The Great Pumpkin
Rohrbach Brewing Company (Brewpub)

 

This one pours a light brown-ish color, with a small white head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells like caramel, sugar, pumpkin spice, lactose, and toffee.

This started out fairly good at the outset, but then as it warmed and I got used to the beer a little bit, the taste just got so syrupy and sweet. By the end, it was nearly undrinkable - just too heavy and sweet.

This sits a bit too heavy on the palate, and is rendered relatively hard to drink because of that.

I wanted this to be better - I always root for this brewery even if they don't always hit the mark.

 

Had at the brewpub.

3.5 A: Came in a pint glass up to the brim and thus no head.

3.5 S: Toasty with a good bit of caramel sweetness. Toward the lighter side with pumpkin spice, but enough to keep my nose occupied. Common stuff with cinnamon and nutmeg leading the way. Malt forward with a light grassy hippiness.

3.75 T: The pumpkin spice comes out stronger in the taste. Great balance of spice with caramel sweetness. Toasty malts, light bitterness, and a molasses finish.

3.5 M: Medium to heavier medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Light creaminess that I could use more of but plenty smooth.

4.0 D: Run of the mill but more than solid pumpkin brew.

 

 

 

 

 

A - Poured a light brown color with a 1/2" head.

S - Could smell a nice spice mixture which complimented the lite malts nicely.

T - Very tasty! Pumpking and other spices right up front. Nutmeg? Clove?

M - A little gritty on the back end but not harsh.

D - Smooth and tasty. You'll definitely want another.

Rohrbach Pumpkin Spice Ale is a hazy amber ale with a dense, light beige head that has great retention and lacing. Pumpkin and nutmeg are very prominent in the aroma, which is slightly sweet. It has a smooth, medium body with a slightly gritty finish. It has a very strong pumpkin flavor! It's squashy and very spicy. It's slightly bitter and well balanced. It's all about the pumpkin and spice-- appropriately named.
(rated Nov 28, 2008)

Nice toffee colored head. The first pour from the growler had a nice 2 finger head, but the other pours tended to have a much thinner, perhaps half finger head of the same color. The brew seems fairly carbonated and looks a clear brown-orange when held to the light. This was poured vigorously into my Rohrbach's Pub glass.

Upon first sniff you get a nose full of pumpkin pie spices, all spice, cloves, cinnamon, a little nutmeg perhaps? You may actually smell a note of squashy goodness, but I think it's a brain association thing.

This is a milder Pumpkin ale than I've had in the past, and a bit more pleasing perhaps. It's not as overly sweet as one of my newly minted bottles of Pumking was, but it has some nice complexity. You can definitely feel the carbonation on the tongue, and that's certainly something this beer isn't lacking. It's not overdone however, it's a good amount. It also has a pretty dominant malty taste, which I enjoy thoroughly.

As to the drinkability, I bought a growler, and I plan on consuming the growler :). This is my second night on this as I've been pacing myself with my other beers I have around the house this past weekend, but this is certainly a brew you can bring to a party and everyone can enjoy. My girlfriend preferred this to the Pumking.

Yet another tasty offering from Rohrbachs. Had it on tap at the brew pub. Poured a pumpkin-orange color with a white head on top. Smelled of sweet autumn spices, floral hops and a very doughy malt flavor. The taste was more of the spices including cinnamon, nutmeg and tons of pumpkin. There was also a soft bread like yeast finish coupled with a rather dualistic mouthfeel. It was very creamy upfront with the carbonation really coming out as if moved further down the tongue. Excellent pumpkin beer, which was careful not to overdo the spices at all. Went wonderfully with the highland chedder soup.