Beer Review: Southern Tier Pumking
Oct3
…Jana’s version.
aka: the more accurate version
The Jack-o-lantern King o' Beers!
Type o’beer: Pumpkin ale
Warm-and-fuzzy Factor: 7.9% ABV
Wallet/Purse thinning Factor: A growler cost us $25
I finally found it. I have been looking for a “pumpkin” beer that actually was impressive. I have had the Punkin by Dogfish Head. I have had the Elysian Night Owl. I have had the Elysian Pumpkin Stout. I have also had a few others.
Obviously, I have been on a mission.
I have had this beer once before but did not review it because of certain life events. However, I knew that I wanted to review it. When I finally went to go look for this beer again, I couldn’t find it in the bottled version at two different stores! I did find it on-tap at our local Bottleworks and nicely “asked” Mr. Beer Guy to spend a bunch of money on the growler so that we could have it. I worked in a “dual review” so that we could get some additional mileage out of the purchase. 
Per the people at Bottleworks, 17 cases were delivered of this beer and in 2 weeks, they were gone. Wow.
I finally found an awesome pumpkin beer. This one tastes like pumpkin, but is not over-powering. It also has hints of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and possibly some hazelnut. The smell is definitely one that reminds of you of sitting next to a warm fire with a toasty cookie while it is quite cold outside. I know that my description of this beer makes it sound very sweet. And that could be true. It is sweet, but not overpowering as some of the previously reviewed beers have been.
The beer starts with a sweet, homemade-cookie smell, with a somewhat sour taste, but sweetens as it warms up. The beer is not hard to drink at all at any stage or temperature, and it is one that we invited our awesome neighbor over to drink because it is that good that it needs to be shared.
I would have to say that I could look forward to this beer almost as much as I look forward to the acceptableness of pumpkin spice lattes when the season changes.
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Beer Review: Southern Tier Pumking – Mike’s Version
Oct0
It's the great pumpkin!
Amount of brew in bottle: 22 fluid ounces (if you can actually find a bottle)
ABV: 7.9%
Type of brew: Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Price: ~$5.50 or $25 for a growler!
Note: My fiancee and I wrote a review of the same beer, you can check out her version here.
October the month of ghouls, goblins, little rug-rats trying to get candy and delicious pumpkin beer. I used to not be a huge fan of pumpkin beers they either were too pumpkin like or tasted like normal beer with a pumpkin label affixed to it, lame! But Souther Tier has once again changed my perception on beers. With the Pumking beer it is by the far the best pumpkin beer I have ever tasted. To me it reminds me of drinking a pumpkin pie with extra cinnamon. It is just a damn yummy beer. Apparently other beer-drinks in Seattle agree with me considering one store we went to sold 17 cases of this stuff in a few weeks. So after the first time drinking the beer we went back to get another one and had to “settle” for paying a premium and buying a growler of the stuff so we can review it. Do you see what we go through for you guys?! As I type this review after my second glass of the beer I can fully feel the effects of the 7.9% ABV the beer is packing. The nice thing about this beer is that it is really easy to drink and isn’t overpowering like some beers I have had. The beer pours a golden orange with no head. The smell of the beer is just like it tastes, like a pumpkin pie.
We also had our neighbor try the beer with us. He initially liked it but said that it got harder and harder to drink as it warmed up. I could see this happening with this beer so try not to savior the beer over an hour or two.
The good: easy to drink pumpkin beer
The bad: A touch too much cinnamon at times and not a beer to be consumed super slowly
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Beer Review: The Men’s Room Original Ale by Elysian
Oct2
A damn fine ale
A local radio show here in Seattle paired up with Elysian – one of the micro-breweries in Seattle – to brew a beer. I happen to be a fan of the show so I thought I would give it a whirl.
What can I say? For a bunch of drunks it is actually a damn fine ale. Granted they didn’t make but helped create the recipe so I guess it would turn out since the creation of the beer was left in the capable hands of the Elysian brewers. The beer is golden brown like an ale is supposed to be and is pretty smooth. This beer has a very prominent floral taste which was surprising to me. The beer is 5.4 abv and is really not bitter and has a very nice finish. It was damn easy to drink and I could see how it would be easy to drink a few pints without even noticing it. Some of the proceeds of this beer go to a charity so while you drink you can have a warm fuzzy feeling without actually getting buzzed.
Unfortunately this beer isn’t being bottled yet and is usually fairly quick to go. I don’t think Elysian is brewing huge batches of it either and with the radio show pimping the beer it sounds like a recipe for a beer to go quickly.
The good: Easy to drink ale some proceeds go to a charity
The bad: Limited quantities
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Beer Review: Ommegang – Chocolate Indulgence
Oct2
Yummy, yummy chocolate
Type o’ beer: Ale
Warm-and-Fuzzy Factor: 7%
Wallet/Purse-Thinning Factor: $13
Anyone want to guess why this beer caught my eye? The beautiful design of the label ensured that it would be an absolutely delicious beer that was worth every penny I paid for it.
Right.
It said “chocolate.” It also said “Ommegang” and I have liked their beer before. It also said “Cooperstown, NY” on the label. Only close friends will know the importance of that town.
Originally, I wanted a pumpkin beer. It is fall and I usually don’t like fruity beer but pumpkin beer is just up my alley. I am having issues finding a pumpkin beer that isn’t too pumpkin-y or one that also doesn’t leave me asking Mr. Beer Guy if I bought the wrong beer. Instead, I found a new chocolate beer that I hadn’t tried before.
A disclaimer. I was making this lovely chili recipe when I was drinking this beer. The seriously intense steam and flavor coming out of the pot o’ ingredients MAY have changed how my taste buds feel about the flavor.
Mr. Beer Guy had to make sure things were correct, so he let the beer warm up a bit before serving it up. Out of the bottle the beer had a nice, creamy looking head to it. It looked pretty dark for an ale, but I figured that would be due to the chocolate.
And the taste? A bit like chocolate, a lot like…
kalamata olives.
You think I am joking? I tried it a few more times. And then waited until I was done cooking, and tried it some more. It still tasted like kalamata olives in a much stronger way than chocolate. What I can’t figure out is why Mr. Beer Guy doesn’t like this beer. He usually really does not like olives. So I guess that leaves two options…
One – This beer doesn’t really taste like olives
Two – He actually likes olives but just wants to make things interesting for me
I am thinking that two is more likely.
The Good: Easy to drink, flavorful, not too crazy with the ABV, and a good dinner beer
The Bad: Not a good beer to finish the night with, not what I was hoping for in the flavor category, and I felt like I expected more from Ommegang
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