Grave Digger
Working Class Brewery

my first beer from these guys, and yeah, pumpkin ale is still a pleasure i love to indulge in, not even a guilty pleasure, i just like it! this is a good one too, mid amber colored with some shine, brewed with real pumpkin and a range of spices, but not overdone to me, complex but also sort of predictable in the sense that this is what i want from the style in general, its not radical its just good. nice malt foundation here, toasty and a little bit sweet in nose and taste, supports and holds the spices well. nutmeg and maybe allspice drive it, with brown sugar and some gentle pumpkin sweetness too, but i get other spices beyond those, cinnamon warmth makes it festive, a little ginger makes it actually spicy and kind of fresh which is uncommon in these, and there is richness to balance that the whole way. i do think, if i am being critical, that the squash aspect gets lost to the spice profile a bit, that happens, pumpkin is pretty darn mild, and this is flavorful and drinkable beer that really casts a wonderful and cozy fall vibe. their website tells me they have versions with pecans and ghost peppers, both of which sound brilliant, like they would elevate this a lot, but this has nice round body, lots of spice character, subtle pumpkin, and good carbonation to keep it all moving. festive and fun, glad i got to drink it!

Drank on tap at the brewery a week ago, but drank from a can dated 8/27/21 poured into a pint glass this evening. I liked the draft, but for whatever reason, the can into a pint glass is a full 0.5 better on my rating. I'm rating the can below.

L: a pretty amber. Looks like it was made for rich people, a bit aristocratic looking. Pours to a thick 1/2 inch head that dissipates slowly. Staying power!

S: a bit of fresh brown sugar and cinnamon. Mild and not overwhelming. I like it.

T: just like the smell. The spices are there, but not overwhelming like most pumpkin beers.

F: smooth. thick. Almost no aftertaste.

O: I'm not typically a huge fan of pumpkin beers, though I try them every year. But this beer is not only my favorite pumpkin beer, but one of my top 10-15 beers I've ever had.

I really like this brewery. I spent my tweens and early teens in the neighborhood. I was the only male student of the piano teacher, Sister Rose Marie Ritter at St. Joseph Academy for Girls in the late sixties and early 70's, but I really digress.

This thing is another brown ale with spice and making a very nice showing in the holiday brew selection. It is a nice reddish brown with a sparkle. The aroma is subdued, but indicative of the nice roasty malts of the underlying ale, brought out by the weird spices and extra ingredients. I'm OK will all that and it is OK at that. It's just that my last pumpkin brew was a Spooky Tooth, and it is a bigger, more successful brew.

Recommended. I want to find some other Working Class products. I hate to go out to a bar during Covid but maybe early in the day there won't be anybody there.

Canned on 8/28/20. 12oz can poured into a tulip. Pours amber with nice clarity and transparency; creamy light khaki head that falls slowly leaving great thick retention and sticky lacing. The aromas have spices and caramel. Some ginger. Malts are there. The flavors are spice forward. Lots of spices. Cinnamon leads the way along with some allspice. Lots of ginger. More hints of caramel. I'm not really picking up on the lactose. It's not really sweet at all. The spices give this one a decent bitterness. It has an earthy/woodsy vibe. Malts do their thing. Alcohol basically goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is nice. It's medium-bodied with active carbonation. It's sharp, crisp and fluffy.

This is an okay pumpkin ale. The spices dominate and overwhelm everything. I don't love it personally, but it's still well crafted.