Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
This is going to be the all Pumpkin, all Colorado vacation edition of the Best of the Month.
Here are the contenders:
Bristol Brewing Pumpkin Ale weighing in at 5.9%
Our Mutual Friend Porch Pumpkin at 8.8%
Odyssey Beer Works Fluffy Pumpkin lowest at 5.6%
4 Hands Pumpkin Ale at 6%
Odell Brewing Pumpkin Spice Dottie 6.4%
Fluffy Pumpkin edges out Bristol Brewing because that marshmallow and pumpkin combo just had the Halloween vibe, even though Bristol has the most gourd to it.
I do not think that I have had an actual pumpkin IPA as opposed to a pie spice version so let’s dive into the Pumpkin Haze of 21st Amendment Brewery.
Gourd claims fully backed up. The first flavor to appear is pie filling followed quickly by hops and then nutmeg to round it out. The malt bill is pitch perfect as a base for those three major players to do their thing. The other noticeable trait is that this is pretty bright. Some fruited IPAs have a rounded off feeling to them but Pumpkin Haze does not.
I am not a Halloween person or a horror movie person but I do enjoy the creativity of Spooky Season beers. But I will also make a nod to the summer season past for this month’s beer shopping choices.
Angel City Zombie Rotbier – 5.2% – “Rotbier is a traditional Nuremberg-style red lager (rot = red) we brew every year just in time for spooky season. This style of beer is perfect for our warm fall season in LA, being a refreshing lager with a maltier backbone.”
Pizza Port Endless Shoreline IPA – 7% – “Endless Shoreline IPA captures the essence of sun-soaked days with a refreshing burst of earthy tangelo and bright Meyer lemon. Brewed with Riwaka, Waimea, NZ Cascade, Crystal, & Columbus hops – the mid-palate reveals a tropical blend of sweet citrus, lush mango, and juicy papaya, transporting you to a beachside paradise. The finish is dry and crisp, leaving behind subtle hints of peppery lemongrass and a touch of slightly sticky resin.”
The Bruery Dear Great Pumpkin – 10.1% – “a crafted golden stout inspired by the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte. Featuring a golden pour and creamy white foam, you’ll notice tastes of cinnamon, milk sugar, nutmeg, and coffee.”
If you saw the John Oliver – Last Week Tonight commentary on dollar stores and how terrible they are, you will understand why the name of the new beer from Paperback Brewing is so scary and fitting for the Spooky Season…
…it is good to see that Black IPA has found a bit of a seasonal niche for Halloween.
Paperback also has a good beer name going with the Beer Snob IPA but they really should have gone for a different IPA sub-style like Brut instead of…
Each year the Orange County Brewers Guild scare up the Brewers Mash in October for local beers and frights.
The frightful fest is on October 26th this year at the Heritage Museum of Orange County. So get your costumes ready for some trick-or-treating and maybe some spooky special releases.
America has a sweet tooth. And boy, howdy, it is a big one. That craving for sugar is well ensconced in craft beer just like the rest of the U.S. foodways.
Yes, I am calling for at least a moratorium on the hyper sweetened beers. As I have said before and will say again, creativity and boundary pushing is fantastic but we have reached the boundary and it is time to proceed in a new direction.
I am hoping that a new path is already being charted by intrepid brewers and breweries and it will only be a matter of time before that path becomes a clear trend.
But in the meantime, let’s pause it with pancake stouts, stop the sugary seltzers, cancel cacao coffee and eliminate excess eclair beers. We get it. Or at least I do. I want to see what else you can brew.
Some months there is a clear front runner for best beer of the month. Not October, so instead of closing my eyes and picking at random, here are the four beers that intrigued my tastebuds the most.
In no particular order:
We finish off the spooky beer reviews with the appropriately ghoulish label for Institution Ale Co. and their Fall Seasonal IPA which has been given the three descriptor treatment as Dank, Citrusy, Balanced.
Pours a very clear Halloween orange in the glass. First notes are of fruit punch and softness on the palate. The aroma is very, very red berry. Tastes much less than 7.1% abv for sure. Tilts more pale ale to me. There is a bit of woodsy, earthy bitterness in the background like a scarecrow.
Another pumpkin beer but this one is from L.A. local San Fernando Brewing Co., Pumpkin π.
As the can opens, that pumpkin spice aroma wafts up, thankfully there is a bit of actual gourd into it There is, on the negative side, a bit too much sweetness here and a weird metallic taste at the back end of it. For me, this needs a little something else to push it further. Maybe vanilla or a barrel-age to it. As is, it is quite fine but it is one of those where I wanted just a bit more.
Got another spooky season release for you, “Nite Terrors, a sinister twist on our White Nite Golden Stout. This nocturnal version is an Imperial Golden Stout with heaps of cacao nibs and espresso coffee.”
Angel City will have you in the Halloween spirit after drinking since it is a tiny 10% ABV.