Clash Of The Pumpkins
Glasstown Brewing Co.

Pretty refreshing. Poured from tap at a local bar. Don’t know if it’s actually brewed with pumpkin since the color isn’t really orange, but the flavor hints of pumpkin spice, particularly cinnamon. Very tasty!

Glasstown Brewing Co. "Clash Of The Pumpkins"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$3.79 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Whoah! This bad boy is 7.2%? Maybe I should go for something a little lower in alcohol. Nah, I can't, I think the only other pumpkin beer I have is strong too ~ yep, it's "Imperial Pumpkin" by 2SP Brewing Co. at 7.1% which is basically the same. It's poured a surprisingly dark ruby-mahogany colored body beneath a two finger thick head of light khaki colored foam. I can smell the spices mildly at arm's length. I'm not sure of how to describe it other than pumpkin pie spice with some added fruitiness that's like apple and plum, and maybe some dried dark skinned fruits. Let me give it a taste... it's pleasantly not overspiced, nicely fruity, and somewhat malty and gently caramelish. Maybe my nose is not in proper working order today but I thought as I could smell it from a distance it would be overspiced but that's certainly not the case at all. In fact, smelling it with my nose right in it it doesn't seem overspiced so I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe I'm hungry. In any case it's malty, lightly bready, sweetish, fruity, caramelish and a little like brown sugar, and softly spicy. Again, it delivers a blend of spices rather than the usual cinnamon followed by whatever and whatever, et cetera. I mainly get cinnamon, Allspice (AKA Jamaica pepper), and nutmeg. I don't think there's any ginger in there, and if there's clove it's minor. Again, it's really more of a blend than specific spice notes. The fruitiness remains and I think there are some dark raisin notes in there along with the apple and plum. It's not that bitter but the spice works with the alcohol to dry it in the finish leaving some residual sweet malt to fade fairly readily followed by some rising earthiness and dusty spice. In the mouth it's medium bodied and creamy smooth with a moderate and fine-bubbled carbonation. A strong, malty, fruity, and softly spiced pumpkin beer is a rarity that I truly appreciate.
Review #8,341

DATE: October 21, 2022... OCCASION: trying to finish Cobra Kai after a good week with another new pumpkin beer... GLASSWARE: Schneider Weiss pokal... pours a dark mahogany brown body with little carbonation... its head is a thick, craggy doughnut that settles to a third of a finger's worth of ochre froth... aroma of creamy vanilla, light cardamom, cinnamon, apple, buttered crust, brown sugar, and and allspice, with some brown ale malts and make for a smooth, alluring pull... each sip is a balanced, medium-bodied palate that bites in the back of the throat... its finish is more vibrant than it looks... cinnamon, apple, cardamom, allspice, and a puckering sweetness that moderates nicely... at 7%, its size situates well, sippable and warming... another winner--how awesome is this label?! not as audacious as some other pumpkin beers, this finds a nice middle ground...

On tap at the brewery taproom in NJ.
Appearance. Pours with a clear, dark reddish-brown body and a good off-white head.
This starts slightly sweet then transforms to mildly bitter. This has some actual gourd flavor along with (as is usually true for me] a bit more so Poconos than I'd prefer. At least the spicing has a balance of ingredients.

Poured from undated but recently-released can into a pint glass. It pours a color akin to dark iced tea with a thin cap of light khaki head and thin sheen of lacing. The smell features pumpkin, raisin, and nutmeg. The taste opens with pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove, and segues to brown sugar and buttery vanilla that give it a slightly pastry quality. There are also cola notes. The flavors are well-rounded. It has a moderate, fairly creamy mouth feel with a pleasant level of carbonation. This batch is 7.2% ABV which gives it substance without overpowering. Overall, Clash of the Pumpkins is a good example of the style - it relies more on spicing than actual pumpkin flavor. It's highly drinkable.

 

 

All-in-all, a forgettable pumpkin beer that fails to distance itself from an already over-produced style. Nothing bad to say about this beer, but nothing great either.

A little on the darker side compared to many pumpkin beers, leaning towards being a brown ale.

Aromas of pumpkin and spice are faint.

Taste is vaguely pumpkin-esque in a good way - subtle, well-balanced flavors that overdo it on the spice or the artificial pumpkin character. This is much appreciated actually, because it tastes like this is probably brewed with real pumpkin and not just a ton of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Perhaps a touch overcarbonated?