On tap at Amazing Grapes, richly creamed pumpkin-pureed dunkelweizen retains chewy molasses-syruped pumpkin pie richness as gingerbread-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice sweetness battles back dunkel-styled banana, vanilla, clove and toffee illusions above Graham Cracker-like wheat spine. In deep recess, orange-candied cherry, grape and fig nuances flutter. A ghoulishly full-bodied Halloween dessert treat.
Mildly smooth espresso-beaned pumpkin ale may be a tad thin, but its subtle flavor profile will please softer thirsts. Brooklyn’s Cafe Grumpy espresso beans provide back end pleasantries for sweet pumpkin pie-spiced gingerbread, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and clove illusions as well as vanilla-sugared coconut toasting and wavering smoked black peppering. But lemony carbolic spritz brings intrusive phenol aridity and vegetal squash-zucchini earthiness seems undefined. On tap at Growler & Gill, better 2017 version found subtle espresso bean exuberance caress pumpkin pie spicing and light lemon rind bittering.
Tepid and thin in comparison to sourer Terrapin Cranberry Pumpkinfest as autumnal 2016 trend towards cranberry-infused pumpkin ales takes off. Tart cranberry juicing never fully punctuates brown-sugared spicing or its contrasting raw-honeyed lemony gourd bittering. Instead, sweet nutmeg, ginger, clove and cinnamon accents stay annoyingly moderated.
On tap at Amazing Grapes, tart cranberry-forward sourness almost supersedes vegetal gourd earthiness and mild pumpkin-skinned acridity. Lemony blood orange, yellow grapefruit and tangelo fruiting tingles the sour cranberry essence.
Mucky midrange moderation meshes pumpkin pie sugaring with ephemeral cinnamon-nutmeg-allspice conflux, candied crystal malting and distant banana-clove sweetness. Latent metallic sheen and phenol hop astringency disrupt gourd tenacity.
On tap at Plank Pizza, pallid gluten-free autumnal moderation utilizes sorghum, instead of wheat, to less assuredly support evaporative brown-sugared pumpkin spicing and vegetal gourd earthiness. Lemon-seeded herbal hop astringency negates wispy vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg adjuncts.
On tap at Cloverleaf, unique soft-toned acorn squashed moderation retains easygoing gourd spicing, light chili flake burn and syrupy Blackstrap molasses bittering over sweet crystal malting. Meaty pumpkin astringency perfectly contrasts cinnamon-spiced pumpkin pie sugaring.
Enthusiastically colorful autumnal moderation loads maple-sugared honey nut sweetness inside pumpkin pie-spiced piquancy. Caramelized cinnamon, candied ginger, nutmeg and allspice season the leafy hop respite.
Straight-ahead pumpkin pie-like sweetness meets standard autumnal criteria for crisp-watered moderate-to-medium body. Cinnamon-spiced brown sugaring contrasts subtle gourd earthiness and wispy aspirin acridity as ginger, nutmeg and allspice tingle the tongue.
Ambitious autumnal hybrid winningly obtains sugary rice-wined sake yeast for genuine ginger-spiced pumpkin pie sweetness (stimulated by ethyl 9% ABV lacquering). Subtle lemongrass and rose hips adjuncts add herbal nip to brown-sugared pumpkin pie heft as well as spiced sake minerality. On tap at Doherty’s (2016), sweet pumpkin pie spicing gained light butternut-squash earthiness to contrast brown-sugared gingerbread, cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkling.
Bold pumpkin-pureed medium-full body brings reedy India Pale Ale-styled piney citrus bittering, vegetal gourd astringency and dry rye malting to sweet-spiced pumpkin pie midst. Yellow grapefruit bitterness deepens perfumed hop bounty contrasting cinnamon-nutmeg-clove-allspice sweetness.
Exquisite 2014 rum-barrel aged pumpkin ale sequel brings lemony orange peel souring to the fore alongside roasted pumpkin spicing. Vanilla beans lightly embitter the sour citric facade until autumnal brown-sugared gingerbread, cinnamon and nutmeg seasoning sweetens the pumpkin puree finish.
