Bethlehem Brew Works Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by Bethlehem Brew Works
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania USA

Only my second pumpkin ale that I’ve tried. This beer was ok, but nothing special. It was more like an ale flavored with pumpkin and holiday/pumpkin spices. If somebody gave me this beer at a party over the holidays, I would drink it...but I don’t think this is a pumpkin ale worth seeking out.

22 oz bottle courtesy of RBalls01, thanks Brett. Pours clear amber. Aroma is of pumpkin, spices, and some metallic. Taste is pumpkin, spices, malt, with a soapy like aftertaste.

Bottle. Good pumpkin aroma and good size head with a orange/cloudy body and decent activity. Flavor is mild with no overload of pumpkin. Very smooth and balanced but not very flavorfull.

Dark golden to amber color with a moderate dense, heavy cream colored head. Hello ginger, and we are not on Gillian’s Island. Yes, ginger and pumpkin spice dominate the aroma, just a mild malt and pumpkin scent in the backdrop. Thin dry flavors, with an initial utterance of EGAD! Woody with just a hint of dry spices. No malt or balance. A spiced tea type brew.

My sample was "bottled" by Weyerbacher. Pumpkin and spices are present in this Autumn ale with greater bitterness than expected. But if you’re expecting a "pumpkin pie in a glass" you’ll be dissapointed.

I just had this brew in the bottle at the brewery. It is a bit different from last years version I think. I purchased a whole case last year at Tanczos beverage in Bethlehem. WOW what an aroma! But the spice is not over the top. Slightly lighter in color than last years and I think a bit less spice making it very drinkable. The beer poured very bright and the head lasted only a few minutes. The beer did lace the glass though showing its mild but clearly apparent body. For a pumpkin ale I found this beer extremely drinkable which I cannot say for many of the other pumpkins I have had. Most are so spicy or to high in alcohol. You can clearly drink a six pack of this beer in one sitting. The funniest thing about the other reviews on this site is that people are writing reviews on bottles that are clearly expired based on their review dates. This years version just came out last week from what I was told at the brewery, so that means the reviewers were drinking bottles that are 6 months past expiration. Take those reviews for what they are. Reviews on old beer. Trust me. This beer is worth a try. I’ll be buying another case this year....and will drink it while it is FRESH!!

(12 oz bottle: Obtained 14-Dec-05 in trade with jjpm74, thanks John!) It appears as if this bottle of beer is starting to turn. Mild infection is apparent, with apple skins and a light sourness having enough impact as to overwhelm the sweet spices. No sourness in the nose, but the mushed up apples dominate. Quite carbonated and heady on the pour and very lively on the palate. Bright amber body is very hazy. A white mass of bubbles forms during the pour, but that subsides to a thin layer after awhile. Certainly worth a retry if I can get this again, but if I can’t, I won’t be too upset because the beer behind the mild infection doesn’t seem that great either.

A nice pumpkin ale if you like them. Still doesn’t surpass the Buffalo Bill version I got in a bottle, but this one had a nice color and appearance and was a nice shift of gears in the run of choices I had on a sampler.