Boom Sticke Alt
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

On tap @ the brewpub on 10/25/09. Served in an oversized mug.

Pours a deep clear amber, with a finger or two of smooth looking off-white foamy head. Retention stays rich, leaving back some thick frothy lacing. The aroma has a deep malty sweetness to it, but seems to be equally roasty smelling as well. Spices jump out at me but are evenly spaced throughout, along with some light floral character.

The taste is similar, with sticky malts up malt before getting dark and roasty in the back. Spice is less pronounced here but I am picking up more of the pumpkin meat in the taste, where is it coming off as more sweet than green and veggie. The same moderately biting hop profile is present and gives this some zip in the mouth. Finishes roasty and spicy, leaving a light lingering dryness behind. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a prickly carbonation that lend this a real lively feel in the mouth, which helps counteract some of the alcohl heft in this.

I liked this. The equal parts sweetness and roast gaves this an almost dark molasses type of taste and the pumpkin meat and spices gaves this an extra layer of depth. Quite an enjoyable fall quaff.

Boom Sticke Alt pours a solid, noble brown in a pint glass with a thin head and some lacing. Great roasted, caramel malty flavor with each sip. The beer is brewed with pumpkin (not the pumpkin spice stuff either) and so get a subtle hint of craft that went into the brew in the finish. A fantastic example of the quality that the brewmasters in the West Chester Iron Hill are taking nowadays - cheers to them!

A-A clear medium brown with a thin off white head and some good lacing.

S-Nicely sweet, with a strong caramel malt presence.

T-Delicious. Sweet caramel maltiness in the front that turns a bit roasty in the finish, with a nice molasses dark sweetness in the very back.

M-Medium bodied with some residual sticky sweetness.

D-Very tasty, sweet but not cloying, really nice body. I did not know this beer was brewed with pumpkins until I read it this morning. A very interesting take on a pumpkin beer, with the fruit used for body and sweetness (to me, anyway) and little or no fall spice character. I dug it.

HV