It is indeed Oktoberfest time. I have neither the time nor the money to go to one this year, so I thought I'd at least point out some seasonal beers I've come across in the last few weeks. A few of these were recommendations from the Wine Source of Hampden, while others just looked interesting. Some of these I found at their recent beer tasting. I do like wine tastings - don't get me wrong - but I gotta say I am yearning for the next beer tasting that one of the area wine stores offers.
Punk'n Ale (pumpkin pie ale) - One of two beers the Wine Source offered in their most recent beer tasting. This one comes out of Four Plus Brewing, a subsidiary of Uinta Brewing Company out of - believe it or not - Salt Lake City. Yes, Utah! And those Utahans have made one fascinating, tasty beer. It has some very noticeable hints of pumpkin and pumpkin spice that just grab you and smack yo' ass til you want more.
Post Road Pumpkin Ale (pumpkin ale) - The other beer in the Wine Source's recent tasting. Brooklyn Brewery in New York makes this beer, a bit more subtle on the pumpkin. Still tasty, though I prefer the unusual taste of the Punk'n Ale.
Abita Pecan Harvest (pecan ale) - Not a pumpkin beer, but a pecan one. Abita makes this ale with "real Louisiana pecans" - not those fake ones you might have heard about (oh, you neither?). I was sort of stupid in drinking it, and expecting it to be another pumpkin ale. I wondered why this Abita Springs, LA, concoction, had no pumpkin flavor whatsoever. I now know why - it had a pecan flavor (which I now realize was kind of there, but still somewhat subtle).
Hibernation Ale Great Divide (just a harvest beer) - I just finished this Denver-brewed strong and pleasantly peppery ale that is only made six weeks a year, starting November 1. I guess I got some of last year's batch. Fine with me - it still tasted good.
If y'all can suggest any other pumpkin or fall beers, please do so. I will be looking.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
October Beers to Buy
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3 comments:
I've had two of those: the Punk'n and the Post Road (made by my beloved Brooklyn Brewery!). Actually, a few weekends ago, my mom and I had a pumpkin beer tasting with those two as well as the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (http://www.dogfish.com/brewings/Seasonal_Beers/Punkin_Ale/3/index.htm) and Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Stout (http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/for%20download%20page/downloads_pumking.html)
Since I love all things pumpkin, I thought they were all great :)
I bet The Wine Source would have all of these and then some!
And I just came from Wines Source, too! They just had a tasting of 2005 Bordeaux. Yum, I know now why they are among the most highly regarded of wines.
But I bet all these beers are easier to find in Brooklyn anyway. And if not, DEFINITELY easier to find in Manhattan :)
The first commenter already took the words out of my mouth.
#1 seed = Pumpking from Southern Tier. VERY hard to find though.
#2 seed = probably Dogfish head's pumpkin ale
If you can find Pumpking though, cherish it. It's amazing
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