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Scarecrow
Free Will Brewing Co.
- From:
- Free Will Brewing Co.
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Style:
- Herb and Spice Beer
Ranked #38 - ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- 84
Ranked #21,982 - Avg:
- 3.7 | pDev: 7.03%
- Reviews:
- 8
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 27, 2024
- Added:
- Sep 18, 2015
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 3
Autumn Spiced Wheat Ale with Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Allspice, and Vanilla.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bros:
None found.
Reviewed by JohnniEMc from Pennsylvania
3.29/5 rDev -11.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.29/5 rDev -11.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
The brew is bright and very lightly colored amber, in the typical of standard lager way. It's also as translucent, as it now rests inside a clear glass liter mug. Emptying the contents of a pint can produced some extra off-white foam, but that subsided quickly. Behind the scents of vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice is also some sweet maltiness, also like a lager. The spices aren't heavy on the palate and their balance is good. But there's so little else behind them. There's that somewhat sweet maltiness and very little hop presence. The finish is dried out more by the spices than any hopping. As a testimony to the light body, there's no glass lacing. Overall, it's that lack of any sort of body that turns this to the lesser side of OK.
Jan 27, 2024More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Steve_Studnuts from Pennsylvania
3.95/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.95/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Clear golden yellow with a 2-fingered foam cap that fizzles out with little fanfare. Smells kind of like a pumpkin ale minus the pumpkin. Tastes far better than it smells. Holy fuck where did that come from. Tastes vaguely like Dr. Pepper. Good bit of vanilla. I love the allspice. Damn; I need to figure out how to incorporate that spice into my cooking more. Subtle hand with the spices, but they work phenomenally. Medium-bodied with maybe too much carbonation. Lands on the dryer end of the spectrum. This wins me over on taste alone.
Nov 20, 2023Reviewed by 57md from Pennsylvania
3.48/5 rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.48/5 rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Pours a light yellowish copper color with a big head that's well over a finger. The nose has some grainy notes but I'm not getting any of the spices that the can brags about. There is some cinnamon and random sweetness in the flavor but it is mostly flat as well.
Jan 17, 2023Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania
3.93/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.93/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Free Will Brewing Co. "Scarecrow"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
Notes via stream of consciousness: Free Will is one of a few breweries in my area that I can trust to put out a good beer, but "pumpkin" beers are always an exception. It at least has a great label so there's that. Fingers crossed... it's poured a surprisingly golden body. Wow! It's also clear which is also cool. The head is a full lid of bright white foam. I would question whether or not I had the right beer in this can or whether or not it had been mislabeled except that I can smell the spices. On that note, it's not nearly as aromatic as most "pumpkin" beers, and I'll note that they don't call it a pumpkin beer, but rather an Autumn spiced ale. It's brewed with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. I get the vanilla and the allspice but not so much of the cinnamon or nutmeg which is great. They've really twisted this one. On to the taste then... well I get the cinnamon and nutmeg there, and at least at first sip I'm finding the nutmeg before the cinnamon, but then they switch in the short lingering aftertaste. What's that you say? A short lingering aftertaste in a "pumpkin" beer? Yes. This is an entirely different beast, and I'm liking it. The malt is basic, quite possibly just 2-row brewers malt, and lightly sweet. I think that maybe a good Pilsner malt might have been better but I won't argue as it all fits together well. The spices are well restrained but still dominate the malt which is why I thought of Pilsner malt. It's OK though. A moderate bitterness balances it along with the spices and it finishes dry. I haven't checked the alcohol content but it seems to be pretty standard... yep, 5.0% ABV. The head has dropped at this point, and it's only left a little bit better than average lacing. In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently crisp with a moderate carbonation level. So, what to say about this? I love that they've avoided the standard pumpkin ale and done something new with it. It's really nicely balanced and well rounded, and the vanilla really helps with that. In the end though it's still a spiced beer and you have to contend with that. There are those that love spiced beers, and those that hate them, but let's assume that most people fall somewhere in the middle of that range. Would I personally drink this beer at any time of the year? No, not really. Would I make this my number one Halloween beer? No, I wouldn't do that either as there's not that much to it but I would add it into my list of the maybe five or six beers that I do specifically drink around Halloween and Thanksgiving, this would just be the starter. Putting all of that aside I'll judge this completely based on the beer itself, as it should be.
Review #7,820
Mar 20, 202216 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
Notes via stream of consciousness: Free Will is one of a few breweries in my area that I can trust to put out a good beer, but "pumpkin" beers are always an exception. It at least has a great label so there's that. Fingers crossed... it's poured a surprisingly golden body. Wow! It's also clear which is also cool. The head is a full lid of bright white foam. I would question whether or not I had the right beer in this can or whether or not it had been mislabeled except that I can smell the spices. On that note, it's not nearly as aromatic as most "pumpkin" beers, and I'll note that they don't call it a pumpkin beer, but rather an Autumn spiced ale. It's brewed with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. I get the vanilla and the allspice but not so much of the cinnamon or nutmeg which is great. They've really twisted this one. On to the taste then... well I get the cinnamon and nutmeg there, and at least at first sip I'm finding the nutmeg before the cinnamon, but then they switch in the short lingering aftertaste. What's that you say? A short lingering aftertaste in a "pumpkin" beer? Yes. This is an entirely different beast, and I'm liking it. The malt is basic, quite possibly just 2-row brewers malt, and lightly sweet. I think that maybe a good Pilsner malt might have been better but I won't argue as it all fits together well. The spices are well restrained but still dominate the malt which is why I thought of Pilsner malt. It's OK though. A moderate bitterness balances it along with the spices and it finishes dry. I haven't checked the alcohol content but it seems to be pretty standard... yep, 5.0% ABV. The head has dropped at this point, and it's only left a little bit better than average lacing. In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently crisp with a moderate carbonation level. So, what to say about this? I love that they've avoided the standard pumpkin ale and done something new with it. It's really nicely balanced and well rounded, and the vanilla really helps with that. In the end though it's still a spiced beer and you have to contend with that. There are those that love spiced beers, and those that hate them, but let's assume that most people fall somewhere in the middle of that range. Would I personally drink this beer at any time of the year? No, not really. Would I make this my number one Halloween beer? No, I wouldn't do that either as there's not that much to it but I would add it into my list of the maybe five or six beers that I do specifically drink around Halloween and Thanksgiving, this would just be the starter. Putting all of that aside I'll judge this completely based on the beer itself, as it should be.
Review #7,820
Reviewed by beerthulhu from New Jersey
3.94/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.94/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Autumn ale spiced with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice.
A: The pour was a lot more pale then expected, was imagining a more darker fall/pumpkin style. Mid tone brassy tone settles to a light honey-orange in the vessel with a strong clarity. Macro-bubbles composed the effervesce visual. The head was strong atop, after some warming prior pour, it climbed to 3 inches in the glass and was very resilient. Strong dense clusters of lace patches are scattered about the walls.
S: Sweet cinnamon-vanilla accents are latte like on the opening aroma. Warm toasty grain backing with a dusting of nutmeg spicing. Some caramelized brown sugar, ginger, and warm fresh pumpkin pie toastiness rounds out.
T: Warm toasted pumpkin spiciness opens the flavor with some pie spicing of cinnamon and fresh vanilla. Toasted munich grains are toasty sweet stand out, along with some caramelized malt sugars. Deep toasted like flavor with a honey likeness. Buttery vanilla, ginger spicing and some cloves. Love the spicing balance with the malt here with equal representation and one not cancelling out the other.
M: Crisp mouthful is lager like, with a medium maltiness and sticky sugar malts coating the tongue. Toasted warmth and very outstanding per style.
O: Overall a very well balanced pumpkin/fall beer. Most tend to overdue the spicing leaning towards the obnoxious side, this is perfectly in harmony with the malt and everything just blends effortlessly. Deep and sweet toasted pumpkin with an Octoberfest like body that is crushable. Love the vanilla-cream influence and pie spicing that is balanced not only with the malt but with one another. Kept me hooked from the first sip with it's amazing flavor and balance.
Nov 11, 2020A: The pour was a lot more pale then expected, was imagining a more darker fall/pumpkin style. Mid tone brassy tone settles to a light honey-orange in the vessel with a strong clarity. Macro-bubbles composed the effervesce visual. The head was strong atop, after some warming prior pour, it climbed to 3 inches in the glass and was very resilient. Strong dense clusters of lace patches are scattered about the walls.
S: Sweet cinnamon-vanilla accents are latte like on the opening aroma. Warm toasty grain backing with a dusting of nutmeg spicing. Some caramelized brown sugar, ginger, and warm fresh pumpkin pie toastiness rounds out.
T: Warm toasted pumpkin spiciness opens the flavor with some pie spicing of cinnamon and fresh vanilla. Toasted munich grains are toasty sweet stand out, along with some caramelized malt sugars. Deep toasted like flavor with a honey likeness. Buttery vanilla, ginger spicing and some cloves. Love the spicing balance with the malt here with equal representation and one not cancelling out the other.
M: Crisp mouthful is lager like, with a medium maltiness and sticky sugar malts coating the tongue. Toasted warmth and very outstanding per style.
O: Overall a very well balanced pumpkin/fall beer. Most tend to overdue the spicing leaning towards the obnoxious side, this is perfectly in harmony with the malt and everything just blends effortlessly. Deep and sweet toasted pumpkin with an Octoberfest like body that is crushable. Love the vanilla-cream influence and pie spicing that is balanced not only with the malt but with one another. Kept me hooked from the first sip with it's amazing flavor and balance.
Reviewed by EnderFett11 from Virginia
3.74/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.74/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured moderately hard from a tall can into a snifter glass, forming a couple fingers of dizzy white head. I was shocked at how pale this is, effectively a blonde ale in color, maybe a hint of orange. Not much of a smell, a bit of citrus maybe. Taste is okay for a blonde ale, but pretty much no pumpkin flavor. Fairly light bodied with moderate carbonation, easy to drink. Not terrible, but it's no pumpkin ale.
Oct 07, 2020Reviewed by jmdrpi from Pennsylvania
3.8/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.8/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
16 oz can, dated 7/13/20
Slightly hazy yellow golden color, thick white head. Aroma of mulling spices and wheat. Just a touch of vanilla. Taste is similar, but without the vanilla sweetness. The spice level is firm but not overpowering. Medium bodied.
Sep 24, 2020Slightly hazy yellow golden color, thick white head. Aroma of mulling spices and wheat. Just a touch of vanilla. Taste is similar, but without the vanilla sweetness. The spice level is firm but not overpowering. Medium bodied.
Scarecrow from Free Will Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
84 out of
100 with
31 ratings
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