Alpine Beer Company Ichabod Ale

Formerly brewed at Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Alpine, California USA

Draft @ O’Briens. An interesting beer to say the least. I didn’t notice any pumpkin spices in this but did get subtle flavors of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and coriander. Taste is lightly hopped and not at all smooth. I didn’t think it was possible for Pat to make a beer I didn’t care for, but here it is.

(Draft: Alpine Beer Company in Alpine, CA) Okay, boys and girls, this isn’t your basic wimpy pumpkin ale that’s more marketing than beer, this is a pumpkin beer with balls! Right off the bat, the strong, sweet nutmeg aroma blew me away, reminding me of eggnog. And Pat wasn’t shy with the spices, as this seasonal has a strong spicy flavor, a solidly malty base and is moderately sweet. A moderate bitterness from the spices (not the hops, as Pat explained to me, the hops are pretty subdued) is present throughout, and really extends the finish. Medium bodied. This very pretty beer is dark amber in color. Light tan head is bubbly and maintains a thin layer with lots of dense lace left on the glass, and this was with a plastic cup! I must get me some more of this before it’s all gone.

The beer after its pour from the 22-ounce brown bottle sets in the glass a limpid burnished copper color with a behemothic creamy light tan head that after ever so slowly dematerializing leads to a full coating of lace around the glass. Nose is spicy with pumpkin and nutmeg with hints of clove and the sweet grain, start is lightly sweet with a pleasing grain profile, the top is fair to middling in its feel. Finish is hardy in its acidity, the hops delectably spicy and the pumpkin lingers on in the very dry aftertaste, a real “Hoot” of a beer, my thanks to my favorite bartender “Magnificent Melanie and my old friend Sean” for this bottle.

This brew pours with a deep amber body topped by a medium thick head with a good amount of lacing. The aroma and flavor are sweet and spicy as hell, full of nutmeg, cinamon and allspice. Damn, way to spicy for me. Medium bodied and smooth.

Yes, this is a spiced ale with a spicy aroma, but t he flavor wasn’t too good. I was disappointed. Had it on draft at O’Brien’s.

Bottle, courtesy of Tom Nickel (owner of O’Briens in San Diego...you MUST go there sometime). Very spicy, peppery, cinnamon, and nutmeggy aroma. Pumpkin is very light in the nose. Moderately-mostly hazy amber-copper color with a nice frothy off-yellow head. Starts a bit thin, fruity, and sweet, but then turns very spiced and quite tasty. Cloves, nutmeg, pepper, and finally a mild sprinkling of pumpkin come through in the late middle with nice roastiness to finish. Extremely well-balanced and superb for the style.

Deep copper orange in color with a little head. Fruity spicy aroma. Pumpkin, nutmeg notes. Malty and fruity flavor. Sweet tasting. Medium bodied. Finish is spicy. Nice beer. Drinkable.

it gathered between the walls of a pint glass and shined its red-raped amber color right those those walls...above was a wind of cinnamon and pine needles, hovering so subtley...the flavors spoke in a piney accent showing odd spicing without much sweetness..I say this tastes nothing more than like ab amber ale which has been sprinkled upon with cinnamon..these spices get cloying in time, leaving a somewhat medicinal astringency growing on the back of the tongue. Hopefully this was a one time offering because I dont want to have to see this stuff again.