Thanksgiving USA
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

473 mL can from the brewery; no packaging date & served slightly chilled. Billed as an "Apple Pie ESB" with cinnamon, vanilla, apple puree, brown sugar and lactose.

Pours a murky, ruddy brown colour, stirring up at least two fingers of fluffy, foamy, off white-tinged head that hangs on for over five minutes. By then, it has wilted to a frothy collar and sudsy cap, with successive rings of sticky, messy lace left clinging to the glass - looks great to me. Cinnamon on the nose - like, a LOT of cinnamon, maybe too much - along with brown sugar and apple sauce, layered atop a backbone of biscuity toasted malts. The vanilla is there, but it's subtle.

I didn't like the first sip at all, but after my taste buds had time to adjust to the cinnamon overload, I didn't mind this. Toasted malts, brown sugar and treacle, with suggestions of apple sauce never really rising to a level that might make me think of apple pie. The cinnamon sneaks up on you a little, becoming almost overpowering on the back end, joined by hints of leafy, slightly herbal hops; cinnamon lasts into the aftertaste, shoving aside hints of vanilla and brown sugar. On the fuller side of medium-bodied, with moderately lively carbonation that adds some crispness to this ale's smooth, soft texture. Limited drinkability; one can is plenty for me, thanks.

Final Grade: 3.41, a B-. Thanksgiving USA is not a bad beer, but it does need more apple/fruit flavour to actually fulfill the gimmick they were going for. As it stands, this is a passable spiced bitter, albeit a little overspiced... but then again, I've been reviewing pumpkin beers this week, and I'm admittedly sick of the entire spice rack at this point. Somewhat disappointing if you were craving apple pie, but still worth a look if you appreciate spicy autumn ales.