Carved Out
Wellington Brewery

Tallboy can purchased in Guelph at the brewery; best before Mar 23 2016 and served slightly chilled. The publicity blurb mentions locally-grown pumpkins, as well as at least five different spices being used in its brewing.

Pours a translucent, foggy orange-brown colour with ruby red highlights. Seated atop is a lovely, fluffy, beige-tinted head that stands one inch high, lasting for five minutes or so before it wilts away entirely. A foamy collar remains, as well as many random splashes of messy lacing. You'll definitely get some floaties if you opt to dump the bottoms in, but otherwise this is a visually attractive pumpkin ale. Its aroma displays the usual autumn potpourri of pumpkin spices - gingerbread and cinnamon are prominent, with hints of nutmeg and allspice. Maybe a bit of toffee and/or molasses, with an overall yummy pumpkin bread sort of vibe to the nose.

And not a misleading vibe, either - this is a dandy of a pumpkin ale. The spice load isn't subtle, but there is enough graham cracker, pumpkin bread and toffee sweetness flavour on the backbone to dilute the notes of cinnamon, allspice and ginger. Clove really comes through nicely on the back end, with gingerbread and a squashy flavour fading into the aftertaste. Low-ish carbonation levels that gently agitate the tongue, allowing for a very smooth, soft mouthfeel. Extremely drinkable.

Final Grade: 4.05, an A-. I haven't had many pumpkin ales this year, so I'll admit that I've been itching to try some new ones. Wellington's Carved Out Pumpkin Ale is actually a very solid example that beats out most of the Ontario-brewed counterparts that you'll find at the LCBO - or rather, would have found, a month or two ago now. The spices, malts, and pumpkin flavour all play distinct-but-equal roles in this beer, and frankly that sort of balance is something I greatly appreciate in this style. Pumpkin ale enthusiasts will definitely want to give this one a look, as it's up there with Highballer IMO.

This review is for the 2015 version, which the good folks at the brewery tell me is a different recipe than other vintages. I'll have to take their word for it because I haven't tried any earlier versions. Also, my can says 5.4% ABV.
I am a lover of all things pumpkin, and this is one of the best pumpkin beers I've tried. You can smell the pumpkin and spices and you can taste them as well. Its a dark orangy colour that actually looks nice in the glass. It tastes like beer with pumpkin, not pumpkin pie. Overall, like I said, one of the better pumpkin beers around. Good work