Pumpkin Latte
Alewerks Brewing Company

 

 

A mix of the fall colors orange and brown with a moderate amount of froth. The aromas are dominated by the pumpkin spice of the base beer, with a little extra sweetness. If I remind myself that coffee is added, it's at least noticeable in the spice mix. A similar experience with the coffee exists in the taste - it is a bit elusive. The sweetness and spice fall short of their aroma counterpart, which could be good if you aren't a fan of sweeter beers. The earthy spice hits up front, but dissipates pretty quickly to make way for a natural pumpkin twang. Nice carbonation with about a medium amount of heft and a medium dry finish.

I could go for the spice mingling with the pumpkin a little longer, but for better or worse, this comes to me as a pumpkin beer first with allusions to a sweetened coffee beer more than leaning into the additions.

 

 

 

From the area just over the barcode: "09/14/2021"

Appearance: The body is a very hazy orange-brown color with a dark hue. It is nearly opaque and only very dark and fuzzy shadows are visible through it. The head is large, creamy textured, and has pock-marks over the surface from popped bubbles. It has nice lacing and very good head retention.

Aroma: It smells like green pepper and coffee beans. There is a hint of ancho chili pepper and chocolate scent. Cinnamon starts to come through the longer it sits in the glass.

Taste: Up front it tastes like cinnamon and ancho chili. Towards the middle it tastes a bit earthy. More cinnamon and chili character in the aftertaste and after a while a coffee character comes through in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium body with a light bitterness.

Overall: The label states that this is a"PUMPKIN LATE" that is a "SPICED AMBER ALE BREWED WITH COFFEE" and that it "CONTAINS LACTOSE." The coffee character comes across as more peppery than anything else. There is some cinnamon character but it doesn't taste like pumpkin or pumpkin spice. As a whole it's just an odd beer. The standard Pumpkin Ale from Alewerks is better than this. I probably wouldn't buy it again and I would recommend buying their regular Pumpkin Ale instead.

 

 

 

Poured gently from a tall can into a snifter glass, forming a finger or two of frothy white head. Dark, hazy orange body with plenty of lacing once the head faded. Smell is mostly coffee. Taste is coffee throughout, maybe a bit of pumpkin, but hard to tell. More light bodied than medium, with moderate carbonation. Wish there was more pumpkin, and since I'm not a big coffee fan, this one just isn't for me.

From the pint can, it pours a hazy orange-brown amber with a nice off-white head that slowly diminishes. In the nose, spice, some coffee and pumpkin. In the mouth, it is pumpkin pie spice, and sweetish malt, with coffee undertones.

 

Grabbed a crowler of this a few weeks ago from the Outlet location. Held my fingers crossed that the carbonation would hold 'til a cooler day. And it did. Smells spicy, nutty and has a nice coffee note. Pours dark copper with a light tan head.

My best guess is this is Alewerks pumpkin ale blended with coffee and perhaps a touch more lactose. (I think the regular pumpkin ale traditionally has lactose and is made with butternut squash -- don't know if this has changed with the new-ish brewers). Coffee flavor blends well with the creamy mouthfeel. A hint of pie spice in the finish. Medium bodied.

A great late summer, early fall seasonal. I wish Alewerks would bump back the release of this from August to September. August in VA is still quite hot and slugging this down makes more sense on a cooler night. With that said, this is an interesting riff on their pumpkin ale. If this is considered basic bitch, then I guess I am basic bitch.