Frisch's Pumpkin Pie Ale
Taft's Brewing Co.

Looks amberish and aroma is pleasant. The initial taste is mild and a touch sweet. It quickly becomes a spicy, sweet mess and my taste buds went into shock. Quite bitter finish and left my mouth arid. No thanks.

Eh. Im very unimpressed with this brewery lotta mediocre offerings in a great beer city. the fact that they call themselves and frischs the two biggest boys in Cincinnati is a joke in the worst way as I would compare the mediocre offerings of frischs to the beers of this brewery. step it the hell up be better innovate and experiment so tame. booooooooring

 

Single can from Kroger Mix & Match shelf
has some cinnamon in the finish

12 oz can poured into a Sam Adams perfect pint glass, 'cause I'm fancy.

This is light-tasting as pumpkins go, or at least it was on the heels of a Dogfish Head Punkin. I guess you could say that Frisch's Pumpkin Ale isn't...a big boy.

I seem to get a slightly peppery taste mixed in with the expected malty, fruity sweetness. Yes, I know pumpkins are vegetables. I mean, they are, aren't they? Squash are vegetables. Right? They're pretty close, genetically speaking, probably. Closer than...I don't know... like squash to a mammal. You can't carve a face into a marmoset and stick it on the porch for Halloween. Well, you can, but probably just once. And I can't recommend roasting the seeds.

They make pies out of pumpkins. So maybe they're a fruit? Is rhubarb a vegetable? What other non-fruit pies are there? Pecan? Sweet potato? Okay, so nuts and tubers. But vegetable?

Regardless, not a beer I'll seek out every Autumn.

9.14.2024 Changing original Nov 2021 rating from 3.25.

 

 

12oz can poured into a goblet

A- pours a clear amber color with a one-finger foamy white head that reduces to a ring around the glass

S- an array of pumpkin spices on the nose with highlights of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Undertones of sweet cream, pumpkin bread and nuts, reminiscent of a pumpkin roll. Undertones of caramel and a hint of sulphur

T- slightly sweet up front with notes of vanilla cream, quickly followed by spice notes of cinnamon, nutmeg of clove. Mid-palate gives more creamy vanilla, as well as a hint of caramel and nuts. The finish gives more cinnamon with a sweetness that lingers

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into the finish

O- sweeter than the average pumpkin beer, it gives a vanilla-like sweetness but doesn't quite give the 'pie' flavor. Nonetheless and enjoyable pumpkin beer

With the idea of putting a pumpkin pie in a beer glass, Taft's Ale House teams up with Frisch's Big Boy to create a fall themed beer with all the spices, sweetness and savoriness of pumpkin pie but drinkable like a sensible ale.

Medium amber and even captured in a slight orange tinted glow, a mild bronze color rests underneath a creamy eggshell froth. As the scent of pumpkin spice rolls off of the foam, so does a caramelized sweet scent, toasty, nutty and spicy with a hint of hops. Firm caramel sweetness registers first to the tongue with suggestions of graham cracker, praline and candied pecans.

And as the beer greets the middle palate, the spices simply bloom with a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg. Seeming slightly "christmas-spice" like, the beer's underpinning of toasted grains, honey, caramel and pie crust keeps the pumpkin pie influence solid and steady. A light bitterness to close suggests both spice and a hop balance that's familiar to amber ale fans.

Medium bodied yet trending malty, the beer's dryness is facilitated by carbonation, rummy alcohol warmth and light hop resins, making it quite drinkable in finish. Unfortunately to sell the pumpkin pie character better, the ale needed to retain much more sweetness and creaminess late in taste; it tries too hard to become a beer. A long and spicy linger is sure to appease the fans of early pumpkin ales such as O'Fallon's and Brooklyn's Post Road Pumpkin.