Pumpkin Face
Mully's Brewery

Short preface: BA browser for years but saw 1 had, 0 reviews on this beer and had to give it its first rating - and my first BA review as well (minus hundreds of personal beer reviews). Living in NC so I didn't waste the opportunity to pick up a few non-local pumpkin brews in downtown Annapolis, MD when I was there. I like seeing specific and particular reviews on this site so I hope to provide one as well.

Pours a deep red-copper with an audible, fizzy, tan head that is quick to dissipate. I'm used to seeing golden tinges on the edges of the glass when held up to light, but that is not the case here. Quite cloudy. (I've given it a 3.5 because I like to see a clearer and more golden-orange ale for the style, yet the darkness it provides is intriguing.)

A very dirt-like and farm-like smell on the nose. Almost reminds me of a pumpkin beer whose skins weren't removed or washed. There is a touch of metal there. I struggle to get any spiced scents other than a faint allspice and ginger. Not necessarily a bad thing for me; a pumpkin beer doesn't have to have strong spice overtones to be good for the style. I do prefer a more homely smell though, and the soil scent isn't doing it. (I've given it a 3 because I would like to see a little more balance here - there appears to be some earthy pumpkin but you really need to go looking for the other characteristics you'd expect for the style.)

The metallic scent comes out a bit more in the taste. I know these guys have brewed many batches in those tanks since incorporating over two years ago, but there's something artificial there that I haven't noticed in the majority of the 50+ pumpkin beers I've tried and reviewed. After giving it several minutes to warm up, the metallic-ness seems to go away for the most part, which is encouraging. Must say though, the malts dominate. There is lots of raw pumpkin flavor here, but the malts make their presence known. Not the conventional taste I look for in a pumpkin ale, but even for the lack of seasonal spice (nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, vanilla) it holds up very well. The only thing keeping it from a 4+ is that balance I've talked about. Pumpkin beers shouldn't be judged by the amount of spice they have. I think that's an extremely elementary way of looking at the style that is entirely too prevalent these days. But that said - you need some of that to represent the modern style, and I don't get enough of it here. But even THAT said, it holds up well. I'm pretty happy with it.

Mouthfeel-wise, this is what I look for in a pumpkin beer. While the head was loud and dissipated quickly, it's not overly carbonated and even after 25+ minutes in the mug it is "bubbly" enough to be right. Great job there.

Overall - I have to be honest, this is a fair stretch from what I look for in my ideal pumpkin ale, mostly due to the dirt-like, metallic overtones, small shortcomings on spices, and heavy maltiness that doesn't have much else to back it up. I rarely, rarely say a beer needs to be sweeter, but for the style, this could use a tiny bit of that. That said, I would absolutely drink again. It wouldn't be the first of the style I recommend to a newcomer, but would definitely recommend it to someone who has already been introduced to pumpkin ales and wants to try something slightly different. I won't tell anyone how to brew their beer, but can only say that personally I like to see a little less malt in my pumpkin ales. Other than that, these guys did great.

-Lunar