The Headless Gourdsman
Founders Brewing Company

Pours dark brown with a light caramel head on top. Has a nutmeg smell along with raisins and a presence of barrel. Very sweet pumpkin beer with notes of cinnamon.

 

Close to medium carbonation with an above average body
Aroma is bourbon,wood,maple syrup and spice
Taste has some sweetness which seems to come from the maple syrup. Boozy, wood,bourbon and some malt
Overall it definitely delivers on flavor, nice late night dessert beer

 

12oz bottle. Label is marked 'Bottled On: 07.15.24'. ABV% is label listed as 11%.
Clear, ruby brown colored body. Thin beige head, which exists later as an island and thin ring. No lacing.
Aroma is baking spices first, then bourbon barrel, and then maple syrup.
Taste is gourd, cinnamon, cloves, and all spice, all soaked in bourbon barrel and oak, with a thicker layer of maple syrup. The maple sweetened the flavor with each appearance. Long lasting aftertaste with barrel, gourd, and baking spices.
More than medium mouthfeel. Close to syrup texture. Higher ABV% is well integrated and warming. Supportive carbonation.
Good example of a barrel aged gourd beer, balanced with baking spices, maple, and bourbon.

 

12oz bottle poured into a large sniffer.

A: Bit dark in the room to fully appreciate, but it appears to be a solid red-brown with good clarity. Great head formation and retention, dotty lacing.

S: Nose is typical pumpkin spices of nutmeg, clove, cinnamon. Brown sugar and a sweet malt base that is cake-y. Burnt sugars and a little rum-like. Bourbon barrel comes through with oak, vanilla, and the spirit itself- pleasant and not hot. Bit of steeliness.

T: Big wave of up-front spicing. Big cinnamon and brown sugar pull. Toasty. Clove and nutmeg underlying. Waves of maple syrup. Bourbon and okay vanillins cut through. Hefty malt backbone of toast and cake. Maple and oaky bourbon on a trailing finish.

M: Hefty body is filling in the mouth with a creamy chewiness and also just a bit of a slick, syrupy feel. Ample carbonation gently scrubs. Extremely mild oak tannin.

O: Actually pretty good. Not that I expected less of Founders with their track record for crafting great barrel aged dessert beers. But, we all know that pumpkin spiced brews in particular have high potential to be a mess. This one is big and leans pretty sweet, but keeps its spicing bold but well-controlled and it's overall drinkability relatively high. Would donut again.

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours a deep amber color with a ruby hue, one finger foamy off-white head reduces to a ring

S- Aroma initially gives notes of black licorice. Malty notes of brown sugar, sweet maple and molasses. Undertones of nutmeg, cinnamon and oak barrel

T- flavor is similar to aroma up front with a bold black licorice note. Mid-palate gives notes of brown sugar, molasses, cola and nutmeg. The finish gives cinnamon and oak barrel with a linger of brown sugar and licorice

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a slightly foamy mouthfeel and a warming finish

 

Brief Review:

O: Like I said in my review of 2014's Pumpkinmudgeon, Founder's traditionally stays away from cheap seasonal beer. They've dipped in a bit with some taproom releases (Blushing Claus is an all-timer), but now we see their first widespread release. And it's a pumpkin beer, no less! Well, sort of. Quietly release over the summer, this is a golden ale, I presume, with spices added. The big sell is the maple syrup-BA touch. My biggest reference point for this would be Griffin Claw's Maple BIP, a beer I really didn't much care for. Spiced pumpkin beers tend to be overly messy and sweet to begin with, so they don't really need barrel treatment, let alone maple syrup barrels. This one is a little more smooth and drinkable than Maple BIP. You can tell the barrels are there, but they're integrated nicely. Comes across a lot like a BA barleywine, which is cool. I almost wish they actually chose that as the base.

Recommendation: One of the better BA pumpkin beers I've had, definitely worth a try during the season. Happy Halloween!

 

 

Slight light khaki colored froth with limited retention... Colorbis a deep rich brown... Sweet nose highlighted by caramel, vanilla and brown sugar... Flavor profile is equally sweet with additional depth and complexity... Brûléed bananas, buttered popcorn and faint pumpkin cream cheese along with notes of the barrel aging... On the fuller side of medium bodied... Dense but sleek with limited carbonation... Nice beer.... Unique and quite enjoyable...

The description on the bottle states that "no actual pumpkins were harmed in the making of this beer," so is this really a pumpkin ale?

Pours a brownish copper color with ruby edges. The nose has sweet bourbon notes and a modest dose of fall seasonal spices. The maple syrup really comes forward in the flavor profile. Cinnamon and other spices come on strong on the finish and prevent this offering from deteriorating into a complete sugar bomb.

Docking points from the overall for their marketing of this beer as a pumpkin ale while drolly admitting on the back of the label that it is not so.

I'd like to sample this offering with a bit of age on it - in fact, I plan on doing just that.