Not A Review: Southern Tier Pumking

Sometimes it is nice to enjoy a beer without the production of a review. When I review a beer I like to find out about the brewery, learn about the style of the beer being reviewed, find out what ingredients are being used in the beer, and dig up as much information as I can find.

Beer reviewing is time consuming - it doesn't have to be time consuming - but I want to do it right. I want to give an honest review based on my opinions, but also based on good research.

Tonight I had the opportunity to share a bottle of Southern Tier's Pumking with my girlfriend. It was her idea to seek out some beer after she showed me an article in the paper about Lagunitas Doppel Weizen. I mentioned to her that she might be interested in trying a pumpkin beer. After trying several stores to no avail, we finally were able to hunt down a bottle of the Pumking.

We fixed some dinner, turned on the TV, and relaxed; Pumking was the after-dinner finale, so I guess we can call it dessert. The Internet and the craft beer community has hyped Pumpking to high heaven. Pumking is, by faaaaaarrrrrrr, the most hyped pumpkin beer on the market. I had high expectations coming in, and I was excited to try the beer.

The beer poured a nice orange color. It had a nice light orange body, and looked to be filtered. There wasn't a ton of head or carbonation. At 8.6% ABV I didn't expect a big head. The beer smelled like pumpkin pie crust - straight legit. It also smelled like spices: huge nutmeg and cinnamon. There was pumpkin in the nose. It smelled more like pumpkin than New Holland's Ichabod, but not by much.

The taste is where Pumking really differentiates itself. This beer tastes like pumpkin pie with some booze and nutmeg thrown in for good measure. The beer has potent pumpkin pie notes; it also has big sweetness. There is a lot of warming booze, and tons of spice.

The mouthfeel was clean, but the pumpkin pie flavors were slightly cloying. The Pumking is a sipper, and I'm not sure I would even want to drink a bomber of the stuff by myself. I am actually really surprised at how highly rated Pumking is. I see TONS of reviews for fruit and spice beers where reviewers say the beer is too fruity or too sweet. But Pumking is full throttle pumpkin pie and it is full throttle sweet.

I really enjoyed the Pumking. It is a really special beer in that it tastes like liquid pumpkin pie. I think it would pair wonderfully with the right dessert. It would also work as a nice sipping beer.

On the other hand, the Pumking is big. It is huge. The pumpkin pie notes do approach cloying. They are super assertive and a lot to handle. The beer is huge in both ABV and in pumpkin flavor. This beer has the meatiness of a stout, and it weighs on you like a big beer should.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the Pumking, I think I would drink this sparingly, and I probably would only want one or two bottles of this stuff annually. This is a great October beer, and definitely something to mull over. This is not a review so much as me thinking out loud. If I had to rate this beer tonight I would say it is above average; probably towards the top of above average. But right now, I would have a hard time awarding this divine brew status.

I probably won't do an official review of Pumking this year. My experience tonight is likely enough for the season. But I just want to say that I have great respect for the beer. Give a hand to Southern Tier brewing, folks: they engineered a pumpkin pie in beer form. That is incredible. Forget all the gimmicky shit that bogs the beer industry down: this is a legitimate craft brewing achievement. Pumpkin pie in beer form.

I recommend this beer, and I look forward to doing a full-on review in the future.

Until then...happy Halloween. Happy pumpkin beer drinking. I love fall beer, and I love pumpkin beer. But like pumpkin pie, Pumking is great in small amounts.