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Halloween Ale
Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
- From:
- Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
- Maine, United States
- Style:
- Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
- ABV:
- 6%
- Score:
- 84
- Avg:
- 3.73 | pDev: 13.14%
- Reviews:
- 186
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Dec 04, 2018
- Added:
- Aug 29, 2001
- Wants:
- 16
- Gots:
- 32
Every fall marks the return of our legendary Extra Special Bitter for the season, Halloween Ale – the beer so good, it's scary! From its humble beginnings in 1990 as a small-batch seasonal in our Portland Brew Pub, Halloween Ale has grown to be one of the year's most anticipated beer releases. This robust brew has a deep amber color, a bold, malty palate and a well-rounded hop finish. The perfect beer for a crisp autumn day!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BeerAdvocate:
Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland
4/5 rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #33 (Oct 2009):
Inviting dark amber clarity with an ample lacing. Fruity, taffy-like, perhaps a little peppery and malty in the nose. Solid malt base lets the smoothness of the carbonation roll right through it. Malt is king of the hill here, though it struggles to stay on top with complexi- ties coming from all directions. Hops dial in with a low-key bitterness but bigger herbal and woody flavors. Taffy? Ripe fruit jumps up with a quick flash of estery alcohol and the yeast throws down a musty flavor to show its uniqueness from other yeasts. Everything seems to work together though, leading to balance in the finish.
A masterpiece that we'll miss soon enough--all good seasonals seems to be that way ... every day can't be Halloween either. Hands down one of our most favorite ESBs ever.
Nov 15, 2010Inviting dark amber clarity with an ample lacing. Fruity, taffy-like, perhaps a little peppery and malty in the nose. Solid malt base lets the smoothness of the carbonation roll right through it. Malt is king of the hill here, though it struggles to stay on top with complexi- ties coming from all directions. Hops dial in with a low-key bitterness but bigger herbal and woody flavors. Taffy? Ripe fruit jumps up with a quick flash of estery alcohol and the yeast throws down a musty flavor to show its uniqueness from other yeasts. Everything seems to work together though, leading to balance in the finish.
A masterpiece that we'll miss soon enough--all good seasonals seems to be that way ... every day can't be Halloween either. Hands down one of our most favorite ESBs ever.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
3.75/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured into an English pint glass.
The appearance was a nice rugged dark orange color with a small white foamy head softly dissolving to leave some adequate yet messy lace.
The aroma had a huge malty biscuity to toasty white bread along with some nuts, earthy crisp hop leafiness with some grassiness. Anise and allspice slide in underneath.
The flavor was malty sweet initially and developed some sort of underlying spice, somewhat earthy and allspice-like. Super malty aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Good rolling carbonation, perhaps a bit higher than expected for the style. ABV felt as projected. Malty finish.
Overall, pretty good Autumn brew, maybe again. But definitely might be better with some fish n'chips.
Sep 15, 2018The appearance was a nice rugged dark orange color with a small white foamy head softly dissolving to leave some adequate yet messy lace.
The aroma had a huge malty biscuity to toasty white bread along with some nuts, earthy crisp hop leafiness with some grassiness. Anise and allspice slide in underneath.
The flavor was malty sweet initially and developed some sort of underlying spice, somewhat earthy and allspice-like. Super malty aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Good rolling carbonation, perhaps a bit higher than expected for the style. ABV felt as projected. Malty finish.
Overall, pretty good Autumn brew, maybe again. But definitely might be better with some fish n'chips.
Reviewed by johnnnniee from New Hampshire
3.5/5 rDev -6.2%
3.5/5 rDev -6.2%
Bottle from Harvest Market
Pours a deep amber/copper color with a good sized off white head that persists for quite a while. Aromas of rich caramel malt with a bit of a mineral/sulfur edge, light earthy hop aroma. The flavor is rich caramelized malt sugars with lots of toffee. Light fruit, earthy hop, light mineral flavor. Medium body moderate carbonation. Decent brew.
Dec 13, 2014Pours a deep amber/copper color with a good sized off white head that persists for quite a while. Aromas of rich caramel malt with a bit of a mineral/sulfur edge, light earthy hop aroma. The flavor is rich caramelized malt sugars with lots of toffee. Light fruit, earthy hop, light mineral flavor. Medium body moderate carbonation. Decent brew.
Halloween Ale from Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
Beer rating:
84 out of
100 with
324 ratings
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