Baked Pumpkin Ale
Lancaster Brewing Company

12 oz. can. Amber color with off-white head. Very good amber ale base with some pumpkin pie spices and pie crust flavoring. It's very well-balanced, a bit of creamy texture, and is delicious fresh from the can. If you enjoy pumpkin beers I can highly recommend this one.

It's the caramel-brown color of a well brewed tea, exposed by emptying the entire contents of two twelve ounce cans into a clear glass liter mug. There's a modest off-white head on top. Although moderately hazy, it has a relatively bright sheen. Maybe there's a little starch to the aroma, but it's mostly spices, such as clove and nutmeg. The taste has little true beer flavor, lacking hops and malt. It's predominantly pumpkin pie like spiced beer. Its body is up to carrying the spices, but they are anything but subtle. This can't be a major complaint about opting for this style. So, it comes down to this: If you like a rather heavily pumpkin spiced beer, that likely includes some clove and perhaps ginger, as there's a little heat, this is for you. Those characteristics may distract a lover of traditional brews without the extra taste additions. The body is good and there's even some glass lacing. As the vessel drains and taste buds adjust, this doesn't finish badly.

 

 

A very solid pumpkin ale...

What separates this from being an exceptional pumpkin ale is how muted the smell and flavor is to the nose and tongue. It had a pumpkin scent and flavor, but just not "all there". Nonetheless, it is a very solid pumpkin ale, and I won't hesitate to reach for when in visiting PA...

Poured into an Elysian pumpkin snifter. Pours a medium to dark brownish orange with a two finger off-white head with good retention and solid lacing; looks nice. Aroma of pale malt, fresh uncooked pumpkin, pumpkin pie spices with ginger and cinnamon dominant. Flavor is pale malt, uncooked pumpkin, pie spices leading with cinnamon and allspice; a somewhat tart note to the finish. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess. This pumpkin ale has good pumpkin character, but the spicing is bit forward with a light spice astringency. I liked the initial flavors, but there is some acidic tartness in the finish that did not sit well with me. The pumpkin flavor depth approaches some of my favorite pumpkin ales,but this one is somewhat unbalanced for me. Looks great.

On tap:
Nice medium amber, clear, with a thin but full cap a sheets of lacing. Lightly spiced and earthy nose, with a little tang that could be pumpkin if there is any in the beer.

Taste follows with a bit of opening sweetness added. Warm spice in the middle, earthy spice with an impression of some hop bitterness (but not much) to finish. A decent spiced beer that doesn’t lean too heavily on the additions.

Pours a medium amber color, minimal head. Or much to the aroma, a little cinnamon if that. Flavor is surprisingly minimal, not a lot of pumpkin spice. Creamy texture. Overall a bit is a disappointment .

9/29/24
12 oz bottle
3.75 rating

L= This is a beautiful pumpkin ale to behold. A cloudy, amber/orange body, with obvious pumpkin mash, and a 2 inch off-white head with above average staying power and lacing. Beautiful!
S= The smell is modest, given the promise from the look. Pumpkin and pumpkin spice, presumably allspice and cloves, vanilla, caramel, soap. All a bit muted and unexceptional.
T= Better than the smell. Pumpkin spices, sugar, bread notes, pumpkin, caramel... enough that the taste of pumpkin pie including the crust, is within reach, if not exactly duplicated. There is a nice aftertaste which reveals a quality water base.
F= Good. Nicely balanced, less sticky than some pumpkin ales, less watery than others. About as satisfying as a pumpkin beer could be.
O= While this does not make my top 5 pumpkin beers, It is solid, well constructed and way better than most of the pumpkin ales on the market. I am a pumpkin beer aficionado, and look forward to having at least a 6 pack of this in my yearly pumpkin beer mix.

Draft at Hotel Genetti. Clear amber pour, persistent thin off-white head. Pumpkin aroma, baked, like my mom used to do. Taste is pumpkin with light cinnamon and brown sugar. Pumpkin beer without the spice. Nice.

This pumpkin ale is great! From the hops and malt that make your tastebuds dance to the pumpkin pie and vanilla finish, this potent beverage will have you wanting at least one more.

 

Pretty amber in appearance, almost like orange blossom honey. Pumpkin spice with prominent cinnamon and hints of brown sugar. Taste is much the same, and I mean that as a compliment. Smooth and warming. A very drinkable pumpkin beer.

There is no date on the bottle. The pour is copper colored. The taste is pumpkin, clove, cinnamon, along with a soft vanilla note. Cheers! B

(12 oz can, BB 07623; purchased single off shelf... poured into my Chouffe tulip)

L: crazily-hazy, tawny liquid; semi-tight, but airy foam, crunching and crystalline... its thick cloudiness is really throwing me off... by the end, still murky, with no collar and barely a scab of lace

S: too much clove... the nutmeg slowly emerges... then finally the cinnamon... I think the ginger may have been creeping at first, then slowly soared up to take the lead... when the spices finally marry, it's great, and there's even some caramelized malty beer poking out too... for a pumpkin ale, somewhat on point and inviting

T: damn! yeah, the cinnamon (sugar) and ginger really leap out upon first sip, even getting peppery a few beats into the aftertaste... second sip and it's rather boldly malty, with a semi-dry underbelly, the likes of which seem very much accentuated by the now aggro spicing stinging the palate; jeez o'lantern, please... yeah, (red hot) cinnamon phenolic, almost burning... overall, it does somehow taste like pumpkin pie filling infused with too much vodka

F: like its looks suggest, its murky-muddy, brash and bracing upon the palate; stings and stuns by the tons, with a subtly-oily spiked viscosity... the booze pings and a prickly sizzle accompanies each sip; keeping me awake...

O: its boldness is arresting and interesting, but the lack of a balancing underlying sweetness works to its disadvantage... might go great with uber-glucose-y desserts... but on its own, you really gotta be into egregious pumpkin pie spicing (2063)

 

 

 

 

amber hazed no head
clove heavy with light nutmeg
thin spicy low carb light sweetness and semi bitter but dry finish
Taste is ok, but clove heavy with low malt taste slight nutmeg and cinnamon and slight alcohol in back warmth w/ cinnamon linger and light nutty vegetal aspect
overall a middle of the road example...spice heavy with clove emphasis, ok but many are better