Beer of the Week

The beer: Roadsmary's Baby

The brewery: Two Roads Brewing Company, Stratford, Connecticut

Description (from the website): "Roadsmary’s Baby is a scary good pumpkin ale with a Two Roads spin, it’s aged in rum barrels for added complexity and depth of flavor. The result is a smooth drinking ale with notes of pumpkin, spices, vanilla, oak and a touch of rum."

Would I buy it again? This is a very mellow yet thick beer. You definitely get the vanilla and pumpkin, but they're pleasant notes rather than overpowering. Usually, barrel-aged beers are quite strong, but at 6.8% this beer is definitely not excessively alcoholic. Which is nice, actually, drinking a hefty beer like this without the unmistakable taste of alcohol itself. Honestly, not a bad choice for Halloween itself; I'd probably buy this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Carnival of Horrors

The brewery: Lone Pine Brewing Company, Portland, Maine

Description (from the can): "'There are three things that I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and pumpkin beers,' Linus.

"Carnival of Horrors is a menacing imperial stout brewed with pumpkin pie filling, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and vanilla, and is definitely worth of a straight jacket."

Would I buy it again? You know, I was really expecting an imperial pumpkin stout to really smack me in the face with pumpkin flavor, but the pumpkin is surprisingly subtle. I'm actually not sure I'd be able to identify the pumpkin if you offered me a glass of this beer blind. Don't misunderstand, this beer is good – with that list of additional ingredients, it's tough to go wrong – but I don't know how much of a pumpkin beer this is. I'd probably buy this again, because it is good, but not if I'm specifically looking for a fall-themed pumpkin beer. It fits the thick, hearty winter beer stereotype much better.

Beer of the Week

The beer: 31 Pumpkin Spiced Lager

Brewed by: DuClaw Brewing Company, Rosedale, Maryland

Description (from the website): "First brewed in 2008 as a Halloween one-off release, “31”, took the classic Munich Dunkel and added seasonal spices to create a new fall favorite. Amber in color and medium-bodied, it indulges your senses with its smooth, malty palate, moderate 5.7% ABV, and fall spices for a refreshing finish of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, and pumpkin that makes “31” all treat and no trick."

Would I buy it again?: I don't know if I would call this my favorite pumpkin beer, since that's a pretty extensive list, but it's really good. Funny that a fairly simple pumpkin lager is so good, but there's something to be said for simplicity. It's a beer, and it tastes like pumpkin. Neither overwhelms the other, they compliment each other perfectly. This is definitely a beer I plan to get in the future.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Off Your Gourd

Brewed by: Idiom Brewing Company, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "A delicious tribute to the season, but with a twist. Healthy doses of baked pumpkin, brown sugar, candied ginger, Saigon cinnamon and fresh ground nutmeg are intertwined with a silky smooth Oatmeal Porter base. Delightfully devilish!"

Would I buy it again?: This was by far the best of the Frederick pumpkin beers that I bought recently, so yeah, I'd buy it again. The pumpkin worked well with the porter, so much so that I'm honestly curious why pumpkin porters aren't more common.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Pumpkin Dessert Ale

Brewed by: Olde Mother Brewing Company, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "We know you’re already thinking about Thanksgiving, and the best part about Thanksgiving? THE FOOD! And more specifically the dessert. This beer tastes just like grandma’s homemade pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top."

Would I buy it again?: I'm going to let my good friend Squidward Tortellini speak for me on this one. I've never had pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top, but if this is what it tastes like, I think I will abstain forever. 

Beer of the Week

The beer: Pumpkin Roasted Maple Stout

Brewed by: Olde Mother Brewing Company, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from the website): "We took our delicious Roasted Maple Stout and added Pumpkin! Tis the season!"

Would I buy it again?: I know that's not the most informative picture I've ever taken, but I liked the design. Anyway, the beer. I was excited for this one for a couple of reasons. One, pumpkin beers are almost always just plain old ales, I'm not sure if I've seen a pumpkin stout. Also, I like maple in my beer. Does it live up to my hopes? Sort of. I do like it, but I'm not entirely sure how much pumpkin I can taste. There's a lot of things going on with this beer, and I think the flavors got kind of muddled. It's not quite as good as I'd hoped, but I would buy it again if I go down to this place again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Pumpkin Oktoberfest

Brewed by: Red Shedman Farm Brewery, Mt. Airy, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "A true Oktoberfest malt combination with 140 lbs of fresh pumpkin. Mildly spiced for the holiday season"

Would I buy it again?: When I saw that one of my local beer distributors was selling crowlers of a pumpkin Oktoberfest beer, I knew I had to get it. I'm sure Red Shedman aren't the first people to combine the two definitive styles of fall beer, but I've never seen it before. Unfortunately, I was left a bit disappointed. There's a little bit of pumpkin flavor, but it's more an Oktoberfest with a hint of pumpkin, rather than a true marriage of the two styles. I think if you were offered it without being told there was pumpkin in it, there's a good chance you wouldn't even realize. Was it bad? No, it was a perfectly fine Oktoberfest. But I think the search for a true pumpkin Oktoberfest continues.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Pumpkinhead

Brewed by: Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland, Maine

Description (from the website): "Pumpkinhead is a crisp, refreshing wheat ale with delightful aromatics and subtle spice flavor. To celebrate the fall season, we enhance the pumpkin flavor with a proprietary blend of spices including cinnamon and nutmeg. A proper pint of Pumpkinhead is served in a pint glass rimmed with sugar and cinnamon and often accompanied by a shot of spiced rum or vanilla vodka."

Would I buy it again?: Sometimes breweries go too far with their pumpkin beer. While drinking a double imperial pumpkin stout or spicy pumpkin beer (never again) might be fun once, sometimes it's nice to kick back with an approachable pumpkin beer. That's Pumpkinhead. It's light, it's drinkable, and it's got a great name. I'd definitely buy it again.

"Beer" of the Week

The "beer": ACE Pumpkin

Brewed by: Ace Cider, Sebastopol, California

Description (from the website): "First produced in the fall of 2010, our Ace Pumpkin cider is a seasonal favorite. Its unique orange color and full rich flavor will leave you craving more. This seasonal Cider is released after Labor Day and available throughout fall. Ace Pumpkin is perfect for the pumpkin lover that just can’t get enough. Ideal for Halloween and Thanksgiving this cider pairs well with beef. Our pumpkin cider also makes a great snakebite when mixed with a heavy lager."

Would I buy it again?: I'm cheating a little bit here, reviewing a hard cider, but I saw a pumpkin cider and I thought that would be appropriate for my last beer review before Halloween. And you know what? I liked this quite a bit. It had the right amount of pumpkin flavor mixed in with the cider taste, and I'd definitely buy it again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Pumpkin

Brewed by: Alewerks Brewing Company, Williamsburg, Virginia

Description (from the website): "Pumpkin is made solely with fresh ingredients, spiced and baked in the oven before added to the brew. Enjoy powerful notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and more from the beer commonly described as 'Pumpkin Pie in a glass.'"

Would I buy it again?: I know I just reviewed a pumpkin beer a couple weeks ago, but that one didn't really count. This is a real pumpkin beer, as befitting the simple name. If you like pumpkin pie, I'm sure you'll enjoy this. I've never had pumpkin pie, but I also enjoyed the beer. The flavor wasn't overpowering, so it still tasted like beer. I'd buy it again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin

Brewed by: New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, Colorado

Description (from the website): "At 6.4% ABV, Atomic Pumpkin Ale is perfectly positioned to capture the fall beer drinker who wants more than just an ordinary Pumpkin or Oktoberfest beer."

Would I buy it again?: This is what I get for not reading the label carefully. I saw Atomic Pumpkin, and I thought it would be a beer with a whole lot of pumpkin flavor. What I received was a spicy beer, and that's just not what I want. Spicy and beer do not go together in my opinion. Now, it's not that spicy, but that just makes it worse. They went to all the trouble and didn't even go that far. So what we have here is a pumpkin beer that doesn't taste like pumpkin and is spicy but not really. I would absolutely not buy this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by: Elysian Brewing Company, Seattle, Washington

Description (from the website): "A very drinkable pumpkin ale--brewed with pumpkin puree and juice, and spiced in conditioning with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Both roasted and raw pumpkin seeds are in the mash, with pumpkin added to the mash and fermenter."

Would I buy it again?: Probably not. There was nothing wrong with it, but I'm just not a huge fan of pumpkin-flavored beer. But it's fall, so pumpkin beers are just a reality of life. It is very drinkable, and if you do like pumpkin, this is a good choice for you.