Uinta Punk'n.

Yes, it is already pumpkin beer season. Southern Tier releases their Pumking in August, which will not elude me this year. Pumpkin beers crack me up because they are generally reviled but breweries still put them out every season. It's very much a early holiday season staple like fruit cake and Cosby sweaters that are too ugly even to be ironically hip. I happened to come across this one last week. This is my first beer from Uinta, a renewable-y-powered brewery in Salt Lake City, UT, though not the first time I've seen a beer from Uinta. I haven't made up my mind whether or not to pick up some of their anniversary barley wine. Anyway, as per my expectations of and experience from my semi-epic, semi-fail (accidentally typed 'semi-fail, semi-fail' originally; maybe how I really feel about that...) pumpkin beer tasting from last year, I'm both a little excited and setting low expectations for this one. After all, this is a pumpkin beer from a new brewery and not an East coast brewery. Then again, most pumpkin beers are pretty bad.

It poured fairly typically, amber-y, orange-brown, and had a little head, which is leaving a little lacing. Carbing is bit sharp but maybe it goes with season. Initially, I thought the taste was a little bland, maybe a slightly squash-y amber. A few sips in, it is still a squashy amber, but all the complexity is on the back end. The unseasoned pumpkin flavor (read: not sweet) intensifies enough to be known and lends a little bit of creaminess. The spice profile is fairly mild and front-loaded, though I get a strong nutmeg impression at the very end.

I do like the mouthfeel on this one. It's just full enough to keep you satisfied in the colder weather but not so much so that you couldn't drink more than one or with dessert. Not being too sweet, I'd think it'd go pretty damn well with a slice of pumpkin or pecan pie. Given its flavor, it's definitely a limited seasonal drinker though. I don't think I'd be interested once December is in swing and the stronger red ales, Scotch ales, and wee heavies come out. I also have to wonder how this would stack up against the other, more versatile autumn seasonals (Goose Island's Harvest Ale comes to mind). Unlike the wee heavies and their ilk, this is a lightweight beer at only 4%ABV, for better or worse. Overall, it's not a bad drinker. Not foul, not offensive. It's average. I'd call that a win for this style.

• Appearance: Orange-brown amber, small head with a little lacing.
• Smell: Mild canned pumpkin aroma. Not cloying.
• Taste: Fairly mild until the finish. Not as sweet as the smell belies, it's more on the squash-side than dessert-side of pumpkin.
• Mouthfeel: Slightly heavier than an amber, a good fit for the intended season. Carb seems high, but it lends an appreciable crispness.
• Drinkability and Overall: 4%ABV. A mild, balanced pumpkin ale. Not a bad choice for the season, but very much a seasonal beer.

Cambridge Brewing Company Pumpkin Ale.

Another disappointing pumpkin ale, though not nearly as bad as others I've had which are over-spiced or too thin or some other common problem with fruit/vegetable beers. That being said, it's a decent, easy drinker. It just doesn't bring much to the table, and I expected a little more from Cambridge.

Pumpkin Beer.

Had a little pumpkin beer tasting. It was a bit for naught since I failed to pick up what was supposed to be the star of the show, Southern Tier's Pumking. Pumking is an imperial pumpkin ale and probably the best pumpkin-based beer I've had. ST's pervasive and often overpowering sweetness does really well here and the extra body from imperial-izing it helps a lot.

• Wolaver's Will Steven's Pumpkin Ale - I thought this was a very good pumpkin ale for being regular strength. It's mild but assertive enough and not overpoweringly one-dimensional.
• Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale - Fairly average. Lot of clove. Fits into the standard Smuttynose profile.
• Dogfish Head Punkin - I've had this before and wasn't necessarily going to include it in the lineup but it was pinch hitting for Pumking. I thought it was ok when I had it before, but compared to the rest of the beers in the tasting, it was much fuller, and maltier with a molasses finish.
• Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale - Overly fruity, but smooth and mild to the point of being nothing. The BA Bros gave it an F.
• Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout - Pumpkin stouts are somewhat uncommon so I had to include it. It's pretty uneventful as a stout and as a pumpkin ale and actually feels pretty weak. I feel like I get some saltiness (from Cape Ann in MA), but maybe it's just my imagination running on context.
• Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale - I don't know why they market it this as Post Road. No spice and very lagery.
• Heavy Seas Great Pumpkin - Vinous body, too much nutmeg makes it come off as bitter.

Overall, a pretty dismal tasting, drinking a bunch of mediocre to awful beers. About half of it ended up going down the drain. I already knew that Pumking is my favorite pumpkin ale. I also now know that it is only brewed in October and supplies are very limited. Now that I've done this tasting, I'm happy to say I never have to try this tasting again.

Cape Ann Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout.

Mass Brewers' Summerfest was the first time I had seen a pumpkin stout, and now here is another one.

For having not drank anything in days, I was pretty amped for a beer. Then I took a ship and was disappointed. But then pleasantly surprised.

Up front, it tastes and feels like a less nitro'd Guinness, a little flat cola-ish. Maybe a hint of saltiness (psychosomatic effect?). Seemingly disappointing vegetable taste. But the finish melts into coffee, milk chocolate, and unspiced baked pumpkin.

Overall, it's a fairly bland beer but surprising and enjoyable. It's certainly drinkable though, after a few, I'm guessing the curious finish is going to matter less and less.

Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale.

Really dark pour, thin head. Fresh pumpkin in the nose, unspiced. Mouthfeel is good, filling, but not too heavy. Taste is a bit metallic. Not much else to say about it. Pretty disappointed. It's like they built the house but nobody is home. A real shame because it could have been a great fall beer.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

Very dark for a pumpkin ale, deep red orange in the light. Thicker head than the other pumpkin ales I've been having, slightly persistent. Nose is fruity, pumpkin-y, followed by some cinnamon. First taste was really nondescript. Second taste had a hot flash in it for a moment but turned into spice.

Generally, it tastes very generic. Mostly clove and nutmeg. I like the mouth feel, but there's not much to go with it. Actually. Kind of disappointed. I expected a lot more from Weyerbacher.

Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale.

Brewed by Brooklyn. Nose is spiced, but the head dies off quickly. Initial sip had a metallic taste to it. A little too much carbing. Finished a little bitter, like too much raw spice, specifically cinnamon, on the tongue. Creamier than the Shipyard Pumpkin Ale, but still kinda mediocre and not something I might want to drink on its own. Might be good with a slice of pumpkin pie. But milk or coffee (or egg nog and bourbon) would be better.

Shipyard Pumpkin Ale.

Light color, thin head, fades fast. Hard to get anything in the nose. Thin carbing, no lacing. The taste is pretty bleh. I can get the pumpkin. In fact, it's very pumpkin pie-ish. If it were a pumpkin creme pie. And it was fat free. It's like that. There's a touch of watery sweetness at the end with a clear nutmeg. But this does not bode well for my desire to try other Shipyard beers (interested in the Pugsley's).

Shipyard seems to be a B-average brewery. This particular one got a C (and an F from "the Bros") on BA. That's pretty harsh. The average for the style in general seems to be about a B-, so I guess take all those ratings with a grain of salt.

Wolaver's Will Steven's Pumpkin Ale.

Looking to do a pumpkin ale tasting this fall so I'm sending out some feelers. The nose is earthy with a slight sweetness and nutmeg aroma. Little carb but not too thin, solid "ale" body. I think it holds itself well. Pumpkin taste is very mild, some complementary pumpkin spice flavors as one might expect in a pumpkin ale.

It's not as ostentatious as ST's Pumking or Dogfish Head's Punkin. Very mild and unassuming. If you were eating something spicy (hot) or even just something spice-intensive with this, it'd get drowned out. I think it'd be really good with simple roasted or broiled meats (top rounds, turkeys, etc). Could be a solid session/meal beer for the fall season.

Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake Bread.

Sourced from Closet. The cheesecake was too over the top for me, but the pumpkin bread itself was pretty good. I have a lot of frozen pumpkin so I'll be looking forward to making more pumpkin breads.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.

Dark copper color, pumpkin spice, light head. It's novelty has worn a bit on me.

Southern Tier Pumking.

Smells like cinnamon and nutmeg. Tastes like pumpkin pie. Not as sweet as I remember, but still tasty and well-balanced.

Pumpkin Dinner.

Ok. So this is just a huge novelty really. Pumpkin actually doesn't taste like anything and has a weird texture. But the innards were good. I made it with a mixture of ground beef, brown rice, lentils, onion, and a can of creme of mushroom soup.The insides were actually quite good though nondescript. It was one of those things you can just eat on its own with anything on top or with anything. I think I had some with cheese, some with Frank's, some with yogurt dill sauce. Whatevs.

I ended up using some of the pumpkin for pumpkin pancakes which I made from scratch and not ready-mix stuff. It turned out ok. Some baking soda didn't mix well in a couple cakes but the pumpkin generally lent a fluffy texture.

I also had a bunch of leftover lentil so I make an Indian style lentil soup which was pretty good but needs some work.

Harvest Moon.

First off, doesn't pumpkin have a really mild flavor? I can't taste anything. Whatevs.