Spiteful Jackass O' Lantern

Brewed By: Spiteful Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #63) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable (Pumpkin Ale), 6.66%
Reported IBUs: ?

Happy Halloween! I wish I had more time to celebrate, but I've been busy. Tonight's beer seems completely appropriate for the occasion, so without further adieu, let's crack into this mother. About Spiteful: 

Spiteful Brewing was founded in January 2010 by Brad Shaffer and Jason Klein. Like many brewers, the duo started out homebrewing. As of today, the brewery houses a 2.5 BBL Brewhouse and 5 BBL Fermenters. Currently, as a nanobrewery, Spiteful Brewing is hand delivering to stores and bars. For more info, check out Spiteful's website, or their Facebook or Twitter. 

With a big donkey on the bottle, and a quoted ABV of 6.66%, the bottle reads:

"Halloween, the one day out of the entire year when you are encouraged to dress up like a jackass. Want to dress up like a gorilla? Go ahead. A slutty nurse? No one will mind. This pumpkin ale was made with real pumpkins, home roasted to a caramelized goodness, then added to the mash. Enjoy this pumpkin ale while letting your inner jackass shine!"

Spiteful Jackass O' Lantern

This one pours into a surprisingly dark orange/brown body in lower light, and kicks up two fingers of thick, bready, sustaining, brown/caramel/tan head. In bright light, this beer takes on a hazy, super orange color. It's quite the looker. The head is soaking up the orange tones, and more than a finger is sustaining with authority. There is some lacing, and the beer has lots of carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles rising upwards.

The aroma on this beer is....rich chocolate and caramel malt. Wuuuut. There's some toast and coffee creamer as well. This beer smells a lot like a super malty Brown Ale or a Dunkler Bock. I'm getting a hint of roast on the nose as well, with lots of caramelized sugars...there's a dash of spice, and a dash of hops on the aroma as well.

This beer is very intriguing, in that I'm pretty sure they didn't use a ton of spices. Or any. There's deep layers of chocolaty, toasty, and roasted malts. I'm picking up a hint of floral/lemon hop bitterness in the mix, and there's some tannin kick to the body which suggested the addition of a fruit of vegetable. I do get lots of roast, and hints of sweet potato or cooked pumpkin, but it's not something I'd place in a blind tasting.

I'm a sucker for malty beers like this. True...this beer has zero spice, but there's a subtle roasted pumpkin/sweet potato thing going on, and I like it. The mouthfeel is bready and dense, and medium to medium-full. Palate depth is outstanding, while complexity is low. You get a dash of hops, followed by lots of malt sweetness, caramel, toast/roast, and chocolate; that rolls into more toast, some floral/lemon hop bitterness; the back end dials up more roast, hops, and hints of cooked sweet potato/pumpkin.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'll toss this a Light Above-Average. This is more of a malt bomb than it is a Pumpkin Beer, but you know what? It kind of works out, if you ignore some of the hangups and expectations for this particular style of beer. Solid stuff here, and at around 8 or 9 bucks a bottle, I would pick this up to pair with a cold Autumn night, a nice hearty soup/stew, rich chocolate desserts, or even with some pumpkin pie.

Random Thought: I have never been more ready for the weekend.

Doc’s Draft Hard Pumpkin Cider

Brewed By: Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery in Warwick, NY 

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Cider, 6.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Bro, do you even cider? Apparently Ratebeer doesn't, because there are no ratings for this cider. That means this review is more indie than vinyl, right, Mr. Paul? About the Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery: 

Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery was founded in 1989 when they purchased an orchard and began to grow fruit. After experimenting with hard cider, they purchased a cider license in 1993, and opened their doors to the public in the Fall of 1994. In 2001, Warwick pourchased a grant to develop New York's first fruit micro-distillery. In addition to making ciders, wine, and gin, Warwick is also host to weddings and other events. For more info, check out their history page or website. 

"Grow the football." 

The Doc's Draft Hard Pumpkin Cider is a seasonal release, "made from pressed NY state apples and fresh pumpkins, fermented with champagne yeast and malic acid to excite the action." I don't know what they mean when they say that this cider is going to "excite the action," but it sounds like a Mark Trestman-ism. This cider features roasted pumpkins, cinnamon, allspice, fresh ginger and nutmeg.

Man, cider reviews are so easy compared to beer reviews. This pours into a golden/apple juice body, with a finger of white head that rapidly dissolved before I could even capture it on camera. The cider's body is mostly transparent with good clarity, and features a storm of rising carbonation. In bright light, the cider takes on that white wine appearance. I'm impressed with the numerous streams of carbonation still rocketing upwards.

Doc’s Draft Hard Pumpkin Cider

I'm shocked at how much pumpkin I'm getting on the aroma. If you were handed this blind, you would say: cinnamon apples, apple, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon. That's pretty much the gist of this cider's aroma. Just...huge cinnamon apple and pumpkin spice. There's a weird grape/honey/rubber sweetness on the aroma as well, along with nuances of ginger and nutmeg, and a hint of sulfur[?]; but mostly cinnamon apple and pumpkin spice. 

This is bubbly, effervescent, and refreshing. I'm getting a lot of apple cider up front, and this definitely dials the sweetness up and keeps the dryness at bay. The apples up front are complimented with ginger and nutmeg kisses, and then you get blasted with cinnamon, pumpkin spice, honey/grape sweetness, and more pumpkin. I pretty much get every flavor this advertises in the taste, and this stays true to its cider base.

This is light-bodied, effervescent, bubbly like champagne, and really refreshing. You don't feel or taste the 6.0%, and palate depth and complexity are both on point. This is just tasty stuff. There's no false advertising here: you get lots of apple cider and nutmeg/ginger zing up front; that rolls into cinnamon, pumpkin spice, honey/grape sweetness, and hints of pumpkin; the back end features pumpkin, more pumpkin spice and cinnamon, and the finish is light and not dry at all. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm gonna toss this a Light Divine Brew. You know...this could be a notch better if it had a bit more complexity, but this is pretty much perfect for what it is. This is a cider with some pumpkin punch backing the apples up. Now, I'm no cider expert, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt...but this is a pleasant libation that would be right at home during the Fall/Autumn months. This is also priced well at around 6 or 7 bucks for a 22oz bottle. I'm about to pair this cider with a BBQ-pulled pork sandwich, which is the perfect cider pairing. I would pair this with lighter foods the benefit from the apple sweetness and high levels of carbonation. I'm not picky with my ciders; this hit the spot.

Random Thought: I should drink more ciders and meads, I really should.

Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale

Brewed By: Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon  

Purchased: 750ml (1 pint, 9.4oz) bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Pumpkin Ale, 5.6%

Reported IBUs: 25

For all the reasons to have scorn and wrath and hell fire for Rogue, they do occasionally do good things. Tonight's beer is brewed using fresh pumpkins grown at Rogue's 42 acre hop yard. The pumpkins are picked, taken to Rogue's brewery in Newport, roasted, and pitched into the brew kettle to make this very beer. Even a douche canoe clock is right twice a day. About Rogue:

Rogue has been around forever, and if their beer was more widely available, and not so damn expensive, I'd probably drink more of their stuff. The brewery was founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon by Jack Joyce, Bob Woodell, Rob Strasser, and home brewer Jeff Schultz. Due to increasing space and distribution limitations, Jack Joyce went searching in Newport for a location for the new Rogue pub. It was at this time that he met Mohave Niem, founder of Mo's Clam Chowder. She offered Jack space to brew in her building, and in 1989 the Bay Front Brew Pub was built. Rogue's headquarters currently reside in Newport to this day. In May 1989, current head brewmaster, John Maier, joined Rogue after a brief sting brewing with Alask Brewing. John was a former Senior Technician with Hughes Aircraft Co, and a graduate of the Seibel Institute. To learn more about Rogue, check out their website HERE.

As previously noted, this beer is brewed using fresh roasted pumpkins from the brewery's pumpkin patch. In addition to the fresh pumpkin, the Pumpkin Patch Ale (formerly the Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale) is brewed using a list of 13 ingredients, including Rogue Farms Dream Pumpkins; Rogue Farms Dare, Risk, Carafa II & Crystal Wheat Malts; Rogue Farm Independent Hops; Orange Peel, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom, Vanilla, Ginger & Nutmeg; and Rogue's infamous Free Range Coastal Water & Pacman Yeast. Punching in at 25 IBUs and 5.6% ABV, this beer is modest in its execution like many of Rogue's ales, despite the huge grocery list of ingredients. 

Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale

This beer pours with a fizzy, effervescent, and rapidly dissolving sand/tan-colored head. The head starts out with two fingers that rapidly drop off, leaving some lacing on the edges of the glass when you swirl the beer. The body of this beer is a darker amber/brown/orange in low light. In bright light this beer is a vibrant dark orange, has a semi-transparent appearance, and features lots of carbonation rising upwards with mid-to-large sized bubbles. Good times.

The aroma on this beer is really awesome...I'm getting lots of ginger and cardamom, some nondescript sweetness (maybe from the yeast?), and lots of vanilla. Swirling the beer and stirring it up brings pumpkin spice, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon to the forefront. The aroma is too mild to point in the direction of a mulled wine or Winter/Spice beer, but I'm not really getting tons of pumpkin spice or pumpkin seed or pumpkin. 

You do get more pumpkin in the taste...I'm picking up soda-like carbonation and spices working in tandem with lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, spritzy ginger, and some pumpkin spice. There are actual notes of baked pumpkin and pumpkin puree in the taste, though subtle they are (/yoda). There's also mild malt sweetness, with toffee/vanilla and some breadiness. It's not overwhelmingly spicy like many Pumpkin beers are.

This is an easy-going, well-made Pumpkin beer. As the beer warms up, you pick up more and more of the pumpkin and vanilla in the taste, which is awesome. The beer has good palate depth and complexity for the style, and the drinkability is super high (especially at 5.6%). The mouthfeel is medium-light, with lots of carbonation and spritzy spices helping things along. You get blasted with malt sweetness, vanilla, and pumpkin up front; that rolls into baked pumpkin and spices; the back end is trailing spices and malts. It's actually a really nice, well-balanced, Pumpkin beer. Especially at the ABV.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Above-Average, and jives well as far as Pumpkin beers are concerned. The subtle use of spices coupled with the big vanilla and pumpkin that starts to pop as this beer warms up is what makes this beer work. Additionally, this beer isn't overly boozy, so you get a lot of flavor in a reasonable package. 750ml bottles of this go for around 10 or 11 dollars, which is more or less a good deal. I'm about to pair this beer with some potato and leek soup, but this beer would pair well with any pumpkin foods, Thanksgiving foods, or Fall trimmings. I rarely say it about Rogue, but this beer comes highly recommended. 

Random Thought: Or for you folks in Chicago, highly Wreck "O" Mended.