Category Archives: 2012 Reviews

Nic didn’t review this one, because she helped make it, as part of Fox Paw Brewing, our homebrew venture! 🙂 Check back soon when we’ll post a blog about the making of last year’s pumpkin brew, and this year’s pumpkin brew venture. Meanwhile, Alex reviewed our beer, and can share her thoughts:

AlexAA: deep, tarnished amber with an essence of orange, vanilla, and pumpkin 9/10

AlexTM: carbonated, with heavy spicing of ginger, orange, cinnamon to the pumpkin 9/10

AlexP: very sweet to the taste, perhaps a touch chock full, but what a way to pack a pumpkin beer full! 7/10

AlexO: Quest ends on the highest note – a fridge full of a keg of pumpkin brew. And a well-balanced, sweet but edgy pumpkin. Well done, Nic! 91/100

NicAA: Golden and clear with almost no head. Delicate fall spices, cinnamon and vanilla mostly, and a great pumpkin aroma. 9/10

NicTM: This is like an easy drinking, toned down Pumking in flavor profile. Biscuity malt and vanilla make a pumpkin crust, mmm pie! 9/10

NicP: Fresh, ripe and roasted, and nicely showcased in the spice and malt. Not overwhelming or too sweet. 4 pumpkins

NicO: This is a fantastic easy drinking pumpkin that I would love to buy in sixes. Like Pumking’s little brother, who is a bit shy. 92/100

AlexAA: a light clear amber w/ 1/8 inch head, spicy aroma of nutmeg, vanilla and pumpkin 10/10

AlexTM: Carbonated, light-bodied, watery – full spicing that tastes like pumpkin pie: nutmeg, pumpkin and ginger 9/10

AlexP: LOTS. but also, lots of water – allows for drinking this beer in larger quantities, as it doesn’t become overwhelming. 6/10

AlexO: As excellently spiced session ale for pumpkins, BIG SPICE but a body that paces itself nicely. More please!! 94/100

NicAA: Cloudy cola color with thick and lasting head. Smells of sweet super-fresh pumpkin in gobs, barley and a little brown sugar. 9/10

NicTM: Med to heavy with low carb. Sweet malt and barley, with good sweet pumpkin and very very light spice. Very drinkable. 8/10

NicP: Pumpkins are really a big star in this beer and they really are good pumpkins. You taste the freshness and quality. 6 pumpkins

NicO: Super fresh + plenty tasty, though not a big wow factor for a high-end pumpkin. Sell me this in sixes for cheaper and I’m in. 79/100

AlexAA: a burnished, tanned, orange heavily laced w/ cinnamon, nutmeg, and slight pumpkin to the nose 9/10

AlexTM: a spicy, medium bodied pumpkin w/ roasty quality, lightly toasted w/ nutmeg, barley and cinnamon 9/10

AlexP: fresh, lovely, and toasted to perfection 5/10

AlexO: pumpkin beer should like this – about the pumpkins that you grow yourself. damn, i love a self-made man errr… i mean beer. 93/100

NicAA: Light coloration, a little like grapefruit juice. Big head that goes fast, aroma of pumpkin, citrus and a little sweet malt. 7/10

NicTM: A little tart in the beginning, but pleasantly so. Roasted sweet pumpkin with a citrusy bite, this is fresh and refreshing. 8/10

NicP: The pumpkin here is ripe and meaty, and is the star of this brew. A little tart as well as a little sweet, light hops. 5 pumpkins

NicO: Simple but tasty and refreshing, this is a non-fussy pumpkin which delivers tasty gourd with a citrusy hop cloak. Nice! 80/100

AlexAA: cloudy, light yellow w/ a slight orangey quality – like the opaque quality of pineapple juice, citrus tones in smell, as well 7/10

AlexTM: moderately hoppy, lighter body with orange peel and pumpkin, ginger in the finish – were carb tabs used? slight chem taste 8/10

AlexP: On the lighter end of pumpkin amount, but the quality is delicate w/ the lighter fruit tones, creating a refreshing combo 2/10

AlexO: Summery addition to pumpkin line-up, citrus tones accent the pumpkin in a bright fusion – slight alcohol/chem taste to it tho 78/100

Alex AA: deep hazy amber, with bubbling that barely peeks through the cloud of white foam, sweetened aroma of cinnamon and caramel 8/10

AlexTM: bourbon, but not overwhelmingly so, thinner body w/ same sweet malt, vanilla and fruitiness as the regular, but lack of nutmeg 8/10

AlexP: Pumpkin is welcomed as it lends balance to power of bourbon undertones at play – keeps it from becoming a straight boozy pint 6/10

AlexO: In sipper category, still wish for a heavier hand w/ nutmeg & cinnamon, but a lmted edition worth snapping up, for sure. 87/100

NicAA: Hazy orange gold w. good head, great lacing. Heavy oak + liquor aroma, w. cinnamon being most prominent. Little vanilla as warms. 8/10

NicTM: Med body, low to med carb. Heavy oak and bourbon flavors are most notable, then cinnamon and nutmeg. Warming fireside-pumpkin. 8/10

NicP: This is a big beer, and the bigger imperials often lose delicate pumpkin flavor. This is true to form for the type, so low pumpkin. 3p

NicO: Original Smashed is good, but this is a bigger, bolder beer full of flavor. I’d love to see how this matures further with age. 85/100

AlexAA: dense, chocolate tone with a tan foamy head, smells of rich, bitter cocoa powder 9/10

AlexTM: lighter-bodied than a typical stout, sweeter too, as pumpkin and cinnamon gleam through the darkness of the chocolate 9/10

AlexP: a generous serving, which is needed to swim upstream the smoothness of the chocolate, they add just enough sweet to the bitter. 4/10

NicAA: Deep coal with cappuccino head that sticks. Aroma thick with orange peel and chocolate and a little spice, my mouth is watering! 10/10

NicTM: Full body low carbonation, more coffee taste than in aroma.Rich, low spice taste but it brings out the toasted malt well. Silky. 9/10

NicP: Pumpkin here is swaddled in a smooth cloak of spices and orange peel, and it looks dashing. Perfect amount and great presentation. 4 p

NicO:Like a comfortable velvet smoking jacket you would wear endlessly, this beer I would never tire of drinking.Elysian did it again. 96/100

AlexAA: deep, clear mahagonny w/ carbonation + no head, sticky sweet molasses musk from rum barrels – thick air! 8/10

AlexTM: candied sugars + barley malt drip through this yeasty, syrupy ale – the rum overtones control all but the ginger in the spicing 7/10

AlexP: hard to say the quantity, as there are many conflicting flavors – the ale is dense and sweet, and the pumpkins are candy coated 3/10

AlexO: Sipper for sure, it deserves a decanter for its smooth smack on the way down – probly could cure most ills, too, w/ this kick! 78/100

NicAA: Light cola color with very little head. Aroma is strongly of rum and spices, liqueur-like. Oaky, cinnamon, alcohol. 8/10

NicTM:Very strong rum flavor, with a little sweet from molasses and moderate fall spices. Light liquor burn in finish. High carb, thick 8/10

NicP: Pumpkin really got lost in here for me under the extremely strong liquor and oak profile. More a spiced oak beer. 0 pumpkins

NicO: Fireside sippin’ pumpkin, which isn’t pumpkiny but is big and interesting nonetheless. Rum barrels is a novel take and it works. 81/100

AlexAA: dense copper tone, heavy air with cinnamon and brown sugar 9/10

AlexTM: fully body w/ much depth from the reaches of the Vietnamese cinnamon, almost a fire to the sweetness 8/10

AlexP: Despite this being a cinnamon beer w/ pumpkin, the amount of pumpkins is still sizeable 4/10

AlexO: A heavy dessert feel to this ale – a happy ending to the apocalypse? 90/100

NicAA: Aroma hits big and hearty on the brown sugar, and the sweetness is mixed with cinnamon. Rich honey color with little head. 9/10

NicTM: Matches aroma well; tastes of caramelized brown sugar + cinnamon bite, raisins, maybe molasses. Almost rum-like. Thick, low fizz.9/20

NicP: In a big heavy beer like this not surprisingly the pumpkin gets a bit lost. It’s a light touch, behind the sugar and spice. 1 pumpkin

NicO:This spice/sugar mix make this winter beer,like drinking a fruitcake or Christmas Pudding. I almost expect to find a sixpence in it. 88/100

AlexAA: marigold toned, translucent, light, white foam – scents heavy w/ orange and pumpkin. 10/10

AlexTM: medium-bodied wheat w/ coriander and orange. There is a fresh pumpkin to the weight, as well. 9/10

AlexP: Perfectly balanced with the citrus and spice – not an easy feat. 5/10

AlexO: Citrus + pumpkin combined needs heavy hitter coriander to meld together perfectly. This is a stellar addition to pmpkn beer. 97/100

NicAA: Orange haze with no real head. Aroma is mixed sweet and sour, a little orange zest and wheat, yeast. Some peppery aroma. 7/10

NicTM: Grains of paradise in plenty, fruity yeast and wheat with a little pumpkin sweetness. Citrus tang. Med body, low carbonation. 8/10

NicP: Yeah, but a little hidden behind the pretty strong peppery flavor of the grains of paradise, and the fruity citrus. 2 pumpkins

NicO: Experimental. Grains of paradise+citrus zip make it feel like a summery pumpkin. Works well on sunny fall day in CBC beer yard. 84/100