Punkin Pie Ale
Bearded Lamb Brewing Company

$5.25 pint at Boat Works in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

Appearance: Slightly hazy pumpkin color with almost no head. Lacing is minimal. Looks like I expected it to.

Smell: Best part, no doubt. It really smells like pumpkin pie with a perfect amount of spice (I.E., it doesn't burn your nose hairs). Nice sweetness, slight pumpkin, spicy... pretty much on point.

Taste/feel: Eh... a pint was more than enough for me. The taste at first is actually very nice, and better than I was expecting. Punkin Pie tastes just like the aroma, but it just doesn't have that "Mm, I really want another sip." sort of thing going for it that I had with Screamin' Pumpkin. I also got sick of the watery feel near the end of the glass. It's a respectable pumpkin beer, and actually one of the better ones I've had, but it probably won't blow your mind.

 

I like it. Pour a cloudy orange color. A half is of foam. Great favor for a pumpkin beer. A nice smooth taste with a touch of sweet . Will buy it again.

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, Fall 2015 bottling. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of pumpkin, brown sugar, toasted pie crust, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and herbal/toasted earthiness. There was a light metallic note in there as well. Okay aromas with good complexity and solid balance of dark/bready malt and pumpkin/spice notes; with solid strength. Taste of pumpkin, brown sugar, toasted pie crust, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spice bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of pumpkin, brown sugar, toasted pie crust, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and herbal/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice balance, complexity, and robustness of dark/bready malt and pumpkin/spice flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, fairly creamy/bready, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming present after the finish as expected of 5.3%. Overall this is a solid pumpkin ale. All around good robustness, complexity, and balance of dark/bready malt and pumpkin/spice flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink. The metallic note was a bit off-putting in the nose, but there was minimal amounts of it in the taste. An enjoyable offering.

Liberty Street Punkin' Pie
12 oz. bottle (dated 09/15/15) $1.99 from Copper Vine. Poured into Duvel tulip.

A- A normal pour creates 1-finger of off-white head that drops quickly to a light lace. The body is a clean, bright copper that almost looks a little thin at first. Moderate-heavy carbonation rushes from the nucleation site to the surface. Very light lace left on the glass.

S- That's the most "pie-like" aroma I can remember from the style. There's the usual ginger, cinnamon, and clove, but there's also something of a graham cracker and brown sugar pie crust that doesn't take a back seat to any other component of the aroma.

T- Much as the aroma suggests. There's sweet, savory, and spicy flavors playing off one another. I get brown sugar or caramel, cinnamon and ginger, and a little clove. Rich and flavorful. It finishes rather clean and dry.

M- Medium body (I was worried it would be thin considering the appearance). Moderate carbonation coupled with baking spices give a little bite. Dry finish.

O- A really solid pumpkin ale. It's really flavorful and the sweetness does a lot to keep the pie spices in check. Probably one or two in a sitting. I'd buy a sixer of it for the fall. Would be a good fire pit, after dinner, nightcap tipple.

A- 3.5 S-4.25 T-3.75 M-3.5 O-3.75

I picked up a bottle of Liberty Street's Punkin Pie Ale last week for $1.89 at The Lager Mill. Lets keep the new Pumpkin beers rolling, I;ve never seen or heard of this beer before, bur I thought it was worth a try, so lets see how it goes. 2015 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a imperial pint glass.

A- The label looks nice, it goes well with the name and it's a little eye catching. It poured an amber orange color that took on more of an orange color when held to the light with less than a fingers worth of white head that died down to a very thin ring that eventually faded away and it didn't leave any lacing behind. This is just an OK looking beer, i wish the head, retention and lacing were all better.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the spices being the first to show up with the nutmeg seeming to stick out the most and it's the aspect that shows up in the most in this beer. Up next comes a pumpkin aroma that's noticeable, but it's a little on the light side and it's followed by the malts which impart a malty aroma with s light bready aroma with a little bit of fruity yeast showing up in the background. The aroma is ok, but it's pretty average for the style.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts of with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the spices still being the first to show up and they impart the same aspects with the nutmeg still sticking out the most, but this time it's just a little lighter than it was in the aroma. Up next comes a slight bit of that fruity yeast that goes into a pretty light pumpkin flavor. On the finish there's a pretty light amount of medium bitterness with a spice aftertaste. The taste is just ok, it's very average for the style.

M- A little smooth, not too crisp, medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is very average for the style, it's just ok.

Overall I thought this beer was just ok and I thought it was very average example of the style, just like most average Pumpkin beers this one didn't have the right balance that it needed and it let the spices takeover while laaving the pumpkin in the background. This beer didn't have the best drinkability, one is enough for me, I have no urge to drink another one. What I like the most about this beer was nothing there wasn't a single thing that stuck out as being better than the rest. What I liked the least about this beer was the balance, it needed less spices and more actual pumpkin. I wouldn't buy this beer again and I can't say I would recommend. All in all I wasn't a big fan of this beer, it wasn't memorable and it didn't any more to offer than the average Pumpkin Ale would. It's not a favorite beer from this brewery and it's average at best for the style. THis beer needs some work, still have yet to have a impressive beer from this brewery.

 

 

 

 

You know.... When i had this beer for the first time in 2012 it was on draft at the brewery and i was expecting a let down. Boy was i wrong. This is a true pumpkin style beer without being a full blast PUMPKIN beer. It is a nicely balanced ale with nutmeg, allspice, pumpkin, spicy hop character and a light malty carmel taste that is refreshing in the world of pimpkin beers. Picked up a six pack last week {oct 2015} and glad I did. Will definitly be visiting the pub in plymouth for some beers this fall/winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on tap at the brewpub a few weeks ago, served in a nonic.

a - hazy copper in color with a thin cap of off white head.

s - waxy and spicy (nutmeg). oddly perfumey, like a pumpkin scented candle.

t - nutmeg dominates the flavor in a bad way. does have notes of pumpkin and an oily hop bitterness, but no real malt character. gets a little more tolerable as it warms.

m - thin with a slick, oily feel and not quite enough carbonation.

o - not awful but definitely wishing i had ordered something else. i sincerely hope they tweak this recipe for next year. not recommended.