Friday, October 26, 2012

More pumpkin ales!

Ok, this might be the best pumpkin ale I've had this year. I think the brewery is Elysian, but the bartender pronounced it- el-uh-shun. I always thought it was like Elysian Fields, but I don't have a dog in that fight. The Schay glass was a surprise, and included for a friend.

I have been on a quest for a pumpkiny pumpkin ale. I think I've found it. This is brewed with a massive amount of actual pumpkin (according to the label) and tons of spices. I really liked this ale. It had a malty base, but not too heavy to drown out the wonderful chorus of spices. I'm going to look for this one again. I don't think I've heard of this brewery before.

More pumpkin ale

This is a Crooked line oak aged imperial pumpkin. I managed to pour it with an oversized head, as I usually do. It had a mild pumpkin smell, but a more overwhelming imperial (alcohol) taste, which, at 10.x abv, does not seem necessary. This pumpkin was ok, but there was a better pumpkin ale at the table.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Namaste, bit€#e$

The subject for this post is a line from a tv show, one of my guilty pleasures. If you know it, I'll buy you a beer. Now on to my thoughts about the beer. I not so carefully poured a glass and the light foamy head erupted like a volcano. After cleaning up the mess, I sat down to taste it. This is a witbier, brewed with coriander and orange. I don't know what type of yeast they use, but it tastes a little Bretty to me. It's fairly crisp for a witbier, but, despite the coriander and orange, I thought it was missing something. The only way I can think to describe it is hollow. Maybe the taste escaped when it overflowed my glass.

Burton Baton

I'm an occasional fan of Dogfish head--I think some of their ales are pretty good, but I think some others have too many different flavors and/or too high an alcohol content. This oak-aged ipa was pretty good. It has a reddish brown color and an oaky taste that balances the bitter hops. The 75-minute oak aged ipa that I had at the brewery last December is still my favorite DFH ipa, but I also enjoyed this.

Pumpkin fest 2012

Fall is here and I have been in search of a good pumpkin ale or lager. This is a Starr Hill Boxcar porter. Before I comment any further, I have a disclaimer--I like pumpkin (except pie, but thats another story). And, if I'm having something pumpkin, I'd like to taste the pumpkin. Having said that, this pumpkin porter was pretty good. I got a good scent of pumpkin on the nose, but slightly less on the taste. It had a creamy rich head topping a deep chocolate color. I liked this, but I'm not ending my quest just yet.