Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado
Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Pumpkin Ale, 6.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
I can't believe Pumpkin beers are already on shelves. Well, some of them are. Like Shipyard's cinnamon soda, Pumkinhead. That beer is like the Miller Lite of Pumpkin beer. Like, someone dumped cinnamon and allspice into a Miller Lite. And then you have Pumking, which apparently already hit shelves. There's supposed to be a second wave, but what the hell? Anyway, New Belgium, of all breweries, has a lot of experience brewing pumpkin beers and Autumn seasonals at this point. For those reasons, I happily gambled on tonight's beer, even in mid-August. About New Belgium:
New Belgium is based out of Fort Collins, and opened in 1991 when founder Jeff Lebesch took his home-brewing into the commercial world. At this point in time, New Belgium has mainstream fame from their Fat Tire, and craft beer credit for their sour beers. New Belgium is the thrid-largest craft brewery in the United States. You can read more about New Belgium if you check out their company page, and definitely cruise their website.
The Pumpkick is a is a spiced pumpkin ale, brewed with pumpkin juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, lemongrass, and cranberries for a little tart twist. This looks to be the 2013 Fall Seasonal, and my early impressions are this is pretty tasty.
The beer pours into a dark, brownish-orange color, and kicks up two fingers of off-white head. In bright light this beer is a dashing Autumn-orange, and the creamy, porridge-like head is soaking up nice orange/amber tones. There's some moderately busy carbonation in the beer, and this looks to be semi transparent. I suspect there will be lacing and all that good stuff.
You get a lot of nutmeg on the nose, along with some pumpkin, a tart note (cranberry?), tart wheat character, some tart pumpkin, and raw pumpkin seeds. There's also some hints of sugary stuff, probably from the cinnamon.
I'm reminded of the New Belgium Kick, without any hint of sour. Lots of meaty, cooked pumpkin comes through: it reminds me of Thanksgiving, turkey, and gravy. The pumpkin mingles with some caramel/bread malt sweetness, and the advertised cranberry does come through. There's a hint of tart wheat pop on the back, along with maybe a touch of hop bite. There's a layer of nutmeg and cinnamon that is present throughout, but not overly assertive.
At 6.0%, this is targeting the "standard" pumpkin ale market. That is, this isn't an Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and it doesn't come in a fancy bomber. This compares favorably to other similar beers, and it might even rise to the top with a nice balance between real pumpkin flavors, light tartness, and mild malt. It's not bad, with good palate depth, above-average complexity, and good drinkability. The mouthfeel is medium-light, and the carbonation is lively and present. The only thing that might hinder drinkability is some light astringency that I assume are tannins from the cranberries or pumpkin. After a quick wash of tart wheat, I get big pumpkin, Thanksgiving trimmings, and toast up front; that rolls into cranberry, a hint of hop bitterness, pumpkin seeds; the back end lays some sweet malt, lingering pumpkin, and the whole thing has underlying nutmeg and cinnamon.
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| New Belgium Pumpkick |
You get a lot of nutmeg on the nose, along with some pumpkin, a tart note (cranberry?), tart wheat character, some tart pumpkin, and raw pumpkin seeds. There's also some hints of sugary stuff, probably from the cinnamon.
I'm reminded of the New Belgium Kick, without any hint of sour. Lots of meaty, cooked pumpkin comes through: it reminds me of Thanksgiving, turkey, and gravy. The pumpkin mingles with some caramel/bread malt sweetness, and the advertised cranberry does come through. There's a hint of tart wheat pop on the back, along with maybe a touch of hop bite. There's a layer of nutmeg and cinnamon that is present throughout, but not overly assertive.
At 6.0%, this is targeting the "standard" pumpkin ale market. That is, this isn't an Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and it doesn't come in a fancy bomber. This compares favorably to other similar beers, and it might even rise to the top with a nice balance between real pumpkin flavors, light tartness, and mild malt. It's not bad, with good palate depth, above-average complexity, and good drinkability. The mouthfeel is medium-light, and the carbonation is lively and present. The only thing that might hinder drinkability is some light astringency that I assume are tannins from the cranberries or pumpkin. After a quick wash of tart wheat, I get big pumpkin, Thanksgiving trimmings, and toast up front; that rolls into cranberry, a hint of hop bitterness, pumpkin seeds; the back end lays some sweet malt, lingering pumpkin, and the whole thing has underlying nutmeg and cinnamon.
Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Average on this beer. I almost went Above-Average, because I feel like this beer is in the B-range, but there's an astringency that grows as you work through this that I'm unsure of. That same astringency is probably the result of the cranberry and lemongrass (and wheat???) twist. It's a case of damned if you do, and damned if you don't. However, I actually think the cranberry twist works here, and the whole beer has a very Thanksgiving-dinner vibe. The best part is 6-packs of this cost 7 or 8 bucks. I would pair this beer with Thanksgiving food, a turkey sandwich, or chicken and rustic potatoes. This is a very good pumpkin beer with a twist, just make sure you keep the twist in mind.
Random Thought: Pumpkin beers are some of my favorite things, so I always welcome Pumpkin beer season...even if it is only August.
I'm feeling a Strong Average on this beer. I almost went Above-Average, because I feel like this beer is in the B-range, but there's an astringency that grows as you work through this that I'm unsure of. That same astringency is probably the result of the cranberry and lemongrass (and wheat???) twist. It's a case of damned if you do, and damned if you don't. However, I actually think the cranberry twist works here, and the whole beer has a very Thanksgiving-dinner vibe. The best part is 6-packs of this cost 7 or 8 bucks. I would pair this beer with Thanksgiving food, a turkey sandwich, or chicken and rustic potatoes. This is a very good pumpkin beer with a twist, just make sure you keep the twist in mind.
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