Southern Tier Pumking (2012 batch)

Brewed By: Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York 

Purchased: Halloween-inspiring 22oz Bomber bought at Binny's in IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable (Imperial Pumpkin Ale), 8.6%
Reported IBUs: N/A

PUMKING FOREVER

Soooo many pumpkin beers. I can't believe I haven't tried to asphyxiate myself with a pumpkin yet. Or maybe when I wear it I'll get super slasher powers. But tonight's beer is the king of pumpkin beers. Hail to the pumking, baby.  

Southern Tier Brewing Company is based out of Lakewood, New York. The brewery was founded in 2002 by Phineas DeMink and Allen "Skip" Yahn. Using equipment purchased from the old Saddleback Brewing Co., the company began production with the vision of reviving traditional small batch brewing to the region. By 2003, the brewery was distributing their small batch ales, and by 2005 their sales covered New York and Pennsylvania. Before the brewery had any seasonal beers, it produced a Pilsner, Mild Ale, and IPA. Due to popularity, in 2009 a 20,000 square foot facility was built to allow for the brewing of large-scale beers. Since then, Southern Tier has continued to expand, and continued to invest in better equipment to keep up with the increasing demand for their beer. You can read more about Southern Tier's history on their history page.

The official slogan, or the slogan on my glass, is actually, "long live the king." Yeah, I bought a Pumking beer glass...obviously I love this beer. I rambled like an asshole about the beer last year, but never did get around to reviewing it. The beer was great last year; big pie crust aromas, and huge pumpkin pie flavor. It was also really sweet...but in a good way. In a Southern Tier way. I'm learning that Southern Tier means business when they put a beer in a bomber. Their Choklat and Creme Brulee are like sex in a bottle, but they are big sweet beers. And last year's Pumking (2011 batch) was no exception. The beer approached cloying, and was exceptionally sweet. It's a beer to share with a friend, or to drink over a reasonable period of time.

You're probably wondering why I'm sharing all this with you...and the answer is I've had a few bottles of the 2012 Pumking, and in my opinion, this year's batch/recipe/whatever is a little bit less sweet, and has a little bit more earthy/vegetable pumpkin going on. I've heard that there is some variation between bottles (and even on tap), so we'll see. But it's worth making note. It's also possible that my palate has just evolved...I'm drinking huge, high gravity beers these days, and they often feature lots of sugary boozy goodness. I digress.

 Southern Tier Pumking

Pumking is part of Southern Tier's Seasonal Imperial series. This is an Autumn seasonal (sort of) that starts showing up in stores in August. The beer is brewed with two types of malt (pale, caramel); two types of hops (magnum, sterling); and pumpkin (canned pumpkin, last I checked). Clocking in at 8.6% ABV, this is a big pumpkin beer. The bottle art is awesome, and seeing this beer gets me in the mood for Halloween. The bottle tells the story of Púca, to which Pumking is a nod to. The bottle suggests serving this around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Into the glass, and on with the review.

The beer pours a hazy orange color, with about a pinky's worth of off-white, orange-tinted head. The head is made up of thin bubbles, and kind of has a Belgian thing going on. The head doesn't last for very long either, dissolving into a lovely cauldron effect. When held to bright light, the body of the beer is a lovely golden-orange color. You can't see through it due to the haze, but you can see quite a bit of carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles. In bright light the head is white. This is just a good looking, Halloween-inspiring beer. 

"Cauldron Effect." (Patent...pending....).

As far as the aroma goes...that's where the fun really starts. This beer is a reminder that certain things have similar aromas, despite being completely different. I'm talking about graham crackers, pie crust, and corn. Right on the nose is a huge blast of this steamed corn, pumpkin pie crust aroma. It gets sort of vegetal, with some slight sweetness. If you camp on the aroma, you can pull out strong pie crust and graham cracker. There's some slight spice on the nose, namely nutmeg, and a hint of earthy hop goodness. And there's definitely pumpkin aromas here. I'm picking up hints of pumpkin pie.

Damn. This tastes so good. The first thing that is jumping out at me is how hoppy this is. This has some hop kick, with some earthy hop bitterness, and even a bit of floral hop kick. Despite being less sweet than the 2011 Pumking (for whatever reason), this beer still packs a huge mouthfeel and a ton of depth. This is a malty, bready beer. Even with lots of tingly carbonation, this still takes its time crossing your tongue. I'm getting booze, graham crackers, pie crust, light hints of corn (that is much more toned down in the taste), slight hints of a buttery flavor (diacetyl), straight up pumpkin pie, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and a little earthy and floral hop notes. I maintain that this is not as sweet as the 2011 Pumking.

This beer is sort of like liquid heaven...it's like pumpkin pie (emphasis: crust) in a glass. It's not overly assertive with the sweetness or spice, and has the potential to be sipped on, or paired with a wide range of food. Palte depth is great, and this is a full-bodied beer. The beer has drinkability, even at 8.6%, and that's thanks to quite a bit of carbonation. This is...complex for the style. Up front is graham cracker, pie crust, and hints of floral hops; this rolls into a buttery and oily middle, with some nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and more hops; the back end is fading spice, dryness, earthy hops, and lingering malt. Fat bready malts provide a solid backbone from start to finish.

Rating: Divine Brew

I gotta go with a Decent Divine Brew on the 2012 Pumking. Despite not being as sweet as the 2011 Pumking, and despite having some corn in the aroma, this is still the premier pumpkin beer. It's just a big malty, bready beer...it has some density mid-palate with some oil and butter, but cleans up nicely on the finish. It does build as you drink it, leaving a slightly sticky sensation in your palate. It also leaves some pie crust...yum. The spice in this is really subtle and refined, and you do get some pumpkin pie notes. All-in-all, this is a fantastic beer, and a beer you should check out every fall. I always look forward to this beer, and I'm curious to see if they ramp the sweetness back up in the upcoming years. Food pairings: Thanksgiving, turkey, pumpkin pie, pumpkin desserts, vanilla ice cream with crumbled pie crust (or make a float!), a hearty stew, squash soup, or all by itself. 

Random Thought: It's been cold and rainy out. It finally feels like Autumn. So - WHY!!?!?!? - are there winter seasonal beers in stores already? I'm still camping on a bunch of fall beers, and probably won't make any major beer purchases till November.