Today at work, we had an all day offsite educational session. So, it was a pretty good day and I got home a little bit early. After dinner, my son and I went and got haircuts, and when I got home the kitchen was clean. The kids had to do their homework, so I grabbed this beer and sat down to do some homework of my own – another pumpkin beer to add to the list.
Location: Poured into a large Sam Adams Perfect pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 8.5% ABV, 25 IBUs, 25 SRM, 288 Calories
Ingredients: Two-row pale malt blend, rye, Special B, and smoked malt. Hops: East Kent Goldings and Fuggles. Other: Pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.
Appearance & Aroma: It’s brownish orange in color, and very clear. It had a huge, thick, pillowy head on it with tremendous retention and lacing. It also has a pumpkin pie-like aroma to it.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy from the big head on it. The flavor up front is mostly sweet with a pumpkin flavor and rich caramel maltiness. These flavors grow in the middle, becoming richer, but balanced by pumpkin pie spices of cinnamon and nutmeg. In the finish, the nutmeg and cinnamon overpower the other spices and sweetness and last for a bit in the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: This beer has mostly pumpkin pie flavors and rich caramel maltiness. Because of the richer flavors in the beer, I’d pair this with a turkey dinner with mashed potatoes in order to balance out the flavorful beer. It would also pair nicely with a pork dish as well.
Overall Impression: I thought this was a flavorful pumpkin beer, and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s definitely one I’d add to my list of Top 10 Pumpkin beers. I think there are a lot of pumpkin beers that fit into this ABV level and richness, but don’t call themselves a double or imperial… in my opinion, it’s just part of the style to be high in ABV and flavor. Overall, I thought this was one of the better pumpkin beers I’ve had, and would definitely recommend it.
My Rating: 
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