Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Beer Review: Shipyard Brewing Pumpkinhead Ale























Ah fall, my favorite time of year. I love seeing the leaves change to wonderful reds, yellows and oranges and getting away from the oppressive New Orleans heat and feeling the cool, crisp air it brings. The fall means football, baseball World Series, Halloween, Thanksgiving and a whole gang of great fall seasonal beers.

One of those seasonal styles I always look forward to in the fall is the Pumpkin Ale. The Pumpkin Ale is fall in my opinion. Yeah, there are Oktoberfest beers but there is just something about Pumpkin Ales that really get me in the spirit of fall.

Here in New Orleans we are already starting to see an influx of seasonal beers. Hell, I already have a list of Christmas beers I'm supposed to be looking at and placing an order for. In terms of Pumpkin Ales we only get three here in the New Orleans area: Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale, Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale and Coors' Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale. You have to remember, fall isn't a great season down here in the deep south. We go from hot to cold and there is no in between. Being from Virginia, I'm used to a full four seasons, fall being one of them so I'm always in a constant state of reminiscing when September and October come.

Anyways, enough talk and on to the first review of the whopping three pumpkin beers we get in Louisiana.


Brewery: Shipyard Brewing Company

Beer: Pumpkinhead Ale

Style: Pumpkin Ale

ABV: 4.5%

Recommended Glassware: Pint Glass

Serving Type: Sam Adams Glass

Appearance : This beer poured a clear, straw gold and had a small white head which dissapated quickly. Lacing was non existent

Smell: Nice canned pumpkin pie filling smell. Nice hints of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Taste : Same as the nose, the nutmeg and cinnamon are there. Has a very weak taste of pumpkin pie. This beer just falls flat for some reason though. It just really doesn't taste exactly like a pumpkin pie more like the spices that go into a pumpkin pie. Kind of disappointing actually.

Mouthfeel : Thin and watery and way too overcarbonated. The beer leaves a bad sweetness in your mouth as well.

Overall : Very unimpressed. My first pumpkin beer of the season and this one falls flat on its face. It's as if the brewer made this beer strictly for novelty purposes and not for quality.


Score:Photobucket Image Hosting 2.5 out of 5 Buddhas

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the pointo f this beer was lost on you. Perhaps if develop a more inticate pallate you will be able to appreciate the subtle nuances.
What makes this brew so likable is the fact that it tastes like the spices and not the pie itself.
While other fall "pumpkin ales" go too far this Shipyard finds a ballance that highlights nuances rather than forcing a pumpkin down your throat when what you want to taste is beer!

The Beer Buddha said...

I don't think I missed the point at all. Shipyard makes subpar beers and this is one of them. This beer gets a C from Beeradvocate.com with 462 reviews. Even Michelob's Jack's Pumpkin Spice gets a better score. It appears that I'm not the only one who missed the point of this beer. I'll take my less than developed pallat and drink some DFH Punkin' instead. MUCH better beer!

Cheers!

BB