Monday, October 07, 2013

PUMPKIN PARADE: FALL HORNIN'


Fall Hornin' Pumpkin Ale, a Pumpkin Ale by Anderson Valley Brewing Company.

12 ounce bottle served in Sam Adams glass.

6.0% alcohol by volume.

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The pour is a clear reddish-brown body with a finger-thick ivory head. The head sticks around for the most part. There are steady streams of carbonation.

The nose is pumpkin, earthiness, twigs, some light spices. Checking The Wife’s spice rack against the beer shows me allspice and faint cloves. Cinnamon and nutmeg may be present, but they aren’t present enough to catch my nose.

The taste is spice forward. Cinnamon and allspice are at the forefront, although more like licking cinnamon bark than a sprinkling of ground cinnamon, and the same with the allspice (more like licking whole allspice than ground). A big of twig in the middle ground. The pumpkin is very light on the tongue and somewhat hidden away.

This ale is much drier than I expected. The mouthfeel is medium.

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This is a good beer. I’m a bit disappointed in it, but that is because my expectations are high and this falls a bit short in the pumpkin department. The pumpkin is too far in the background and too subtle. I wanted more pumpkin.

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As it warms, a bit more pumpkin creeps in, but this is still mostly twig and spice bark. It's a good solid ale.

I recommend it if you like tree bark (which I do) and some spice to accompany it.

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