Astoundingly robust German-styled pilsner integrates dried chaffed wheat parch, cereal grain sweetness, and delicate citrus tingle with lively hop bitterness. Subdued barleymalt serenity edged out by musty orange peel luster and mild grapefruit twinge at spongy finish, completing this rather complex well-carbonated brew. Brooklyn Brewery remains a vastly underrated East Coast contender.

Bettering original Catamount Brewery recipe, Brooklyn’s festive version hoists dominant spicy pumpkin pie theme. Brown sugared honey malts and gingerbread-sweetened coriander-nutmeg-cinnamon illusions counter salt-watered black-peppered hop bittering and alcohol-burned metallic shard for rounded mouthfeel. Auxiliary vegetal astringency promotes earthen carrot, beet, and cabbage nuances at backend of gourd-flaunted full body. Fussier, creamier, and more robust than increasingly stiff autumnal competition.