The Great Pumpkin

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Working at the Wine and Beer Shop last night, I had the surprise treat of tasting two different pumpkin ales -- such is the perk of this job, with a boss as cool as mine is, and I don't take it for granted. Typically,  I'm not one to gravitate towards fruit beers or lambics, but pumpkin beer has always had a place in my heart and on my palate.


Rewinding back to 2005, my first trip to Washington, DC, for a fall marathon with a good friend. We checked in to our hotel and made our way to the race expo to pick up our bibs and a whole lotta free promotional goodies. Imagine our delight when one of the vendors was a beer tent! It was Michelob, and they were peddling their Pumpkin Spice Ale. I'm not typically a Michelob consumer, but hey, free beer samples always get my attention. And surprisingly, it is decent stuff. Not too heavy, with just the right hint of spice, and a nice light mouthfeel. It's not overly complex and it doesn't inspire arias, but for a first taste of a pumpkin ale, it was pretty good.

Fast forward to fall 2009 and, similar to Linus and Lucy in the pumpkin patch, I have spent some time, and some tastes, trying to find a bigger, better pumpkin. Guess I'm not the only one. Pumpkin beer has become so popular that in 2007 a separate and distinct category for this style was added at the Great American Beer Festival.


So last night not one, but two potential "Great Pumpkins" sat in front of me: Post Road Pumpkin Ale and Wolaver's Certified Organic Will Stevens Pumpkin Ale. I figured that like Charlie Brown, if I were sincere enough, the Great Pumpkin would indeed present itself.


Taste Number One, and my favorite of the two: The Post Road Pumpkin Ale.  This ale is a beautiful orangey caramel color, with very little head, and a delicate lacing like the very first hint of winter frost that is soon to come.  Breathing in above the pour, you smell cloves and nutmeg, maybe even a little cinnamon. This, to me, is *almost* what a perfect pumpkin ale should taste like. It's nearly lager-like, and I love the sweet taste and the light mouthfeel. It's easy enough on the palate to be a session beer, but at the same time, after more than one or two of these I would feel like something was missing.


Post Road, for those who don't know, is brewed by Brooklyn Brewing, in Utica, New York.  Normally a filler when barley was too expensive, pumpkins were used regularly in the early days of American brewing, so this beer attempts to harken back to earlier times.  A a seasonal beer, it is only available from August through November (though you really tend to see it most in stores during October and November). I love it, and find myself rooting for it, but in the end, I know it isn't everything that I am looking for in a pumpkin ale. Harumph.


Moving on to Wolaver's. Affilliated with Otter Creek Brewing, Wolaver's beers are all organic, and the brewers have built quite an impressive foundation for sustainable brewing. Pioneering and chock full of corporate responsibility, and I like that.  This beer is brewed with certified organic pumpkins grown by Will and Judy Stevens in Shoreham, VT, less than 15 miles away from the Wolaver brewery.  I'm all in favor of locally sourced ingredients, but you have to deliver on taste too, or the deal is off. So on to my first sip.
The appearance is similar in color and lacing to the Post Road, maybe just a tinge darker in color.  The aroma is less reminiscent of a pumpkin ale and reminds me instead of a Belgian ale, and it also has a heavier mouthfeel than many other pumpkin ales, with some citrus notes and little effervescence.  Overall, I think this beer stacks up better with other mainstream categories of craft ales than it does to "pumpkin beers".  It's not overly spicy and you could drink more than one twelve ounce beer in a sitting, but I'm not sure you'd walk away from the experience feeling that this was a shining star in the pumpkin ale category. I didn't.

So there you have it.  These are, in my opinion, two delicious, yet ever-so-slightly disappointing pumpkin ales. Both would probably pair extremely well with some aged cheddar or a slice of homemade pumpkin pie (or both?).  But at the end of the day, I am still with Charlie Brown, waiting patiently in the pumpkin patch. "Oh great pumpkin, where are youuuuu?"


Alas, the Great Pumpkin hasn't yet come this year. But...when he does, I'll be sure to put in a good word for you. And in the meantime, if you find an amazing pumpkin ale, be sure to pass the word on to me.