Clove Valley Pumpkin Ale
Clemson Bros. Brewery at The Gilded Otter

 

 

 

 

Really enjoyed this beer! Went to the Gilded Otter to try it specially and wasn't disappointed. I'm a big fan of pumpkin beers and try as many as I can. This one reminded me a bit of Leaf Pile from Greenport Brewery, which is another great fall beer.
The best part of this beer is the fact that it's a pumpkin beer with an actual pumpkin flavor. Many pumpkin beers have seasonal spices only (which is still good) but don't even include pumpkin in the ingredients. The pumpkin flavor made this for me.
This beer is a nice fall color, a dark orange shade, with just the right amount of head. The smell is sweet and enticing, perfect for a blustery autumn day. I'm a fan of stouts but this was a nice change as it wasn't very heavy but not super light, a great in-between body. (My friend had the beer flight where they mixed the pumpkin with their stout and that was also pretty good.) I bought a growler to bring home- my first growler ever- because I liked it so much. If you're a fan of a smooth, easy, yummy fall beer I recommend trying it out.

 

A - Was a cloudy amber-orange color with a little bit of head that faded fairly quickly and left behind little lacing.

S - Little bit of malt scent with some nice pumpkin pie spices like nutmeg, clove, and allspice.

T - Starts off a bit sweet with toffee malts. This is joined by the pumpkin flavor as well as the spices. The most present spices were nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon. The aftertaste is a tad is a mix of the sweet and the spicy elements and rather dry, and not very well balanced.

M - A tad watery with little carbonation. Overall, medium bodied and pretty smooth.

D - Overall very drinkable. The flavors for the most part work well together and stay balanced, with the exception of the aftertaste which was just a bit off compared to the rest of the beer.

A. Poured a clear orange amber color, with a one finger white foamy head. Decent lacing on the glass.

S. Cloves, Cinnamon,

T. Cinnamon, cloves. allspice,and pumpkin. More spice with a decent pumpkin sweetness, not overpowering.This brew finishes slightly bitter.

M. Medium bodied, medium carbonation, a littke gritty.

D. Nice, good balance, nice spice and flavor. A real good pumpkin ale.

L: Pours a nice orange color with a medium sized and medium bodied off-white colored head that laces the glass very nicely on the way down.
S: Smells of sweet caramelized malts, pumpkin, clove, and cinnamon. No noticeable hop aroma.
T: Like the aroma with sweet caramelized malts up front with hints of cinnamon, then pumpkin, then a tiny bit of clove. A bit of a dry aftertaste possibly from the spices.
M: Very smooth, fresh, refreshing, perfect amount of carbonation.
D: I liked it, but I wish it was more pumpkin-y flavored, but it was still a good beer.

I am personally not a huge fan of anything Pumpkin flavored, but this beer takes the cake. We go to the Gilded Otter Brew house on numerous occasions (I coax my wife into going for the food) This past week I tried the Pumpkin Ale and it was thoroughly enjoying. The color of the beer is pleasant and the scent is reminiscent of a fall afternoon. I enjoyed a few pints on tap while we were there and I took a growler home which I enjoyed a little later. This beer is great to enjoy with dinner. I would highly recommend this beer. Surprisingly the growler I took to go kept pretty well and the beer was not flat at all even though I had waited 10 days before cracking the seal.

Clear, orange/amber colour with a fine, white head. The head retention was quite good, even with just a short cap from the pour, and it left a smattering of sticky lace behind. The nose was mild pumpkin sweetness and pie spices - cloves dominated, but nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice notes were there too. Thin sweet flavour with spices that became a little rough in the finish. Medium bodied, off-dry, with some creaminess to the texture. I thought it was a fair pumpkin ale, but for me the spices were overdone, which hid any pumpkin character that might have been present in the flavour. Everything else was pretty good though!