Pumpkin Smashings: Part Three

Wow! It is the end of October already! This year is sure is flying by. That means I need to really get cracking on more BrewSound posts because I'm going for 500 "Likes" on FaceBook by years end. And you folks aren't going to be sharing this if I don't keep it flush with new material. Thanks to everyone who has already "Liked"(125 at time of posting) and shared this blog with their friends or follows via a feed. And thanks to the few that have made some comments and given suggestions for future ideas for BrewSounds. You all are the people that will help make BrewSounds more enjoyable for everyone and more popular with everybody. And don't forget I am on Twitter, too. Tweet up a storm.

Alright. As promised I am doing another segment of Autumn Ears & Beers today. We have covered one Oktoberfest and two Pumpkin Ales. I'm going to make it three Pumpkin Ales today because, well, I love Pumpkin Ale and I'm really starting to get jazzed for Halloween.

Brewery:

Dogfish Head Craft Brewing

Milton, Delaware

www.dogfish.com

Name/Style:

Punkin/Pumpkin Ale

ABV(alcohol by volume):

7%

Dogfish Head is one of the most well respected breweries in the United States for a reason. They make a huge variety of craft brew using a seemingly endless list of ingredients that most people would not even consider putting into beer. From adding tea, to mixing in juices, to aging beer in wine barrels, Dogfish are always pushing the limits of what breweries do with beer recipes.

With their their Fall Seasonal brew, Punkin, they put themselves right at the top for Pumpkin Ales. Not as high in alcohol as the Weyerbacher Imperial pumpkin, but holding it's own at 7% it is still not a beer to mess around with. Appears a crystal clear honey orange when viewed with sunlight behind it. Changes to a more brown-orange in not so direct light. There isn't any haze to the body, but you can see some tiny particulation floating in the middle of the glass. Spice remnants most likely. 

The aroma is a little more subdued than other Pumpkin Ales, but it is still very pleasing. Bready pie crust with nutmeg, allspice, brown sugar, pumpkin and malt. Alcohol esters comes through all the spices, too. 

I think for me what sets this Pumpkin Ale apart from others is this one seems to have the most pumpkin flavor to it. Other beers tend to be spice-centric, which this one doesn't fall short on by any means, but I can really taste the pumpkin. It carries all the other flavors instead of relying on the spices to convey the pie characteristics. Pumpkin up front followed by a yeasty breadiness and nutmeg and allspice. The malt melds beautifully with the spice and alcohol.  Mouth-feel is a little creamy. Fishes with a  slight sweetness. The pumpkin flavor remains in the aftertaste. This is the ale by which I measure all Pumpkin Ales. A masterpiece.

Musical Pairing:

Artist:

The White Stripes

Song:

We're Going To Be Friends

Album:

White Blood Cells

The Whites Stripes of Detroit, Michigan are one of the most innovative rockers in the last decade, although the more you know about The White Stripes the more you know Jack White is really just trying to create the emotion of old delta blues in a modern drum and guitar style."We're Going To Be Friends" might be most recognizable as the song used during the intro to the film Napoleon Dynamite. I think we can all agree that Dogfish Punkin and whoever tries it are going to be friends.

Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground

Pumpkin Smashings: Part Two

Hello, again. Welcome to another dose of BrewSounds. Yesterday we looked at a monstrous Imperial Oktoberfest called The Kaiser. Today in our third segment of Autumn Ears & Beers, where I review Fall Seasonals, I want to bring us back to another Pumpkin Ale.

In Part One of Autumn Ears & Beers we looked at Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale. This beer was good stuff. Incredibly drinkable with a classy understated taste and great mouth-feel. But today I don't want understated. I want something bigger. I want to take what Imperial tends to impart upon beer(darker hues, heavier mouth-feel, higher abv., bigger malt characteristics) and  combine that with the deliciousness that is Pumpkin Ale.

Brewery:

Weyerbacher Brewing Company

Easton, Pennsylvania

http://www.weyerbacher.com/

Name/Style:

Imperial Pumpkin Ale/Pumpkin Ale

ABV(alcohol by volume):

8%

 I talked about "Big Beers" a little yesterday and how some breweries, like Avery Brewing Company, focus on making them more than others. Weyerbacher is most definitely one of these breweries. The vast majority of their beers are over 8% abv. In fact less than 1/3 of the beers they currently make are under 8% abv. These guys like their beers big and they show it. As far as Pumpkin Ale goes this is about as big as they get. Only a handful have 8% abv. or higher. Weyerbacher really is setting the bar with this one. 

Pours a rich orange/amber. It looks like there may be some sediment floating around, but mainly crystal clear. An oatmeal tinged head about 3/4 of an inch in height is quite creamy. Settles to a lace that doesn't even cover the whole top of the beer, though. Thickens towards the edge of the goblet.

Wow! What a bouquet! It smells of pumpkin pie even from several feet away. The scent does diffuse considerably as the head breaks down. Much more subtle, but with all the usual suspects showing up for the party. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger. Also carries a biscuit or pie crust quality.

Now, this being an Imperial version of the Pumpkin Ale it brings a big malt character to the table. Not dark and bitter, but slightly sweet and richer than the traditional. A touch of rye is present as the flavor shifts towards the spices. Cinnamon and nutmeg with a touch of alcohol and pumpkin. Weyerbacher does use real pumpkin in the process of brewing, choosing to opt of the "Pumpkin Flavoring". A very nice bready/biscuity aftertaste mingles with the spices and a touch of alcohol. 

:

Musical Pairings:

Artist:

Harvestman

Album: 
Lashing The Rye

Steve Von Till of Neurosis plays haunting experimental folk incorporating elements of ambient and drone on this, his first album under the name Harvestman.

Artist:
Steven Von Till
Album:
If I Should Fall To The Field


Steven Von Till's second solo album. Released in 2002.

Pumpkin Smashings

Welcome to the first installment of BeerSounds Autumn Ears & Beers. In this segment we will cover some great seasonal brews and some great seasonal sounds.


 Here in the Tampa Bay area we have been enjoying a first hint of cooler weather to come while much else of the country is well in the swing of Autumn. While the days are getting shorter and shorter and the nights getting colder and longer many turn their thoughts towards Thanksgiving and Halloween. The latter ushering in ghouls and goblins seeking candy at the front door and toilet paper flying through the trees. The former brings me memories of holiday get togethers with friends and  family. Tables full of food and plates overflowing with the gargantuan portions they strain to contain. All the good stuff we shouldn't eat is stacked high. Cranberry jams, turkey drenched in brown gravy,  three kinds of stuffing, home-made mashed potatoes whipped with cream not milk, pumpkin pie and if you look in the right places before you head to the party, pumpkin ale.

Brewery:
Smuttynose Brewing Company
Brewery website:  http://www.smuttynose.com/
Name/Stlye:
Pumkpin Ale/Pumpkin Ale
ABV(alcohol by volume):
6%

This is Smuttynose Brewing Company's seasonal Pumpkin Ale. Brewed in a style true to its colonial roots this pumpkin ale uses real pumpkin puree in the mash, instead of adding mystery "pumpkin flavor" that you will see on some other craft style ales, along with traditional spices. Those spices are what dominate the nose as the beer is poured into a my goblet. Nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger are right up front while the pumpkin, though it hides behind the spices, is present. A touch of malt is there, too. Very pleasant. Copper/Amber in the heart while turning to a more golden hue at the edge of the glass. Slight haze. All this capped by a creamy head made of tight white bubbles.