Pumpkinhead

Gotta love October - fall starts kicking in, leaves turn color, and fall beers come out for some tastiness. In the spirit of the season, I'm trying to find pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers to expose folks to. This episode's featured beer is the Shipyard Brewing Pumpkinhead. Found this beer at the BevMo! in Scottsdale, but I believe you can get it here in the Burque at Quarters, Kelly's, etc...

The beer looks like it is supposed to - light orange color. Not really any head and slightly opaque. The smell gives it away, offering a lot of spice, clove and pumpkin pie scents. The taste is a strong pumpkin and "fall" flavor. Not overly sweet, but warm like if you drank a pumpkin pie. The brew is smooth and flavorful with a sharp malt pumpkin taste at the end. The beer is way more pumpkiny than the Dogfish Head Punkin beer , which got the fall flavors in without the overt pumpkinness. I would have this beer again, but the pumpkin thing is a fall deal only...so even if I could get it the rest of the year, I'd pass.

Appearance - 3.0/5.0 - light orange color, no head, slightly opaque
Smell - 3.5/5.0 - spice, clove, pumpkin pie - strong pumpkin aroma than punkin
Taste - 3.0/5.0 - strong pumpkin flavor, not overly sweet but "warm" like drinking pumpkin pie, smooth, malt pumpkin taste at end
Feel - 3.5/5.0 - smooth, no aftertaste, flavor is good but definitely pumpkiny
Drinkability - 3.0/5.0 - good for the time of year, but the pumpkin thing is more than I'd like normally

Do you feel lucky, Punk(in)?

In the honor of the month, I figured it would be fun to try out a few seasonal brews that scream October (scream...get it? Halloween? Whatever...). During October, expect to see some Oktoberfest type feers, some pumpkin beers, etc... It's all about the orange, baby.

And the first beer that is getting this oh-so-special treatment is the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. Dogfish Head Brewing is known for their unique takes on beer, including an uber-peach ale, some potent IPAs and this little gem, the Punkin Ale. You'll also know that you can't get them in New Mexico (wha wha.....), but fortunately Phoenix is only about 6 hours away and Arizona gets the Dogfish Head beers.

At first glance, this beer has a nice rich amber/pumpkin color, with a little bit of heat doesn't stick around all that long. Lots of "fall" smells too - nutmeg, cinnamon, a little sweetness and, obviously, pumpkin. The Punkin Ale is definitely a pumpkin beer, but it's not so pumpkin that you feel like someone shoved a pumpkin pie in your face or crushed a jack o' lantern over your head. The brew tastes flavorful and spicy, but not over the top where it could offend. It goes down really smooth and you get a moderate malt and spice aftertaste to finish off the beer. The biggest downfall of this beer is the price - $10.00 for a 4 pack...of course, that's the way Dogfish Head rolls.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - amber pumpkin color, some head but dissipated quickly
Smell -4.5/5.0 - great smell - pumpkin , nutmeg, cinnamon, little sweetness
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - delicious, not overly pumpkiny, but has the spice and malt with that autumn flavor profile
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - smooth, with a solid malt and spicy aftertaste
Drinkability - 4.0/5.0 - definitely would have again! Really great beer, price is higher than I'd like, but a small complaint.