Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale
Buffalo Bill's Brewery

 

Look - 16 oz can, poured into a standard pint glass. Amber in color, very lightly cloudy, and a two finger head with moderate lacing retention.

Smell - a lot of fall spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, etc. Does smell like a pumpkin pie, but slightly artificial.

Taste - roasted malts initially, with a nice wave of the spices and some caramel that comes through. not too sweet, but has a syrupy sweet flavor that lingers on the tongue, which continues to the finish of the beer. still some artificial flavors detectable here.

Feel - medium bodied, average carbonation, and a moderately boozy brew at 6%. Alcohol is decently well masked under the sweetness.

Overall - despite most of the reviews, I really didn't dislike this beer that much. it does have some artificial flavors that is a bit of a turn off, but it gets the pumpkin pie flavors right and is mostly an enjoyable brew.

After a few other beers this probably isn't as bad as I would otherwise think but it's not great....at all. It is watery as hell honestly....taste isn't bad though but not as...people couke use artificial flavoring and still make it taste better than this. Idk. It's definitely not bad but the only pumpkin beer I've had thats worse is Eddyline's but very much does feel like flavored water. I do encourage trying basically any other pumpkin inspired beer besides these 2. Boooo

Bought it on a whim because of the advertisement on the bottle...

...meh...For being the "Original Pumpkin Ale" they sure left a whole lotta room for improvement. It's not bad, mind you. It's just not what you would expect from the supposed originators of America's pumpkin beer craze. I did like the look - very bold, dark copper color, though the head has no staying power. Mouthfeel was medium- to full-bodied, but the rest was, well, meh. Certainly something I would have on hand to impress the uninitiated, but it won't be on my list of go-to pumpkin brews.

If they use real pumpkins in this beer you wouldn't quite know it. It's a ok beer and something about it makes it drinkable but the artificial pumpkin spice taste leave more to be desired. Maybe need to add pumpkin seeds or roasted pumpkin to elevate it.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz bottle. Hazy dark orange color with a couple fingers of head that faded soon after. Smells of pumpkin with a bit of a malty(?) scent. Mouthfeel is about medium-body with some carbonation at the end. Taste is primarily pumpkin with only a bit of nutmeg spice coming through. Almost reminds me of a ale-version of Warlock, which is a good thing. Definitely a top-tier pumpkin ale in my book.

Poured a slighty hazy brown-to-reddish color with a compact white foam head that fades out quickly. Some carbonation bubbles is visible. Scent is sweeter types of spice and pumpkin. Taste and feel are enjoyable: smooth pumpkin taste throughout, a bit of creaminess though the body feels a bit lighter than expected, and subtle sweet spices with just a bit of bitterness in the aftertaste. A very enjoyable pumpkin ale -- especially if looking for one that does not overwhelm on the spiced flavors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't see a date listed on the bottle anywhere.

Appearance: The head of the beer is short and off-white. It fizzles out shortly after pouring and leaves no lacing. The body of the beer is a very dark brown with lighter shades of brown being visible only at the edges when light passes through.

Aroma: It has a nice toasted aroma with a pleasant pumpkin pie spice scent. The toasted aroma is reminiscent of what sometimes caramelizes on the crust of a pumpkin pie.

Taste: The pumpkin pie spice flavor is spot-on. There is this nice mix of what tastes like vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a light touch of clove. Most of the time pumpkin ales will have a stronger clove or cinnamon presence but this one leans a bit more to what tastes like vanilla and nutmeg.

Mouthfeel: The beer really feels thin and watered down. It just doesn't have the body to support the flavors.

Overall: Unfortunately the beer doesn't have much body to it but fortunately that isn't the end of the story here. It is a very flavorful beer and because of that I would still recommend it. The spices are right on the money and quite frankly they make the beer worth drinking. I probably wouldn't buy this beer regularly, simply because it does feel thin, but this is definitely the kind of beer that's good enough to throw into a mix-a-six.

 

 

 

Poured from the bottle into a glass.

Murky orange-yellow color.

Large, noisy (!) off-white head; you can hear it dissipate. It quickly disappears; no lacing either.

Nice pumpkin & spice nose-like all great beers in the genre, it immediately reminds me of pumpkin pie.

Thin mouthfeel.

After an impressive nose, this tastes really watery and disappointing. Hint of pumpkin, to be sure, but a hint of macro lager as well. Pass.

Tastes and smells like potpourri.

From bottle at home. No date on bottle.

A nice deep copper to brown color with a creamy tight bubble head that leaves a bit of lacing on the retreat. Tastes like all the usual suspects are in the house with an extra shake of ginger. There is a distinct lack of the sweet that usually makes or breaks pumpkin brews. The nice balance of spices makes a great showing for taste points. Nice body. All in all a decent introduction from a brewer that is new for me.

 

Someone forgot the hops oops

Add some could be a good beer

 

I don't like flavored coffee and didn't think I'd care for flavored beer, yet somehow, as the weather begins to turn to fall, I felt compelled to grab a sixer of this and try it. I'm glad I did. The initial look is nothing special - a copper hue, with a wee bit of head and minimal lacing. It has a mild nutmeg scent. What this does have is payoff in taste - featuring definite notes of pumpkin pie, nutmeg, and hints of vanilla coca cola to me. All of this over a nice malty base. The mouth feel is decent too - creamy along with some light effervescence. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and will happily drink my six-pack.

 

 

An appearance of fall, dullard orange, light brown, all that cornacopia shit not making a head. Aroma hit pumpkin notes, target acquired.

Taste delivers a lot of that stuff. Lots of carbonation, prolly too much. Lacks hops, bitterness. Gets a little tiresome after a few ounces. Couldn't see putting down more than one bottle in a sitting. $10/6 pack is a little much given the lack of malt, hops etc. . .

 

 

 

 

It is New Beer Sunday (Week 571) & having been inspired by a Doctor Who marathon of my own devising, I have traveled back in time to the fall. As such, I am CANcentrating on CANned Pumpkin Ales, but I am taking a short detour with a bottle (or two). I was last at Buffalo Bill's in Heyward, CA in December 2007 and I CAN tell you, I miss the SF Bay Area something fierce. I spent 2.5 years in Alameda and I would have retired out there if it weren't for the insane cost of living.

From the bottle: "America's Original Pumpkin Ale".

Jeezus! It has been so long since I Pop!ed the cap off of a bottle that I almost have to Google instructions on how to do so. Nobody panic! I'll be okay. I'm just a wee bit out of practice after so many CANs, is all. Imagine my disappointment at discovering that it was a screw-top bottle! Grrr. I used a gentle pour to produce a finger of light, tawny head that quickly disappeared to wisps. A swirl produced the same results. Bye! Nose was lighter in terms of its spice, but bigger in terms of its bready malt, than other pumpkin beers today. Interesting. Mouthfeel was medium. The spice was almost exactly right in that it was clearly not over the top. It was mainly cinnamon and allspice, but it worked well with the bready malt to create a spice cake-like flavor. Oh my! This was like Exhibit A in why restraint is so important in the style. Spices can be overwhelming & when added to saturation, they can be unpleasant. This was really nice & would go nicely with a slice of pumpkin pie or spice cake. Finish was dry, but lightly dry, not gasping, which also happens with saturation of spices. I would drink this again in the fall.