Ipswich Pumpkin Porter
Ipswich Ale Brewery

 

I am trying this beer off the tapper at the brewery as a 5oz sample. It poured a clear dark amber with thin ecru head that is is not leaving any lace. The scent had pumpkin and caramel malt notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with pumpkin presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body and had good carbonation. Overall it is a decent beer.

 

Dark brown with a tan head.

Smells like pumpkin pie and roasted malt

Nice balance of spices and beer. Getting some brown sugar which I think adds to pumpkin sweetness

Really great pumpkin beer. I think a darker beer like this helps blend the pumpkin flavors more than the standard pumpkin ales.

A: Pours a clear almost opaque very dark brown in color with moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and moderate chestnut brown + dark cola brown colored highlights. The beer has a three finger tall sudsy foamy tan head that reduces to a large patch of slightly mottled thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Slightly stronger than moderate aromas of roasted pumpkin and roasted + caramel + toasted malts with a light to moderate amount of caramel + pumpkin sweetness. There are light aromas of cinnamon + nutmeg with a hint of earthy hops.

T: Upfront there are moderate flavors of roasted + caramel + toasted malts and roasted pumpkin with a light to moderate amount of caramel + pumpkin sweetness. Light to moderate flavors of cinnamon + nutmeg spices and a hint of earthy hops. Light amounts of roasty + earthy hop bitterness which slowly fades away leaving lingering pumpkin + toasted malt flavors.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol. A little more pumpkin ale than porter but still enjoyable - glad that the spicing was more subtle than the pumpkin.

Served into a glass from a 16 ounce can. Lasting, beige head from a normal pour. Good mixture of blanketing and large spotted lace on the glass. The liquid is a muddy brown.

Smells more pumpkin than Porter, but both are present. The pumpkin is stronger than cinnamon and nutmeg. If there were a touch of chocolate, that would make this beer special.

The spices are stronger in the taste; they affect the dryness of the finish. There's a touch of vegetable, perhaps from the pumpkin, behind the taste. The lightest flavor comes from the darker malts. I get some light bitterness in the swallow. The body is on the thin side and the carbonation is also light. I get a touch of dark, unsweetened chocolate in the aftertaste. Overall, there's enough complexity to make this one interesting--perhaps one of the better Autumnal/Pumpkin beers.

 

 

Let me start by saying that I am not a Pumpkin Spice kind of person, But this is a surprising exception! Nice Dark Color, Nice Aroma, And Very Good! I wish it was a bit more on the alcohol side of the spectrum as it sadly sits at a 5.4% ABV but beyond that you really can't go wrong with this!

Poured into a becher pint glass.
The appearance was a dark brown close to black color with a finger's worth of white foamy head that swiftly slid off to leave some messy lace.
The aroma had some dark roasted malts with some pumpkin flavor and also a little peanut sweetness. Light milk chocolate coming out slightly as it warmed.
The flavor was moderately sweet through the chocolate and pumpkin, some roastiness coming about nicely. Some dark chocolate bitterness seemed to show it's face in it's warmth. Mild pumpkin sweetness to semi-roasty and a nice bitterness in the aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied, perhaps just a touch under with a fair sessionability about it. Carbonation felt good. ABV felt on par. Mild pumpkin sweetness with the roastiness in the finish.
Overall, pretty nice pumpkin porter that I would have again.