Crooked River Erie Nights Pumpkin Ale
JW Dover Beer & Wine Makers Supplies / Black Box Brewing Co.

I had this beer a few years ago when it was a surprise on tap offering at my local. I have always been on a quest to have that perfect "pumpkin pie in a glass" flavor that I'd had at a microbrewery long gone. I came close when I combined two beers at the Brew Keeper a few years back, but that is also a microbrewery long gone.

Erie Nights, only had it once, had a few glasses, and was pretty damn close to what I'd experienced. No other BOTTLED pumpkin ale gets it right. I've tried a lot searching for it. So, I was happy to see that Black Box was brewing the Crooked River beers. (I've had a few Black Box products and was pretty happy with them.)

From the scent of this beer, I knew it was not to be the same. The slight cinnamon smell was all I could detect. Like a cinnamon disc candy, with that sweetness. It's a pretty much standard amber orange with little head and no remaining lace and slight bubbles floating to the top.

Mouth was water, with a burning edge as it went down. I wouldn't say it was bitter or sour , a balanced batch of both.

Now, the ho-hum aspect of it. It's just another pumpkin ale. It tasted more like anise or licorice with a solid sweet back. The dry center of this tastes like several others I've had. A little on the plus side...

So, a solid pumpkin ale. It wasn't what I had those years before, so a disappointment to me, but should please the seasonal quaffer.