Pumpkin Stiltskin
Big Top Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

I like the can artwork, great use of color. The pour is a mix between orange & brown. There is big pumpkin on the front palate along with some cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice leading towards the finish. Furthermore, the 8.9% abv was well hidden. Cheers! A-

Poured a copper-brown body with cloudiness and great head that stuck around. Aroma is strong with the cinnamon spice and possibly nutmeg, almost a cookie like smell, with hints of pumpkin and clove. Medium body but slightly sticky, this is along the lines of sweet/dessert beer more than beer with note of pumpkin. A sweet and spicy cinnamon and nutmeg kick, again I get a touch of breadiness for some reason, and the pumpkin/clove spice is minimal and this beer is a slow sipping sweet beer.

Pours a cloudy copper, reddish brown, with a 1” tan foam, mixed micro and medium bubbles, solid retention, 2+ minutes. Aromas of pumpkin spice, nutmeg, brown sugar, hint of toffee, and subtle cinnamon. Taste is similar; semi sweet caramel, pumpkin pie filling, all spice, nutmeg, brown sugar, cinnamon, and slightly caramel malts. Mouthfeel is creamy, thin to medium body, low to medium carbonation, dry finish, with a very mild warming alongside lingering spices. Overall flavor is very balanced and well made. A great treat for any pumpkin beer lover this fall.

 

On tap at Oak and Stone. My favorite so far of the genre. Tastes like dessert with nutmeg, allspice, and caramel, but drier - less sweet - than some of the others. Pretty potent, so it's an after-dinner sipper.

 

I usually can't stand pumpkin brews (good gourd is disgusting) and this one is amazing, its not like the pumpkin it's self but instead a holiday dessert. Close your eyes and imagine eating a huge piece of grandma's pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, exactly like it but with high abv. The sweet, cinnamon, buttery crust notes overwhelm your senses. It has a lighter mouth feel with the carbonation, creamy but light. I bought a 4-pack at the local ABC and once I tried it I went back and bought them out on 4-packs and bottles. 10/10 would smash over and over!

Wow...that's all I can think of...wow...

This might be the best pumpkin ale I have had to date, and quite possibly may be the best pumpkin ale - ever. From a can, it poured a distinctive orange colored brew, slightly burnt caramel in the light, with a thin, foam head for starters. Though thin and though the foam dissipated quickly, there was enough of it to provide decent lacing down the glass. The odor emanating from this liquid was short of perfect - it was like smelling a pumpkin pie, only it had a distant tang of malt to my nose, with hints of cinnamon and some spice for good effect. The beer had a very nice, creamy quality, though carbonated more than my liking, I easily overlooked this one nit. From a taste perspective, I simply enjoyed the fact that I drank a potent pumpkin pie - pumpkin flavoring with cinnamon, sweetness, the malty flavoring, a distant taste of hops, and a booziness that did not distract from the experinece - really special. Overall, I consider this, at the very least, outstanding - a truly special offering in the style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tasty pumpkin ale in the vein of Southern Tier's Pumking, but too sweet for my taste and relies mostly on an overwhelming potpourri of spice smells rather than a nice flavor. It tastes pretty milky and doesn't have as much substance as Pumking to my palate, and far less so than Cigar City's "Good Gourd". A "candy beer", but a strong one. I don't want this to come off too negative because I did enjoy it and anyone that likes pumpkin desserts would also like it, but it smells and tastes too artificial and a bit like drinking a Yankee Candle. If you like IPAs or stouts you will probably not enjoy this, but I would certainly suggest it to someone that likes lighter stuff or flavored vodka.