Carnival Of Horrors
Lone Pine Brewing Company

A huge thanks to @Roguer for this bad boy! Received in the barleywine/stout BIF (Fall 2023); 16oz can poured into Allagash tulip

P dp mahogany/blk with a small tan head; recedes quickly

N med aroma of roast, dark sugars/maple, spices, and pumpkin; pleasant

T a nice roasted malt body carries a combo of pumpkin, maple, vanilla, and spices, well-balanced and quite tasty; light-med alcohol heat as it warms; spices linger in the aftertaste

Mf velvety smooth and creamy, med to med full bodied with med-high carb, notable

O I'm a sucker for pumpkin stouts and this one doesn't mess around; great balance between the roasty/sweet/spiced elements; outstanding mouthfeel to boot; would definitely have again given the opportunity

Review date: 11.10.23
Can date: 09.19.22

 

Pours a dark cola brown that settles as black in the glass with a sudsy tan head. The nose has a lot of pumpkin, allspice, and nutmeg, with a smidge of maple and vanilla. No sign of the cinnamon or ginger, which I think would’ve helped.

The taste is a really nice mix of pumpkin, maple, vanilla, nutmeg, and allspice. It drinks like a smoothed out pumpkin stout - if the cinnamon and ginger were amped up, I think this would’ve been next level world class.

The mouthfeel is a little on the weaker side for a 9% ABV stout, but it’s still a flavorful fun ride.

Canned 9/16/22

As a sucker for Pumpkin Beer, Pumpkin Stouts are even more exciting to me. The balance you can achieve with these are incredible, and I take my chances on most of the ones I see. I don’t really love this brewery, but I think this one is worth a shot. Let’s get into it

Pours a very dark brown with 2 fingers of creamy dark tan head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves decent lacing

For having pumpkin and a fuckton of other adjuncts in here, the nose is rather subdued. I’m picking up on aromas of medium roast coffee, dark toast, baked pumpkin, cocoa powder, cinnamon, maple syrup, light raisin, and caramel

The adjuncts have much more presence in taste, making this a very different yet equally nice beer. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting milk chocolate, maple syrup, pumpkin meat, cinnamon, sweet vanilla, dark bread, light roast coffee, and burnt sugar. The swallow brings notes of maple syrup, pumpkin meat, milk chocolate, burnt caramel, sweet vanilla, nutmeg, earthy cinnamon, and a touch of molasses

A medium full body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a slick beer. Finishes a tad sticky and sweet but it works for this

Honestly, having 2 totally different vibes from the aroma to the taste in this one makes me wanna bump the overall up a point. So I’ll do just that. I dig this one

 

Bravely, a pint can was opened and drained into a clear glass Imperial pint mug. This likely goes into the rather vague "pumpkin beer" category, but it's self described as Pumpkin Imperial Stout. The pour is exactly what a stout should provide. The liquid is a little more viscose than some in the same style. The head is tan and creamy. It may be more than black coffee black, this approaches just plain black. No light passes through it, yet it's bright enough to reflect lights within the bar. With seven additional flavorings added to a good Imperial Stout, this provides an array of aromas. A little maple, a little vanilla, a little cinnamon/ginger/allspice and plenty of roasted malt. As rich as its body is, it drinks lightly, at least lighter than would be expected. The sweetness of the maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and roasted malt is somehow held in check by the other spices. But it's not too spicy, like other pumpkin beers that end up tasting like cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, or a combination, thereof. OK, this doesn't taste exactly like a pumpkin pie, but that apparently wasn't its intention. Instead, this is a very well made Imperial Stout that throws many of the flavors associated with that desert across your palate. There's almost no taste of the alcohol, nor glass lacing for the visual. It can't be said that there's good enough separation to distinguish between all that's here, but this is one incredibly delicious stout.