Selins Grove Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by Selins Grove Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania USA

On tap at the Selins Grove Brew Pub. Nitro. This one was the reason for making the long trip out (I had very high hopes for it!). I heard they just kicked a keg before we got there and almost didn’t put on another one right away (they had to call the brewer to find out where it was - or something like that). Poured a medium and cloudy amber color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of pumpkins, pumpkin seeks, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie crust. Tastes of pumpkins, vanilla, pumpkin pie crust, and spices. Don’t get me wrong, this was a pretty good beer, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations (that being said, I would drink this everyday if I had the chance to!).

On tap at the brewpub on 10/25/08: Pours a hazy dark copper amber with a dense, creamy light tan head. Aroma of sweet cinnamon and chewy pumpkin flesh with a hint of roasty character. Body starts with good fullness and juicy pumpkin flavor with a nice nutmeg and cinnamon spice balance before a slightly drier doughy finish. A very tasty and well-balanced complex pumpkin brew with great drinkability.

2007 vintage
Pint at Selins Grove. Moderately muddy orange and near-brown colored body with a finely-bubbled foamy tan head. This may be one of the few times when I stick my nose into a beer without knowing what to expect and have it completely blow me away. I can’t do it justice with my limited rating ability (’’they should have sent a poet’’), but dear lord this thing smelled amazing: rich, creamy and spicy pumpkin soup with a hint of whipped cream, some apple cider aromas and some pumpkin bread and cinnamon as well. Ridiculously amazing aroma. Flavorwise it’s almost the same, with the whipped cream/pumpkin pie and apple cider flavors, made even better, I think, by a rich and creamy-smooth nitrogen palate. I could seriously drink this beer through the entire fall and winter, and it’s one of those rare beers you will look back on and crave over and over.

2008 version
Maybe a little more sweet up front, certainly served too cold, opens up very well with temperature. Huge spiced pumpkin pie all over this thing, nutmeg is strong and peppery. Less meaty and less of the creamy pumpkin pie charachter than the 2007. Still an amazing beer. Last years was a 4.6, this perhaps is 4.0-4.3.

Enjoyed on nitro-tap at the brewpub.Surprisingly good for pumpkin and for nitrogen. Mild spicey, more on the nutmeg. Light orange. A bit less than medium mouthfeel. Lasting white head. Easy drinking, smooth.

Draft at Selins Grove Brewpub. Pours an amber body with a creamy vanilla head. Huge lush cinnamon notes, like smelling a cinnamon shaker. Pumpkin pie, and vanilla nitrogenous like notes. Creamy whip body with a beautiful cinnamon spiced accent. This beer is phenomenal, it completely blew me away, at 5% per the menu, i couldn’t believe the body that this one had. I had to have myself another and if the brewpub didn’t close at midnight boy i would have been in trouble. Its very rare to find so much quality flavor with such a full body and yet have so little alcohol influence. Absolutely 100% the best beer i’ve had in this style. This blows away any other pumpkin beer i’ve had to date by a landslide. So so so good!

Poured a nitro’d amber, with a creamy, medium sized, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of pie crust, cinnamon, nutmeg, toffee, and vanilla. Taste of vanilla, toffee, toasted pie crust, pumpkin spice, and brown sugar. Tasty, subtly spiced, and still a nice pumpkin ale.

Nitro pour at Selins Grove. Pours a murky hazy woody orange with a thick nice fluffy tight nitro head and great lace. Aroma is your typical pumpkin pie spice, a bit of creamy wheat, toasted malts, light smooth sweet crystal and carapils malt- nutmeg and some clove as it warms. Flavor is doughy smooth light yeastiness, toffee, and lots of all spice pumpkin pie spice with some whipped cream smooth light sweetness. Smooth creamy mouthfeel and a nice overall beer especially for a pumpkin beer but I heard people saying it just wasn’t as good as it was last year. It was really good but just not mind blowing like I had thought it would be.

Multiple pints, at brewpub. Pours a clear orangish copper under a creamy one inch nitrogenated off-white head. The spicing is incredible on the nose, the usual cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, with a little caramel malt, and fresh scooped pumpkin meat. Reminded me of a fresh baked pumpkin whoopie pie. The flavor is much more subtle with the spices, just light cinnamon and allspice with lots of meaty pumpkin on the finish. The most distinctive pumpkin beer as far as conveying the pumpkin flavor instead of the usual hodgepodge of pie spices. Mouthfeel is incredibly creamy with the nitrogen serving method. In general I’m not a huge fan of nitro, but it was great the way it worked with this beer. Overall, easily the best pumpkin beer I’ve ever had, this made Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumkin look like crap. Very natural tasting.