Pumpkinator
Capitol City Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a growler this past weekend to share with my wife throughout the week.

I poured this into a pint glass.

A: Fairly cloudy dark orange, with a peppery, chewy center that happens to be darker than the brew surrounding it. The head was quite massive after the initial growler pop... 1-2 fingers in fact of off-orange visuals. Literally, the head remained in its marshmallow-ish state throughout the session.

S: All the pumpkin pie spices were represented here: Allspice (out in front), cinnamon, nutmeg, and others. The gourd was there and acted as a catylst.

T: This was slightly more "beery" than a lot of the pumpkin ales that I've tasted, yet it still managed to keep enough of that "pumpkin pie" quality to appease the average pumpkin ale lover. Even the yeast I got here had some of the spice imbedded in it.

M: This was one of the more foamy and creamy brews I've had from Cap City. The lacing was probably more substantial than any I've had in a pumpkin ale previously. But then again, this was pretty fresh.

O: This was a pretty good pumpkin ale.

The last few brews I've sampled from Capitol City have been better than the last few I've had from other surrounding breweries. Look out Mad Fox!

A: Bright orange, slightly darker amber at the edges with little white head.

S: Strong pumpkin pie spices (nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon) with a sweet malt backbone.

T: Slightly sweet pumpkin malts with big nutmeg and cinnamon sugar character. However, the spices work nicely with the pumpkin and at no point overwhelm it. Some nutmeg, pepper, and cinnamon lingers in the aftertaste.

M: Medium body, a bit oily and just a tad under-carbonated.

D: One of the best pumpkin beers I've had, next to Southern Tier's Pumking. Well done, Cap City.

On-tap at the downtown location on 11/28/10

A - Poured orange-amber with a thin white head. Moderate retention, sticky-looking lace left on the glass.
S - Fairly typical Pumpkin Ale aromas of sweet amber malt, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices. Good level of spices, and the pumpkin smells quality, not artificial.
T - Marzen-like flavors of sweet malts and earthy hops with more pleasant pumpkin and spice. Nice balance of sweet and spice.
M - Mouthfeel dramatically hurts this beer, it was nearly flat. I had three beers this day, all with the same issue. Someone needs to fix this asap.
D - A good Pumpkin Ale, I drank my glass pretty quick, but wouldn't have another unless the carbonation issue was worked out.

On tap at the union station location. Beer is yellow with a slight haze and a weak head of small white bubbles. Moderate carbonation.

The aroma of the beer is mildly pumpkin and quite spicy with cloves and allspice.

Beer is thin and has a graininess to it, harsh backside, forward is some spice and some pumpkin starches but overall it's just an above average beer. Nothing to wonderful or pumpkin forward about it. That's a shame.

For a beer that is made with roasted pumpkin and pumpkin spice, it tasted more earthy than pumpkiny.

Appearance: Clear amber yellow with frothy head

Smell: Spicy, with very faint pumpkin

Taste: It tasted like a vegetable patch with spices; earthy, gourdy.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth

Drinkability: Very drinkable, goes down like water. A full pint may be overpowering, though.

On-tap at the brewpub.

Pours a clear copper-orange color with a half-finger white head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells of spices - nutmeg and cinnamon mostly - with light amounts of pale malts lurking in the background.

Tastes similar to how it smells, although the lack of malt backbone is more readily apparent. Pale malt flavors up front are soon overtaken by fairly large amounts of nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. The ending is crisp and leaves a hint of the spiciness lingering on the palate.

Mouthfeel is OK. It's a bit on the thin side with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I didn't have a problem finishing my glass and could have another.

Overall this was a solid pumpkin beer but I thought it could benefit from more body. Still, worth a shot.

Smells strongly of pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Even pours to the color of a pumpkin, albeit a pumpkin with virtually no head. The taste has quite a bit of pumpkin in it, although it comes close to being overpowered by strong spices. The fatal flaw in an otherwise perfect beer is the extreme dryness and pucker factor that comes with the excessive spice, leading one to need a glass of water to go with the beer. Good with dessert, but don't drink it alone.

On draft at the Arlington location.

Pours a cloudy, burnt, dark orange color with a smallish, fizzy white head that left some decent lacing on the way down. Aroma is predominantly spicy (mainly cinnamon and clove) but there is a also present a nice frangrance of pumpkin and sweetness.

Taste is similar to the aroma but there seems to be much better balance as the roasty pumpkin and spices both take center stage. There is also a nice undercurrent of sweet warming malt and some pronounced hop bitterness that helped give the finish some zing. Mouthfeel is medium and smooth, just where I like it in my Pumpkin Ales. None of this light, fizzy stuff some places are passing off.

An all in all really solid Pumpkin Ale. A good mix of pumpkin and spices wrapped up in a body with some bite makes this a nicely done and hugely drinkable Fall treat.

A burnt pumpkin skin orange ale fills the pint glass. There is no head or collar and no carbonation streams. The smell is filled with wonderful allspice, cloves, cinnamon with malt sweetness. The taste is a wonderful blend of spices, malt, and modest hops. Amazingly balanced, no one flavor dominates. Smooth on the tongue with a medium body, this is highly drinkable.

One word of caution: They like to serve this in a pint glass that has been rimmed in honey and rolled in spices. It makes the glass a sticky mess. The beer stands up well enough on its own without the extra trimmings. Ask them to leave the glass clean unless you want this ale extra sweet.