Southern Tier Pumking

Slightly hazy orange color with a rather big white head that leaves some lacings. The smell is very very weird. Powerful pumpkin aromas, holiday spices (nutmeg, cinnamon), bread crumbs, dough and a general character of pie. Gingerbread snaps. Notes of oranges. Perhaps some malts beneath this pumpkin pie madness. I actually like this, in a strange way. The taste is not as crazy as the smell, but it’s still rather weird. Again, pumpkin and spicy pie flavors dominate. It’s sweet with lots of fruity notes (pumpkin, oranges). Notes of nutmeg and cinnamon levels the sweetness a bit. Lots of dough character - it’s like drinking a pumpkin pie. At times, I think I can even taste pie crust. The finish is somewhat bitter, which is quite pleasant here, and has notes of pumpkin and spices. No sign of the alcohol. Medium body, easy to drink. Moderate carbonation. Slightly dry finish. This is one strange beer. However, I must say I enjoyed it. It definitely achieves what it sets out to achieve - being one big pumpkin beer. I wouldn’t want to drink a whole lot of it though, nor drink it very often. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Bomber courtesy of Eithcubes. Pours an average, off-white head. Hazy orange body. Pumpkin pie spice and holiday pastry aroma. More of the same in the palate with mild alcohol. Medium bodied, slightly alcoholic palate. Overall an enjoyable beer, but nothing that really blows my socks off.

Pours a dark slightly cloudy amber orange color with dark golden burnt orange hues when held to a light source and a one finger foam white head that quickly settles into a lasting ring. Minimal spots of lacing. Wonderfully spicy aroma with a blast of cinnamon, clove, ginger, brown sugar and nutmeg. Huge pumpkin presence with a subtle vanilla character. Medium bodied with a huge spicy pumpkin pie flavor. Lots of cinnamon, brown sugar, clove ginger, nutmeg and a very strong pumpkin presence. There’s a slight touch of vanilla and some sweet/caramel malt. The ABV is extremely well masked without even a slight touch of alcohol heat making it extremely quaffable. Probably the best example of the style I’ve had yet.

Pours a clear copper with no head. Aroma is warm and rich; pumpkin pie and fresh baked bread. Taste is pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, bread, and butterscotch pudding. Very slight bitterness in the finish with a long finish. Moderate carbonation with a smooth mouthfeel that is thinner than expected for a beer at 9% ABV. Alcohol is undetectable. Very enjoyable.

Bomber. Clear orange-amber with a light beige head, barely-there, and soon-gone. Nose of dark, earthy pumpkin and huge spice. Grainy, sort of reminds of a cross between malt extract syrup and the host of scents wafting around a homebrew store. Taste is overly sweet (underattenuated?), though the resolve to a dry finish reveals tons of vanilla and whip cream notes, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Yams? I was skeptical at first, but the alcohol is very well hidden, and the lasting after-effect is resoundingly of Thanksgiving! Rosi says it tastes like Lebkuchen. Man, delicious!

I had this beer on tap at Buster’s on 28th after I ordered and hated a Liftbridge Farmgirl Saison. The Pumking had a small head that was mostly gone by the time my glass got to my table, but the sweet and spicy pumpkin aroma was still there. Al the stuff you would expect in a pumpkin pie is in this beer and the sweetness doesn’t overpower. This was a completely satisfying beer that didn’t taste much like a beer or ale. It probably isn’t the beer I would have ordered to go with my buffalo burger, but the sweetness was moderated and the spice was not overpowering. I made several calls around town when I got home that evening and it was gone from the shelves in stores. Bummer. I’m going to be watching for this one next year, though.

2009 Bottle - Thanks corey70! - Pours clear orange and still, no head to speak of....aroma is pie crust, vanilla cream, cinnamon and some pumpkin...flavour is similar, initially sweet and malt centric, some mint and dough, but shifts to bitter, astringent pumpkin spice and diacetyl, had some prickly carb to it also which suprised me ...glad to have tried it...

Bottle thanks to Cavie. Right off the bat there’s a fantastic dry spice aroma. Taste of pumpkin, lots of spice, and malts. Dry feel. Aftertaste goes on forever.