Beer Review 1: The Battle of the Pumpkins

A sexual pose with the battle’s victor.

So as I said before, I’m writing for my school’s newspaper. It’s cool so far and I’ve had some killer opportunities. But since I’m the only staff writer over 21, I’ve become (kind of by default) the official beer reviewer for the paper. It’s frickin’ awesome! Where else do you get to paid in beer (disregarding all other newspaper writers and reviewers that are in a similar situation)? Yeah, I rock! But since I’m censored and edited at the paper, this will be my ‘uncensored’ version of the reviews. Partay, let’s do it up…

Summer is over (finally! my fur doesn’t get along with the sun’s heat) and the season is starting to change to autumn. The foliage is turning to orange and browns, the smell of rotting leaves (love that aroma) will soon fill the air, the temperature is falling, and holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving (my fav) are right around the corner. I figure there’s no better time, since there is no other time, that I review a seasonal favorite: the pumpkin ale. Get pumped – it’s gonna be a domestic vs. a micro. Let’s get this battle started!

Now, just in case any of you care or are wondering, some of the background information I got concerning pumpkins ales came from beer advocate. It’s a great site to learn about beer, check out the different styles of brews, read reviews, find tastings near you, and much more. Click to see what they have to say about pumpkin ales. (I give props to Kraig for this website find, maybe he’ll be pumped that I mentioned him)

The first beer we’re going to look at is the domestic. Harvest Moon, brewed by Blue Moon Brewing Company (aka Molson Coors), can be found all over the country, which makes it one of the better known pumpkin ales. Okay, now you’re probably thinking, “Blue Moon?! It’s gotta be decent…wahoo!” (maybe not wahoo, but you get the picture) But we have to remember: each variety/brand is different and it’s always possible that this might not be as great as Blue Moon, and enjoyable imitation Hoegaarden. At first glance, it looks pretty good. The orange gold opaque color is suggestive of the season, but I’d prefer if there was some head so the aromas could be sampled much easier. After shoving my face in the glass, the only distinct smell that I could get was the meat of pumpkin, but hey, I guess that’s sort of what we’re looking for…right? But after the first sip, admittedly, I felt let down. all I can say about the taste is that it was like a Coors dressed up in a sexy red dress. Definitely looks good, but once you get to the goods, all you find is a better than normal tasting Coors with an ambiguous and temporary burst of spices. Overall Rating: 2/5.

Could the spices and pumpkin, the flavors I desire with all my heart/mouth, be in the micro? Punkin’ Ale, brewed by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, is native to Delaware (shows it’s not totally boring there). The brownish orange ale fills the glass, which includes a frothy, pillow layer of head. But before I even tasted it, I knew this beer was the winner of this battle. Holy hops on a stick! Just after pouring it, the aromas fill the air, dance into my nostrils, and are interpreted in my brain as: “ballin’!” The smells are complimented and create a very full flavor of a spice banquet. The taste is great as the beer is clearly bodied: pumpkin, good ale with some hops, and finally the “banquet” (nutmeg, brown sugar, and cinnamon each distinguishable) slide down into my stomach. Overall rating: 4/5.

When it comes down to it, individually bought, they were priced less than 50 cents apart. Morale of the story: go micro, it’s hard to go wrong, especially with something like a specialty/seasonal beer. Next week’s beer: Aventinus.