Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale

Brewed by Carolina Beer Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Mooresville, North Carolina USA

12oz bottle. Pours a hazy orange with a white head. Aroma of pumpkin, nutmeg, perhaps some mace. Flavor is much the same, tastes the way a pumpkin ale should. Creamy palate, balanced finish. Nice one.

On tap at Barleys in Knoxville. A hazy amber pour with a lite off white head. A huge aroma of pumpkin and nutmeg. A flavor of sweet malt, pumpkin, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spices. A mouthfeel that is full but a palate that is just a little light. Very pleasant seasonal.

bottle. Pours a solid amber. Good scent on this: pumpkin, nutmeg, good level of sweetness. Here comes the real test in this style: the flavor. How many pumpkin ales are awesome in the aroma, then just so-so in the mouth? This one is actually a notch or two above other examples I’ve had. It really tastes like pumpkin pie. There’s the usual pumpkin/cinnamon/nutmeg combo found in this type of ale, but then a solid sweet breadiness that reminds me of pie crust. One of the better takes on this style that I’ve had. I’m not much for vegetable type beers but this comes together like it should. Makes me think fondly of the autumn.
[Feb 16, 2008]
Draught. This remains one of my favorite pumpkin beers. To me, a pumpkin ale sounds like a good concept but is usually ruined with too light a flavor, or too heavy spices. Cottonwood has surprisingly managed to make a very tasteful, yet full-bodied take on the style. The spices are there, but not overwhelming. The pumpkin is certainly noticed and my favorite part of the beer is a strong suggestion of pie crust which meshes quite nicely. Good stuff.
[October 14,2008]
On tap at Barley’s. This remains one of my favorite pumpkin beers. It is natural in taste, not cloyingly sweet, and places most emphasis on actual pumpkin qualities rather than spices or sugar. A delightful hint at pie crust is also present which really rounds things out.

On tap from the Flying Saucer in Raleigh, NC Aroma: Heavily scented with nutmeg, cinnamon, and coriander. Sweet and light. Appearance: Deep hazy amber orange in color with a decent head but it did not sustain or lace much. Flavor: Nice solid pumpkin pie flavor. Most of the reviews are not identifying coriander but I definitely smelled and tasted it. I believe they used it to help balance and define the flavor they wanted to achieve with this brew. Or I could simply be wrong. Palate: Finished sweet with nutmeg lingering on your tongue. Overall: I enjoyed it quite much. Great Fall brew.

Had this baby last year and was very impressed, lets see if it holds up to a more advanced palate. Ok, pours really nice. Murky reddish orange. Offwhite/orange head. The aroma is strongly spiced, delicious nutmeg and cinnamon with pumpkins showing through. This really does smell like pumpkin pie. Pleasant sweet nutmeg aroma. Ok, the flavor is very spicy and that appeals to me. It says pumpkin spiced ale and that is what I expect. Very upfront sweet spice, nutmeg the strongest followed by cinnamon, feels smooth in the mouth (doesn’t have much carbonation but this does not detract for me). Overall I would have to say I enjoyed this just as much as the first time I had it and would have to say it is one of the underrated beers on the site.

Bottle. Pours a nice copper ruby color. Minimal off-white head. Aroma is pure pumpkin pie, with some notes of malt and wet hay. Flavor is a bit more hoppy than I expected, with lots of spice in the finish, and a bit of pumpkin pie in the middle.

Bottle courtesy of ross. Pours a dark amber with a tan diminsihing head. Smells of cookie dough, pumpkins, pumpkin spices and gingerbread. Tastes of pumpkin, spice, and ginberbread. One of the more interesting pumpkin beers I’ve tasted. Thanks, ross!

THe best Pumpkin beer I have yet to taste. Tastes just like pumpkin pie. Cinnamon and nutmeg are very pronounced. It may be a bit too much for some folks, but most would like it.