Beer O'Clock: In Search of the Great Pumpkin Ale, Part 4

Okay, I'm getting a little tired of pumpkin ale.

I've only been drinking pumpkin ale for a couple of years: since my friend, Perry, took me to Toronto for Volo Cask Days, when he introduced me to his own version of the seasonal ale and I first tried Great Lakes' interpretation.

Since pumpkin ales sprang up, I've limited my self to only a couple each year. Not so this year.

In addition to the pumpkin ales I've reviewed, I've had some at beer tastings and at social gatherings, where I haven't taken notes (I did review a pumpkin ale last week, along with other beers at a food pairing dinner). Needless to say, I've had more pumpkin ale this year than I've had in all other years, combined.

I'm getting pumpkin beered out.

That said, I did try two more pumpkin ales this weekend: one from Ontario, another from New York State. And both of them are available at the LCBO.

I tried the Ontario ale first.

Highballer Pumpkin Ale 
Grand River Brewing Company 
Cambridge, Ontario
LCBO: $3.95, 500 ml; 5.2% ABV

The last time I reviewed a beer by Grand River, I wasn't particularly kind and I was somewhat reluctant to review them again. What if I didn't like this offering from this small brewery? Would I publish my findings? I decided that they deserved another chance.

Deep orange-ambered, the white head dissipated fairly quickly but left a nice, thin lace. On the nose, I detected a definite pumpkin and spice aroma with some citrus. In the mouth, the flavour was an obvious pumpkin but almost no spice. The fruit of the pumpkin was all that came through and ended in a clean finish.

While I would have liked to taste more spice, this was a good, easy-drinking ale. Grand River had redeemed itself.

I followed the Ontario ale with one from Brooklyn, New York.

Post Road Pumpkin Ale
The Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, New York
LCBO: $2.45, 355 ml; 5% ABV

While this seasonal is available in the LCBO, it is only available in limited quantities and only at a few stores.

Dark orange with a thick, beige, creamy head that lasts, this beer delivered a candied orange and malt nose. In the mouth, you are immediately hit with good hops, sour caramel, and orange rind. And like the Grand River, there was more pumpkin than spice.

But what disappointed me about this ale was the finish. The flavours seemed to drop off, leaving me with a watery finish. I didn't crave another sip after the first. And as I approached the bottom of my glass, I found myself bored with the whole drinking experience and did something I almost never do.

I dumped the rest of the glass down the kitchen drain.

Was I tired of drinking pumpkin beer? Perhaps. But I was certainly tired of this particular beer.

If you are determined to try all available pumpkin ales from this season, then give it a try. Give both of these beers a try.

I have a few more pumpkin beers to try. But then I may be done drinking pumpkin ales for a few years.

Cheers.

Inspired, and Under the Gun

I was introduced to a wonderful stout last week. I wanted to share it with you, but then I decided not to.

I had a title for that beer review: Velvet Hammer. It was a term that came to mind while I was drinking it. It was an imperial stout with a high alcohol content—some 10.5 percent—but was creamy smooth, and so Velvet Hammer seemed appropriate.

It was delicious. It was wonderful. And I thank Jon from Thursday Pints West for sharing it with me.

Like I said, I wanted to write a review on this beer, but decided against doing it. The reason: it's not available in Ontario. Sure, folks who live in the United States or other countries may have access to it. Not Ontarians. Pity.

The beer was Ten Fidy by Colorado brewery Oskar Blues. If you can get it, do so. It's great stuff.

But I was in the mood to write a beer review, to try a new brew. Because I found Ten Fidy such a lovely imperial stout, I was inspired to have more, and so I went to the LCBO with that style in mind. Here's what I found.

Russian Gun Imperial Stout
Grand River Brewing Company
Cambridge, Ontario
LCBO: $4.60, 500 mL; 8% alc/vol

One of the first things I noticed when I picked up the bottle was that on the side of the label, a date stamp indicated when the beer had been bottled. On this particular bottle, the date was January 10, 2012.

This stuff was fresh.

Pouring the stout into my glass, I noticed a distinct red hue. Yet, holding the glass to the light, no colour escaped the darkness inside. The head was a creamy beige and held together for quite a few minutes after the pour. It looked great in the glass.

On the nose, I caught a creamy coffee tone with tobacco, and I anticipated a wonderful taste. However, the nose and the palate seemed to differ greatly.

In the mouth, I tasted strong, bitter hops, but nothing else. The bitterness seemed to lack any other flavours. On the finish, the bitterness transformed to strong notes of alcohol.

That was it.

I continued to consume this imperial stout over the course of about two hours, wondering if the change in temperature and exposure to air would open this beer up. If it did, I didn't notice it. What I did notice was that the aroma that I first caught after pouring the beer faded over time, until there were no flavours beyond the herbal scent of the hops.

If you've read my other reviews, you know I love bitter beer. I love hops. But I prefer the hops to be carried by other flavours: chocolate, coffee, spices, tobacco. Russian Gun seemed to fall short. And after the wonderful, intense flavours of Ten Fidy, I finished Russian Gun feeling somewhat disappointed.

If you enjoy powerful flavours of hops and a distinct alcohol finish, you might enjoy this imperial stout. If you're looking for more, look elsewhere.