Grand Canyon Brewing Co.’s Pumpkin Springs Porter

Grand Canyon Brewing Co. (Williams, AZ.)

It’s safe to say that fall is my favorite time of year. The temperatures go from scorching hot to a more bearable climate. October is a month that seems to be made just for me. My birthday and Halloween are only days apart and the big influx of fall beers, pumpkin this and pumpkin that just get me in a cheery mood.

Porter style beers are among one of my favorites, and when I found this Pumpkin Springs Porter, I nearly did a back flip in the liquor store. Luckily for the good folks at the liquor store, I am way to hefty to pull off a back flip, thus saving their displays from imminent destruction.

Grand Canyon Brewing Co. is located in the small town of Williams, right off of the historic Route 66 Highway. Known as the Gateway to the Grand Canyon, they offer many ales that are as big and bold as the canyon itself. This Pumpkin Porter is named after a pumpkin shaped, naturally occurring hot spring in the canyon, where natural trace minerals and arsenic stain the water a pumpkin orange color.

Pumpkin Springs Porter pours a deep brown with a rolling, subtle aroma of pie and spices and a nice tan head. It is brewed with not just pumpkins, but also various squash and sweet potatoes as well as the pie spices that you’d expect. Initial flavor is rich and round with a smooth mouth feel that is warm and welcoming. The spices aren’t overwhelming, they are more of an accent, and I really am loving this. Slight roasted malt flavors co-mingle with sweet potato and gourd flavors. The only hop essence I can detect is a small amount of earthy hop bitterness in the finish. Coming in at 5.8% alc., this is just above sessionable levels and at only 32 IBU’s, this makes this one hell of an easy drinking porter that will get you set for fall.

I will most certainly pick up several more bottles of this and stockpile them for my birthday, Halloween and Thanksgiving. I am nearly in a state of pumpkin euphoria right now and I can highly recommend this to any lover of porters, pumpkin or otherwise. Cheers!

Grand Canyon Brewery
233 W. Route 66
Williams, AZ 86046

www.grandcanyonbrewery.com

www.facebook.com/grandcanyonbrewery

Carton Brewing – Pumpkin Cream Ale

 

Carton Brewing (Atlantic Highlands, NJ)

My name is Brian Russ, and I may be… a bit of a pumpkin addict.  What can I say?  I’m a sucker for fall. It gets me every time.  Coffee, lattes, pies, pancakes, candles and obviously BEER.

Although, with the abundance of the pumpkin beer love that I partake in from September – November, it is far too often that I am left feeling slightly disappointed.  Everyone tries, but so many fail to capture that perfect feeling of fall-in-a-glass.

Carton Brewing takes the pumpkin beer to a different level with Pumpkin Cream Ale.  A 9% ABV cream ale, with the intention of actually featuring (gasp!) PUMPKIN as the primary flavor.  What a novel idea.

Owner Augie Carton says of typical pumpkin beers, that they “end up just being beers that taste like the spices you flavor pumpkin pie with”.  Augie and brewer Jesse Ferguson teamed up to create a beer to highlight pumpkin flavor as it is used in other culinary areas, not just pumpkin pie.  Augie states that they pulled inspiration from flavors typically found in pumpkin soup for this recipe.

Pumpkin Cream Ale pours a rich golden color, with a thin white head, leaving a nice lacing on your glass. The high ABV is hidden well, there is no noticeable bite.  Pink peppercorns, orange zest and ginger round out the flavor profile in this incredibly flavorful, warming beer.

Carton Pumpkin Cream Ale is a limited release, with only 30 barrels brewed this year. You can find Carton’s unique brews at the brewery, and at many restaurants, bars and liquor stores throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.

For more information on Carton Brewing:

www.cartonbrewing.com

https://www.facebook.com/cartonbrewing

For more information on Pumpkin Cream Ale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5WXEVzWxMw

Cheers!

 

Fegley’s Brew Works – Devious Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Fegley’s Brew Works (Allentown & Bethlehem, PA)

October is finally here, and although we have been flooded with pumpkin EVERYTHING since mid-August, I for one refused to let summer die prematurely.   I always enjoy pumpkin beers the most in October and November, yet by mid-October they become increasingly difficult to find.   So, like a squirrel with his nuts, I scoured my local beer stores, purchasing and hoarding as many pumpkin craft beers as possible from late August through September.

And finally we are here.  Cooler days, meaningful football, changing leaves, and best of all… pumpkin beers.

Fegley’s Brew Works’ Devious Imperial Pumpkin Ale is a medium-bodied ale that pours a rich, amber color.  The carbonation is medium, and the head dissipates quickly.

Its aroma is filled with a pumpkin pie-like spice combination including nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and clove.  The malt bill of Devious is complimented with (duh) real pumpkin.  Drinker beware, “Imperial” means it is strong (9% ABV), but Devious manages to remains incredibly smooth with little noticeable bite or “booziness”.

Overall, I loved this beer.  Devious does not hold back, delivering all of the rich fall flavors that I was looking for in a pumpkin ale.  Well done Fegley’s, well done.

For more information on Fegley’s Brew Works:

http://www.thebrewworks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fegleys-Brew-Works/198846973468634

For more information on Devious Imperial Pumpkin Ale:

http://www.thebrewworks.com/brews/seasonal-beers/devious-imperial-pumpkin/

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16096/61168