley Signature Series.” The series is named for Shipyard’s brewer Alan Pugsley.

Commerical Description:

Smashed Pumpkin is a big-bodied beer with a light coppery orange color and pleasing aromas of pumpkin and nutmeg. The Pale Ale, Wheat, and Light Munich malts combine with the natural tannin in pumpkin and the delicate spiciness of hops to balance the sweetness of fruit.

Ingredients:

Hops: Willamette, Hallertau

Malts: Pale, Wheat, Light malt

Taste Expectations: Smells of nutmeg & spice. Pumpkin. Taste, pumpkin to match with malt and falls spices to balance.

Availability: 22oz bombers. Draft offerings. First brewed 2009. Fall seasonal

9% ABV

Side Note: Shipyard cellar aged some of the 2009 brew. Bombers with a gold 2009 edition sticker are exclusively available at the Shipyard retail store – Portland, ME.

by Reid Ramsay August 11, 2010

Posted in Coming Soon, Southern Tier Brewing

COMING SOON: Southern Tier Pumking

I’ve probably said this before, but Southern Tier really has become one of my favorite breweries. Even more exciting is that Southern Tier’s Imperial Pumking beer is coming to Atlanta. Now it’s just my opinion, but Pumking is one of my favorite pumpkin beers on the east coast. This beer is actually made with real pureed pumpkin. Ingredients:

Hops: Sterling, Magnum

Malts: 2 Row Pale, Caramel,

Pureed Pumpkin

From the label:

“Pumking is an ode to PÃºca, a creature of Celtic folklore, who is both feared and respected by those who believe in it. PÃºca is said to waylay travelers throughout the night, tossing them on its back, and providing them the ride of their lives, from whichthey return forever changed! Brewed in the spirit of All Hallows Eve, a time of year when spirits can make contact with the physical world and when magic is most potent. Pour Pumking into a goblet and allow it’s alluring spirit to overflow. As spicy aromas present themselves, let its deep copper color entrance you as your journey into this mystical brew has just begun. As the first drops touch your tongue a magical spell will bewitch your taste buds making it difficult to escape. This beer is brewed with pagan spirit yet should be enjoyed responsibly.”

Availability: 22oz Bombers. Draft. Seasonal release – August

Arrival: Mid – Late August 2010.

9% ABV

by Reid Ramsay August 9, 2010

Posted in Seasonal Return, Shipyard Brewing

SEASONAL RETURN: Shipyard Pumpkinhead

It’s the time of the season where summer beers are still in full fashion and fall ales start to make their fall appearance. The first pumpkin beer of the season – Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead is now on shelves. Pumpkinhead was first brewed in 2002 in Portand, Maine.

There are beers that use actually pumpkin, and beers that are spiced like pumpkin. Pumpkinhead is the latter- spiced like pumpkin. Ingredients:

Style: Wheat Ale with spices

Hops: Hallertau, Willamette

Malts: 2 Row British Pale, Malted Wheat, Light Munich.

Yeast: English Ale

Taste Expectations: Hints of pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Wheat malt brings this beer full circle. Crisp and light.

Availability: 12oz/6 pks, Draft. September- October seasonally.

5.1% ABV

by Reid Ramsay August 7, 2010

Beer Headlines

Coming Soon, Headlines, New Holland Brewing

Pumpkin