The Devil’s Dark Side
Lavery Brewing Company

 

$ 8.00/four-pack of 12 ozers ($ 0.167/oz) from Franklin Beer. Franklin, PA. Reviewed 11/30/19.
Undated bottle. Stored on room temperature shelf at point of sale then stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 54 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.
First pour – Dark brown, translucent.
Body – Dark brown/black, opaque. When held to the light, still opaque.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.2 cm, aggressive center pour), dark khaki, high density with a few small surface rocks, poor retention, diminishing to a two mm crown and thin complete cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Clove and cinnamon.
Flavor – 3.5 – Begins with a slight malty bitterness followed by a muted mulled spice center and finished by a gingery aftertaste. There is only a hint of pumpkin taste. No alcohol (7 % ABV) flavor or aroma, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 - Medium, almost creamy, lively (almost fizzy) carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25 (Minus 0.25 point for undated personal container). The spices (sans ginger) appear strong and separate in the nose but in the flavor, they are well mixed, with ginger not appearing until the aftertaste. The pumpkin could stand greater prominence. Lack of lacing is mildly disconcerting.

 

 

This one pours a pretty dark black, with a slightly off-white head, and not much lacing.

Smells like pumpkin seed, rye, slight smoke, roasted malt, grassy hops, and very light pumpkin spice.

Pumpkin stouts are certainly not my favorite style, but this is definitely the way to do it. There's very little spice character, mainly pumpkin seed and pumpkin flesh, with a slight rye spice, a good level of roasted, light smoke, and a hint of grassy bitterness on the finish. Lavery quietly makes some very tasty beers.

This is pretty creamy, and rich, with a good level of carbonation.

This is a pretty impressive take on the style. I enjoyed it, even though I don't generally care for the style.

 

An great Stout and an even better seaaoal

Undated 16 oz. can - it's clearly a Fall seasonal, though. It's fresh. Dark mud-butt brown pour with a frothy Yoo-Hoo head. Head hangs out for a spell and leaves a sticky wall of solid lace. Smell is mucho gourd up front with nutmeg pulling up the rear. Faint vanilla, roasted grains, sweet malts. Smells quite lovely. Taste follows (lotta gourd!), with a dry, roasted coffee bean component. Spices linger a bit on the back of the palette, but I wouldn't call them overwhelming in any way - which is always a concern going into a beer like this. Finishes dry and drinks more like a porter, but then this isn't some monster imperial stout. I like this more than I thought I would. It's been a few years since I've had one and I thought that there must be a good reason for that, but nope! Just pumpkin beer fatigue, I guess. I also really like the artwork on these new 16 oz. cans.

 

12oz bottle poured into a tulip glass:

Look: Pours a very dark brown/blackish color with about an inch of head and a small amount of lacing present.

Smell: Small hints of pumpkin hit the nose as does roastiness.

Taste: Finally a pumpkin beer that didn't use every spice from the spice rack. Nice notes of pumpkin come thru in this beer in small doses but also the flavor profiles of a stout stand out.

Feel: Medium bodied.

Overall: This is another solid brew from Jason Lavery and crew. In my opinion this brew stands right up there with the Southern Tier Warlock. This is one of the better pumpkin beers I have had and would try this one out next year if they brew this again!

 

12oz brown bottle, sample from the brewery.

Thin tan lacing on top of a very dark brew. Pie spice and roasted malt in the nose. Slightly creamy medium to full body, kiss of crispness. Roasty but the spice and gourd come through a bit. Quick kiss of alcohol, a bit of hop bitterness as well. Balanced and on the dry side, spicing fades and stout flavors make it that much more drinkable. A hell of a lot more flavor than the usual pumpkin brew.

 

 

 

Poured from the tap into a pint glass at Tommy's Pizza in Gettysburg, PA. This beer is a dark golden color with a medium sized white head. The aroma has a faint pumpkin and spice smell that blends with the hop notes. The flavor was really good and it was a moderate pumpkin flavor that was not overpowered by spices or hops.

 

This was nice. I am not a big pumpkin beer guy, but this had a really mild spice combo that worked quite nicely. Really had a nice mouthfeel and seemed to take on some nice characteristics from the pumpkin used. This had impeccable balance for a style that often tastes like a spice rack. When some of the stout notes come through, it is usually a good sign.