Some may seek Pliny the Elder, others may yearn for Heady Topper. Me? My white whale has been Schlafly’s Pumpkin Ale.
Yes, I know it’s doesn’t exactly receive the otherworldly hype of the other two, but for the gourd-head I am, it’s been a longtime coming to get my hands on this beer, which scores a 94 on Beer Advocate. *raises fist and shakes hand at the Gods of Distribution*
Lucky for me, this beer lives up to the hype.
While not a spice bomb, the smell of Schlafly’s brew is full of aromas you’d expect when pulling a pumpkin pie from the oven – nutmeg, clove and a strong whiff of cinnamon that just rocks. I’d liken it to french toast.
The spice combo carries throughout each sip, leaving an aftertaste of sweet, spiced pie. At 8 percent ABV, there was a bit of a boozy note on my first sip, but that disappeared quickly.
For those who are turned off by the intensity of Pumking, I highly recommend this beer, which comes off as more “natural” compared to its monarch counterpart. I may actually like the smell of Schlafly better than Pumking, but it’s missing the “crusty” flavor that Southern Tier nails so well.
All the same, it’s earned a top-notch rating on the pie slice scale:
But wait, BONUS PUMPKIN BEER!
He Said Tripel
I wasn’t sure if this was going to appear in my local bottle shop. San Francisco’s 21st Amendment and Seattle’s Elysian Brewing got together to create a pair of pumpkin-laced brews – one a baltic porter, the other a tripel. Both were brewed with pumpkin and spices.
I wanted to highlight the tripel because while it contains pumpkin ale ingredients, I’d argue it’s more tripel than anything … and that’s OK.
It’s very sweet with noticeable Belgian candi sugar and Trappist ale yeast giving it a little fruity flavor. There’s maybe a touch of spice smell, but I didn’t really get any pumpkin aspects until the very bottom of the glass after it had been sitting for a while and warmed. I actually think this brew may be perfect to drink with a Thanksgiving meal, if you can keep it around long enough.
Best part of this beer, however, is it’s clarity. Here’s looking at you, beer.
+Bryan Roth
“Don’t drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life.” — Jack Kerouac
