Southern Tier Pumking

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Lakewood, New York USA

Bottle An pretty early Halloween in July. Pours a clear amber orange with a thin off white head. The head has average staying, and laces fairly well. Has a good pumpkin spice aroma, all spice, ginger snap cookie, and pumpkin pie. Has a light carbonation. The flavor is sweeter than spicy. Not bad but would have liked to see it kicked up a bit. Has a watery texture. An okay finish with an okay aftertaste. I typically like pumpkin beers but this just seemed too sweet. Maybe its because its July.

Had this one right out of one of the tanks that age the beer at the brewery. Can’t say accurately about the appearance because of it not being filtered yet and coming from a holding tank that hasn’t yet bottled the beer. But the flavor was bliss. There was a very prevalent pumpkin note with some spices of coriander, cinnamon, little vanilla, and others. Now, the fact that I had it so fresh from the batch might have a little to do with the flavor rating but I will wait till they bottle and sell it first. Sweet, spicy, and a tad milky with a touch of sour. I would almost consider this a desert rather than a beer...

Maybe I have lost my affection for Pumpkin beers, or maybe this was a structural mess? Poured beautifully, golden orange body and a frothy ivory head. The aroma reminded me of a spiced cream/ milk. A lot of vanilla, too much, nutmeg, and lighter on the cinnamon and a strange mildly sour creamy note? It was not sour, like infected, but like spoiled milk. My wife, lover of pumpkin beers, poured hers out. The spices seemed distorted and contrived, like they had come from an extract rather than raw ingredients… just not a fan.

bottle at Ft Wayne tasting - Pours orange with a thin white head. It has a huge pumpkin and cinnamon aroma. Cinnamon and other fall spices add a tasty zing to the big pumpkin and malt flavor. It’s big and full without being overwhelming. Excellent brew.

This is a nice one. Poured darker orange into a snifter. On the nose you get pumpkin and more pumpkin. Almost like a pumpkin pie only with lots of alcohol. Some malt in there as well as there should be. Nice candied pumpkin sweetness all the way down and stays around on your palate with a great pumpkin aftertaste. Definitely up there on the list with the pumpkin beers.

Clear orange, her body is aglow with amber highlights, free to shine in anticipatory brilliance as there is neither head nor lace to interfere. I don’t even need to raise the glass to my nose to find myself enveloped in the richest pumpkin nose I have ever encountered. Creamy pumpkin pulp. Warm gooey pie dough. Ginger, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla mingle in a perfect blend of spices. Rich condensed milk and coconut milk sop it all up in a sweet, spiced, pumpkin delight. I could smell this beer for minutes on end and be fully content doing so, but where is the fun in that. Savoring my first quaff, her mouthfeel is clean and balanced with a medium weight which lightly coats my tastebuds. Fresh pumpkin and spice lingers on top of my tongue while soft pie crust gives her some chewy meatiness. A light, dry, herbal finish lingers in my breath with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and all-spice. The sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk which pervaded her nose also pervades her palate, though in a more subdued manner. Milky, creamy, lightly sweet with hints of tropical esters, she cradles all within her beery depths. Each savory quaff sends chills up and down my spine, and far too quickly my glass is exhausted. A lingering warmth whispers of pumpkin and spice while a creamy coating lingers atop my tastebuds.

Hands down, the best pumpkin beer available today. I haven’t had previous years, but from what I have heard amongst my fellow beer geeks, each year Pumking reigns on high atop his throne of Pumpkin Beerdom. I am definitely going to make a point of tracking down this beer when fall comes to pass once more.

This harvest fall brew is excellent in all aspects. It does a good job making the nose smell like fresh floral hops, sweet buttered popcorn, and hints of bubblegum. As you drink it you can taste the fall spice and it is nector from the PumpKing. It is full of hops and malt with that same popcorn and bubblegum flavor stuck in your nose and palate for the entier duration of the beer. Overall it has a great flavor balance and great amount of carbonation.

If you like pumpkin pie than this is for you. Thick liquid pie in a bottle. Aroma of pumpkins and cinnamon. Thick chewy pumpkin and cinnamon with a hint of vanilla.