Pumpkin Beer Bash Vol 3!

Tis the season for pumpkin beers! If you've been in a grocery/liquor/beer store in the past few weeks you've noticed it's that time of year where breweries all across the country are putting their seasonal pumpkin beers up for sale. I've had numerous friends ask me about pumpkin beers lately, so I decided that in honor of the season (and Eric's upcoming Pumpkinhead article in HorrorHound), I would review 13 pumpkin beers between now and Halloween.

If you missed it last week, 5 pumpkinheads is good, and 1 is bad. This week, I'm taking a swing at Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale, Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale , Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale

They say: (No description on bottle)
I say: Last year I tried one of these and found it to be nothing short of wretched and plasticy, so I was not at all looking forward to a second go-around. After revisiting this brew, I'm convinced that I just had a bad batch last year, but I'm not terribly impressed either. There are faint hints of both pumpkin and spice, but overall, the whole thing feel kind flat for me. Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale is a decent to good standalone beer, but a very boring, passable pumpkin beer.

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Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale

They say: "Full bodied, with a smooth finish"
I say: Meh! Given that Blue Moon has become very popular recently, this is probably the most mainstream pumpkin beer that you could find, and that's a damn shame! Sure, it tastes like pumpkins, but not in any pleasant sort of way. Kind of spicy with a very strong vegetable taste, Harvest Moon is much better left on the shelf.

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Southern Tier Pumpking Imperial Pumpkin Ale

They say: "As the first drops touch your tongue a magical spell will bewitch your taste buds making it difficult to escape."
I say: Someone had the right idea when they named this beer. This beer smells very strongly of pumpkin pie, and tastes even better than it smells. This is the only pumpkin beer I've ever had that includes not only the standard pumpkin and spice, but also hints of what can best be described as a grahm cracker crust. Pumpking strikes a perfect balance between taste and drinkability, and at 9% alcohol content, its sure to knock you straight on your ass if you're not careful. For those of you that had your knickers in a twist over me shitting on Shipyard's Pumpkinhead, I suggest you give this a try. I'll accept all appologies, and enjoy the Pumpkingasm!

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