Pumpkin Ale
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin, pumpkin, who's got the pumpkin? Well, from what I can tell, not this brew. The advertisement I got from RB mentioned how much pumpkin product was in the mix bit I just could not pick up on any of it. It tasted like a red that had maybe some nugmeg thrown in. The aroma was almost non-existant. The body was good and it went down the gullett with little resistance. In summation, I'm confused on what the objective was here. After my ample-sized free-be, I ordered a Rocktoberfest and was very satisfied. It isn't bad, it just doesn't have the punch that was glorified in the promo. I must say the ring of cinnamon and brown sugar adds a nice touch.

Found this on cask a few night ago so why not? After just having a Cottonwood Pumpkin on draft at the place we hit befor,e this one doesn't stack up. However, it does have a nice creamy head and finish, smells great, and isn't too malty. It worth trying out on cask but nothing too special.

Really kind of a pumpkin color with a medium beige head. Strong aroma of spices comes out right away. Nutmeg is dominate. Some cinammon and clove in there as well. A good pumpkin element is there as well, seems a bit sweet. Taste is really reduced from the smell. I think the body kills this because its just lacking a backbone. Spiced up but the spices also don't come out fully. There's just no beerbase to this beer and resultingly, the pumpking and spices can't fully expose themselves. Decent, not too sweet, but didn't quite hit the spot.

Appearance: Very attractive cloudy burnt orange body with a puffy white head and plenty of lacing

Smell: Cloves and other pumpkin pie spices dominate the nose

Taste: Starts with a pumpkin pie spice flavors but finishes a bit lemony and astringent

Mouthfeel: A bit thin; moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Enjoyable but needs more body and more pumpkin flavor

Appearance of hazy orange russet hues topped off with a froty ivory head cap.

Aroma is a citrus lemon and hazy grain.

First swigs: Sweet spicy with nutmeg and cinnamon. Missed the pumpkin, however.

Mouthfeel was thin and slightly astringent.

Last swigs: No pumpkin. Just cinamon tea. Should be a tea beer.

Light orange color...awesome aroma...just like fresh pumpkin pie out of the oven...big cinnamon element...the taste is more subtle than the nose...nice pumkin flavor also strong cinnamon and some nutmeg...mouthfeel is light and slightly watery..

Decent pumpkin...I'd prefer to see it bigger in body with a little more assertive pumpkin taste..still pretty decent overall and a solid seasonal offering.

Perfectly clear, bright orange with amber highlights. The beige head was gone in no time, and I do mean gone. Within minutes, all that was left were a few scraps of watery lace. It doesn't hold water every time, but I can often tell when a beer will be thin and fizzy just by looking at it sitting on the coaster. This one looked like it was... and it was.

There wasn't much to go on during the aroma assessment. Caramel malt, no hoppiness, a little spice, that's it. The chalkboard description was 'an amber ale made with pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices'. I must confess, I couldn't pull any of that out of the nose (through either nostril).

The biggest problem was a lack of malt. Without that most fundamental of all ingredients, Pumpkin Ale didn't really stand a chance. Every one of the characteristics that follow from undermalting was present, most especially a disconcerting bitterness. Given the lack of hop flavor, it was amazing that so few hops were able to overwhelm the malt.

The bitterness was reminiscent of tonic water, an impression accentuated by fizziness, and was almost what I'd call quinine-like. All of that was unfortunate because the pumpkin flavor was nicely done. I especially liked the amount and quality of the 'pumpkin pie spices'. Allspice and nutmeg were especially prominent. [Little known fact: allspice is the only spice grown exclusively in the Western Hemisphere.] As noted, the mouthfeel was way too light and the carbonation was too large-bubbled and fizzy.

Pumpkin Ale was not up the standards of the West Des Moines Rock Bottom. I have come to expect good-very good beer whenever I grab a barstool there, but this pint struck me as a product of the worst brewpub in town (Granite City) rather than the best. The flavor was a bright spark, but it died while waiting in vain for some malty tinder.