Tags
Assembly Row, Beer, Beer Review, Cape Ann Brewing Company, Massachusetts, Pumpkin Beer, Pumpkins, Slumbrew, Somerville Brewing Company
Hard to believe it is already mid-October! Pumpkin beer season is probably now at its height, so it seem to be an appropriate time to report in on two more. Unlike the other reviews so far, these beers were not tasted blindly. One was ordered while out running some errands and the other was a long-standing favorite that I just couldn’t pulling out of the fridge. So, without further ado, here are the latest two entries into my pumpkin patch.
The first beer to report on this time around is Slumkin Pumpkin, by Slumbrew Brewing Company. We happened to be in Assembly Row running an errand the other and my wife suggested we stop by the American Fresh Taproom to grab a beverage before heading home. I hadn’t been there in a while so I wasn’t about to pass this up. They seemed to have a good number of beers pouring that particular night, but sitting prominently among the beers I hadn’t tried before was a pumpkin beer. I felt committed at this point, so the pumpkin beer it was. Happily, it was pretty good. Checking in at 6.5%, it poured with a typical orangish copper body and a foamy white head. The smell hinted at a promising vegetal sweet taste profile, something that has done well for me so far. The taste did follow-up on this and was overall pretty smooth with vegetal pumpkin tastes upfront, a transition to sweet malts and finally a vanilla/pumpkin spice finish. What made this beer so good for me was that the spice finish wasn’t overdone, though it did build up a bit as the beer went on. The mouthfeel was pleasingly thick and creamy and brought to mind thoughts of pumpkin pie. One of the better pumpkin beers I’ve had this season.
The second beer I have to report on was last year’s co-favorite, Cape Ann Brewing Company’s big 11.0% Imperial Pumpkin Stout. This one is completely different from any of the others I’ve listed on here so far. It poured dark and black, though I couldn’t coax any more than a thin fizzy head out of it. The smell is vegetal and sweet, mixed with just a bit of alcohol as the beer warms. The taste, though, is where the beer really starts to impress. Upfront is strongly vegetal pumpkin. The pumpkin remains throughout the beer, though it transitions to a more of sweet pumpkin syrup-like taste by the end. The pumpkin combines with both sweet and lightly roasted malts and comes to a somewhat boozy finish. There was not much in the way of spice in this beer and that suited me just fine. Mouthfeel was thick and creamy and rather low carbed, excellent for the big tastes and style. Once again, I found this to be a fantastic beer it remains at the top of my list. It is a good beer period, not just for a pumpkin offering. It is also now sold in 4 packs of 16 ounce cans which makes it an even nicer pick up for when a bomber is just a bit more than you are looking for. Highest recommendations for this one.
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