Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale

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

On tap at Woods on South: Pours a hazy copper orange with a thin ring of spotty-lacing off-white head. Aroma of lightly sweet caramel malt with some orange peel and ginger spice. Body starts effervescent and mildly sugary sweet with some cinnamon and pumpkin flavor along with a drier doughy finish. A pretty well-balanced pumpkin ale, but could use a little more body.

Thin head of fine bubbles. Light carbonation Very nice aroma that is totally spiced apples. Wow, smells exactly like it. Very yummy. Apples nutmeg, cinnamon, spices, yummy! Color is a deep crimson brown. Lively in the mouth with more cinnamon and nutmeg, light applesauce and a bit of floral hoppy bitterness. Some grainy notes and light malts too. Finishes spicy and a bit chalky. A decent brew.

Bonus bottle from emacgee. Pours a murky copper color with a faint beige head. Permeates the odor of pumpkin pie. Agressive with the flavors of pie spices, cream, pumpkin, and caramel. Just a bit too sweet, and almost cloying, for my taste.

bottle from emacgee. clear and coppery brown... almost the color of raw pumpkin pie batter (?) with a very short lived natural cotton hued off white ’head’. the aroma is of ’real’ pumpkin pie... true cooked pumpkin meat, definite nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, caramel and floral hoppiness. bitter nutmeg leads the way on the tongue... followed by caramel, a much more toned down pumpkin flavor than the aroma lead me to believe, some vanilla richness, floral hops and a very spiced finish. ginger powder noted in the aftertaste. light to medium body with a prickly mouth feel from high sharp carbonation. it does soften a bit when it warms. not bad... it just lacks a bit of richness and depth of flavor...8/3/6/3/15/3.5

Smells like real pumkin pie! Slightly darker than yer typical pale lager, more orangish. Sweet but not overly sweet. Tastes like pumpkin with beer. This pumpkin taste is more like pumpkins compared to all the other pumpkin beers I’ve tasted. Good tingly carbonation. Not bad, considering I don’t like pumpkin beers. An easy beer to like. Other pumpkin brewers should check out this recipe. Does the word pumpkin, good justice. Slight off bitter linger but this beer is overall enjoyable and I liked the experience.

12 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with dkachur. Pours a hazy orange amber with a moderate yellow/white head that lasted through the first two sips and left very little lace. Pleasant aroma of pumpkin, brown sugar and cinnamon. The flavor is much milder with weak pumpkin and spices up front, followed by a tangy citric acid, almost metallic flavor which seemed out of place. I really like pumpkin ales and love trying new ones, so I am glad to have had this one. Beyond that, this is not a beer that I’d seek out again anytime soon.

Pours reddish brown with a nice creamy head. The aroma is mostly of cinnamon and nutmeg with a touch of sweetness too. Maybe light tart lemon and pumpkin too. The flavor is very similar. Some cinnamon up front, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, some tartness with a spicy finish. Clean refreshing finish.

12 oz. into pint glass. Had a nice clear brownish color with some orange hues, but the head was fizzy like a sodas and receded very quickly. The pumpkin character was alright but a bit too faint. The body also suffered a bit from poor carbonation, which I cant even properly explain.