Norm's Pumpkin Spice IPA
Griffin Claw Brewing Company

 

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled in Fall 2015. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy golden orange color with a 1-2 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, lemon zest, grapefruit, orange peel, pine, honey, toasted bread, light caramel, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great complexity and balance of pumpkin/spices, citrus/pine hops, and moderate bready malt sweetness; with great strength. Taste of big pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, lemon zest, grapefruit, orange peel, pine, honey, toasted bread, light caramel, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Moderate amount of herbal spice/pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, grapefruit, lemon/orange peel, grapefruit, pine, honey, toasted bread, light caramel, and herbal/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of pumpkin/spices, citrus/pine hops, and moderate bready malt sweetness; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness after the finish as well. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth and moderately creamy/bready/sticky mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent Pumpkin IPA. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of pumpkin/spices, citrus/pine hops, and moderate bready malt sweetness; and very smooth and easy to drink. This had a lot of authentic pumpkin fruit notes in the aroma/flavors; and was extremely well balanced between the pumpkin ale and IPA flavor characteristics. A very enjoyable offering.

 

 

 

This brew was served from the tap at the Griffin Claw Brewing Company taproom in Birmingham, Michigan. It arrived in a house imperial pint, glowing a simple pale golden. It held a one and a half finger tall stark white head that retained excellently before simmering into thick, snowy sheets of lacing. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appeared to be active. The aroma was big and boisterous, giving up notes of harsh sunscreen, lemongrass, pale and crystal malts, clove and cinnamon spiciness, phenolic plastics, warming pumpkin spice, marshmallow toast, starchy sweet potatoes, bittering soapy and lemon hops, muddy clay, buttery Graham cracker crust, red apples, juicy Anjou pears, ginger raw, and boozy bourbon warmth. The flavor to follow offered intensified soapy and synthetic lemony and grapefruity hops, pale and amber grainy grit, metallic and savory pumpkin and sweet potatoes flesh, cinnamon spiced bitterness, pickled ginger, clove, dirty clay water minerals, copper, basement mustiness, walnuts, medicinal phenols, black pepper booze, heavy tannic black tea, juniper, white sugar cloy, and smoked ham meatiness. The body was medium, and the carbonation was lightly medium. Each sip gave wild foamy creaminess on the swirl around the mouth, while slurp and smack came out almost as nice, but were still lightly subdued. The mouth was left crisply coated, and slightly dried of toasty warmth. The abv was appropriate, and drinkability was fine.

Overall, this was a surprisingly enjoyable beverage. This is not because we were hesitant over the description of a “pumpkin IPA”, but rather because once we set out teeth into it, the amount of chemical essence and bite was immense. It went well enough with the IPA style, but it is easy to see how it could be off-putting for some. We keep going back to this comparison, but it is like a more pronounced version of Two Hearted, again, in this chemical, synthetic lemon cleaner sense. In the end, with the pumpkin spice, you get essentially what you expect. At a full room temperature the full effect can be appreciated, with this beautiful, warming blend of autumn spice and fresh, springy hoppiness. This is noted more so in the aroma, as the flavoring is only marginally aided by warmth.

Short Review. This was a nice beer that lived up to it's name, it started off tasting like a nice Pumpkin Ale then on the finish came the IPA with just the right amount of bitterness, I thought both aspects were balanced well and it would be nice if Griffin Claw distributes it this fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their Norm's IPA with pumpkin added.