BUMPKIN and BATVIS

Bumpkin



Batvis

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I lost my "pumpkin partner" for this year. I also decided to paint a couple of smaller pie pumpkins rather than carve a larger gourd as in many prior years. Even so, I had a lot of fun with these two.

Both were inspired by cartoons.

Bumpkin was influenced by the artful craziness of John Kricfalusi, the creator of The Ren and Stimpy Show.

Batvis was influenced by the character design of Beavis and Butthead by Mike Judge.

I didn't use any photos or images as reference. Instead, I just let what I remembered about these cartoons and characters and their worlds to manifest in acrylic paint on a couple of pumpkins.

Bumpkin is just a hyped-up country pumpkin, who I could easily imagine running around with the Shaven Yak or Stinky.

Batvis is a mash-up of Beavis (the name), Butthead (the look), and a bat. He has ears, tiny wings, and a forked tail; although you cannot see them in the photo above.

Happy Halloween!

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UPDATE: We had zero trick-or-treaters, so no one was able to gaze upon the glory of these two in person. Sad.

BOOJI BOY

My "Devo-lantern" of Booji Boy!

JABBERWOCK

For trunk-or-treating, we turned our trunk into the Jabberwock.

PUNK'NOCCHIO

Punk'nocchio. He just wants to be a real boy so he can go trick-or-treating.

SEASONAL GOURD CARVING

 "Octo-punk'n." Danish squash, acrylic paint, 24 lb. bond paper, masking tape.

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Danish squash and masking tape.

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"Dia de los Muertos." Danish squash.

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To be or not to be, a Danish squash skull.

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"Ash the Jack-o-Lantern." Pumpkin. Carved by The Child.

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"Classic Jack." Danish squash.

PUMPKIN BUTTER

Today was a day in the kitchen. A day to unwind and relax.

TWT cooked up pumpkin butter (top) for snacking on and chicken masala (bottom) for work lunches next week, as well as sweet pepper steak salads for dinner and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

GHOST SQUASH

No standard pumpkins for us. Instead, we decided to carve various winter squash.


A sketch for our butternut squash. Green and silver tempera paint and "ghosty" holes.


Ghost butternut squash.


Bob the (butternut) ghost by Troy's Work Table; Squishy the (carnival) werewolf by The Child; and John the (sweet meat) frog spirit, which was a joint effort.

GOOD MORNING

Sunrise on North Hill. Thursday 18 December 2014. A good morning, even though only about one-third of the day will see sunlight. (I'm enjoying it while I can.)

LUNCHBOX FRIDAY: ALL HALLOWS' EVE

"Happy All Hallows' Eve" by Troy's Work Table.

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I try to sneak a quick ink drawing into The Child's lunchbox each Friday. It's the one day of the week that The Wife is off to work early and I need to get The Child's lunch ready. This is my signature of sorts each week, and something that is shared with kids in the classroom. Most of them tell The Child that, "Your dad didn't draw that. It's too good," which I find rather funny. 

PUMPKIN PARADE: BELGO PUMPKIN

Belgo Pumpkin, a Sour Pumpkin Ale by Justice Brewing Company.

22 ounce bottle served in Sam Adams glass.

6.0% alcohol by volume

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The pour is hazy, hazy orange. A few streams of bubbles can be seen. A thick head of off-white forms, easily three fingers thick. It dissipates into a finger-thick foam head.

The nose is of berries and faint spices, with faint undertones of sour leather.

The tongue is sour—lemony, sour berry tart. As the sour calms down, there may be a bit of pumpkin there but it is hard to tell.

The mouthfeel is medium. Whatever sweetness is there (and I think it’s there) is quickly dried out by the sour.

After the looooooooong finish, there is some pumpkin flesh, a hint of spice, some Belgian funkiness.

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After the initial “sour shock” wears off, there may be some pumpkin there, but this isn’t going to give me the pumpkin pie I seek. It’s not bad; in fact I quite rather like it; but it’s not at all what I imagined.

I need to let it warm up a bit and see what happens…

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As it warms, it becomes more sour Belgian with hints of pumpkin flesh and ginger than the “sour shock” it was prior. Sour is still there and prominent (and somewhat dominant), but as it warms it increases in complexity.

I like this ale quite a bit. It’s still not what I expected and bit strange, but a good and welcome strange. It's an adventurous and playful beer; not for the faint of heart.

Recommended if you like sour ales.

PUMPKIN PARADE: THE GREAT PUMPKIN

The Great Pumpkin, an Imperial Pumpkin Ale by Elysian Brewing Company.

22 ounce bottle served in Sam Adams glass.

8.1% alcohol by volume.

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Lightly hazy orange to orange-yellow body on the pour. Thin bright white head. A lot of light streams of bubbles.

Nose is pumpkin pie, with a bit more spice than Night Owl. Perhaps I detect a bit of pear?

Taste follows the nose—pumpkin pie, with a bit more spice than Night Owl. Cloves and cinnamon are prominent. Also a bit of ginger. It’s heavier on the spice and drier than Night Owl.

This is less pumpkin pie and more spice.

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Excellent.  I used to think of The Great Pumpkin as Night Owl on steroids, but no longer. I like this very much, but I actually prefer Night Owl. Night Owl is pumpkin pie in a bottle; The Great Pumpkin has higher alcohol content, but lacks some of the balance that Night Owl has.

I recommend it if you like pumpkin pie spices. 

DRAGON O' LANTERN

Last night, The Child sketched out a few faces for a jack-o'-lantern. Many of them were of cats, but one was the face of a dragon, with very feline qualities. And thus Dragon O' Lantern was born.

It may not look much like a dragon when lit, but in full lighting the eyes, smile, and horns are more apparent. Then, you had best watch out for this friendly dragon.

PUMPKIN PARADE: PUYALLUP RIVER BREWING

From left to right: Puyallup River Chocolate-Vanilla-Pumpkin Milk Stout; Puyallup River Gourdy Wow! Spiced Pumpkin Saison Regal; Puyallup River Black Pumpkin Saison; Puyallup River Imperial Pumpkin Cream.

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I stopped by the Puyallup River Alehouse for a Chicago-style hot dog and a flight of pumpkin ales. Puyallup River has twenty-four taps, eight to twelve of which they reserve for their own beers. Tonight, I enjoyed four different Puyallup River Brewing ales, each of which includes pumpkin as an ingredient. Tasting notes follow.

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Imperial Pumpkin Cream, a Pumpkin Cream Ale by Puyallup River Brewing.

5 ounce taster glass on tap.

8.5% alcohol by volume.

The body is clear, clear, light yellow with a bright white head.

The nose is cream, vanilla, and pumpkin.

The tongue is pumpkin and spices (ginger? sage? nutmeg?) and vanilla cream.

The mouthfeel is warm and creamy, lightly sweet from the cream. This is really good.

This was my favorite of the evening. The pumpkin and the cream worked well together; it wasn't quite like a pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream, but it was close.

I recommend it if you like cream ales or vanilla.

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Black Pumpkin Saison, a Pumpkin Saison Ale by Puyallup River Brewing.

5 ounce taster glass on tap.

5.75% alcohol by volume.

The body is black with a hint of red aura and an ivory/off-white head.

The nose is shoe polish and Magic Marker.

The tongue is Magic Marker, dark chocolate, pumpkin flesh, funky yeast, and sage.

This is drier than I expected and bitter from the marker flavor.

It's a bit strange, but drinkable. I liked it, but both the Cream and the Gourdy were better and more satisfying ales for me.

I recommend it if you like to sniff Magic Markers, which I do.

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Chocolate-Vanilla-Pumpkin Milk Stout, a Pumpkin Milk Stout Ale by Puyallup River Brewing.

5 ounce taster glass on tap.

7.0% alcohol by volume.

The body is black with a tan head.

The nose is coffee and dark chocolate, like chocolate-covered espresso beans, with a bit of cardboard cereal box in the background.

The tongue is bitter dark chocolate, coffee, milk, a hint of vanilla beans, and a very faint hint of pumpkin as it finishes.

This is not as sweet as I thought it would be, since it's a milk stout. Instead, it is rather dry and bitter, but good. It's a bit light on the pumpkin for my tastes, but it's a solid milk stout.

This was my least favorite ale of the night, but that is mostly due to the relative strength of the other ales in the flight.

I recommend it if you like milk stouts.

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Gourdy Wow! Spiced Pumpkin Saison Regal, a Pumpkin Saison Ale by Puyallup River Brewing.

5 ounce taster glass on tap.

9.0% alcohol by volume.

The body is a hazy blood red with an off-white head.

The nose is medicinal, herbal, saison yeast, cloves, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie.

The tongue is pumpkin pie spices, some pumpkin, saison herbs (sage and the like), a bit of medicine, and pomegranate and/or berries.

The mouthfeel is medium, a bit weighty, with a long, spicy finish.

This is pumpkin pie, saison-style. It's also my second favorite ale of the flight.

I recommend it if you like the idea of pumpkin pie and a saison/farmhouse ale meeting.

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All in all, this was a great flight. It was interesting to see what Eric Akeson of Puyallup River does with pumpkin in his beers. I know that he makes some spectacular saisons and farmhouse ales. It seems that he also makes some great pumpkin beers.

PUMPKIN PARADE: NIGHT OWL

Night Owl Pumpkin Ale, a Pumpkin Ale by Elysian Brewing Company.

12 ounce bottle served in Sam Adams glass.

5.9% alcohol by volume.

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2013 tasting notes

The color of the body is lightly hazy orange to orange-yellow on the pour, accompanied by a thin bright-white head. There are also a lot of light streams of bubbles.

The nose is pumpkin pie, plain and simple—crust, flesh, spices.

The taste is the same—pumpkin pie. It really is pumpkin pie in a bottle. The flavors are well-balanced and work together—once again: crust, flesh, spices.

The mouthfeel is medium. I wish it were a bit heavier, but that is my only complaint, and it is a minor one.

If I had to sum up this pumpkin ale in one word, it would be "Awesome!"

I recommended it if you like pumpkin pie.

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2010 tasting notes

Clear orange body. This white head. Light streams of bubbles.

Nose is pumpkin and spice, cloves.

Flavors are pumpkin and spices—allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger.

There is some creaminess on the finish.

Pumpkin pie in a bottle.

Excellent stuff.

This is a beer that is complete "truth in advertising"—read the label and drink what you read there.

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2007 RateBeer review, based on 2007 tasting notes

22 ounce bottle. The pour is a mostly opaque orange ale, with a thin white head that quickly dissipates. The aroma is a rich earthiness bolstered by the smell of pumpkin flesh and whiffs of spices—perhaps cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I drank this cold, fresh from the refrigerator. The flavors were from most to least intense: earthiness, pumpkin, dark green vegetation (spinach, collard greens), and light spices. Initially, the flavors didn’t seem to work for me. However, I really enjoyed the mouthfeel. The ale sat heavy on my palate and tongue in a good, solid way. As the ale warmed, more flavors became apparent and the previous flavors became more balanced. A touch of carmel was apparent, which worked well with the earthiness and pumpkin flavors. The spices, although still subtle, came to the forefront a little bit and worked very well with the flavor of the dark greens. My previous experience with pumpkin ale has been Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale, which I definitely enjoy, even though it is a little over-the-top in sweetness. Elysian’s Night Owl is even better, especially since it is more restrained and complex. I recommend it, but after warming for a few minutes, in order to fully appreciate its flavors.

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I find it interesting to see how this beer, and, perhaps more importantly, my relationship to it, has changed (or not) over the past six years. Six years ago, I was still able to drink Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale; now I cannot because my tastes have evolved. But I can still enjoy a Night Owl because it truly is one of my favorite pumpkin ales, being well-balanced in flavor and complexity, as well as being "pumpkin pie in a bottle."

PUMPKIN PARADE: PUNK'N

Punk'n Harvest Pumpkin Ale, a Pumpkin Ale by Uinta Brewing Company.

12 ounce bottle served in Sam Adams glass.

4.0% alcohol by volume.

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The pour is a clear orange to orange-yellow body with a finger-thick head that mostly dissipates. There is very little visible carbonation.

The nose is sweet pumpkin flesh and faint spices. A spice check of the The Wife's spice cabinet tells me these hints are nutmeg and cinnamon.

The taste is disappointingly absent. There is a bit of nuttiness and a very faint earthiness, but not much more than that. The spices on the nose don’t register on the tongue; neither does the pumpkin, really.

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This would be fine if it were a mild brown ale, but it’s not. As it warms, the slightest bit of pumpkin sneaks in, as well as a bit of brown sugar “crust,” but it isn’t enough to save it.

I recommend it if you want a hint of pumpkin but not too much.

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.

PUMPKIN PARADE

Fall means pumpkins. Pumpkins mean one of my favorite beer styles hits the store shelves: pumpkin ales. I headed down to my independent and local beer store, 99 Bottles, and stocked up to get me through fall (or at least the first part of it).

Here is what I picked up…

PUMPKIN ALE 

Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
Once my standard pumpkin ale (and perhaps more my “gateway” pumpkin ale) was Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale. Then I had Night Owl and I find I can no longer drink the former. Buffalo Bill’s is now too sweet for my palate and too heavy on the cinnamon, almost as though they brewed pumpkin ale with Red Hots cinnamon candies. Night Owl has a good solid pumpkin flavor as its base.

Uinta Punk’n Pumpkin Ale 
This pumpkin ale is another solid pumpkin ale. I know I liked it, but can’t quite remember how it fared against Night Owl, which is one of the main reasons I picked it up. I think Uinta has a strong stable of beers and want to compare Punk’n against Night Owl.

IMPERIAL PUMPKIN ALE

Elysian The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale
If my memory serves me, The Great Pumpkin is Night Owl exponentially expressed. It may be too much for me. I will have to drink it and jog my memory.

Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Likewise, Pumking. I remember it as heavy-laden with pumpkin and spices, but without being overbearing; I hope I remembered correctly. As with Night Owl and Punk’n, the plan is to compare and contrast The Great Pumpkin and Pumking to notice similarities and differences.

PUMPKIN PORTER/STOUT 

Elysian Dark O’The Moon Pumpkin Stout 
This is one of my all-time favorite beers. It is chocolate cheesecake pumpkin pie, with a spectacular graham cracker crust flavor. I am looking forward to this bottle perhaps more than any of the others.

OakShire Big Black Jack Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter 
I’ve never had this, but I’m hoping that it is a comparable companion to Dark O’The Moon.

PUMPKIN WILD CARDS

Anderson Valley Fall Hornin’ Pumpkin Ale
I chose this one to have another inexpensive “regular” pumpkin ale in the mix. I’m interested to see how it fares against Night Owl and Punk’n.

Justice Brewing Belgo Pumpkin
This is the beer that I am most looking forward to exploring. I know what Dark O’ the Moon tastes like simply by writing about it. I’m having trouble even imagining what this Belgo Pumpkin tastes like. Is it a sour pumpkin saison? Is it a Belgian dubbel or tripel with a hint of pumpkin, spice, and tartness for good measure? We will soon see.

Two Beers Pumpkin Spice Ale
Two Beers has been making some great ales, and I expect that this will be another solid offering from them.

The plan is to post tasting notes of each of these over the next few weeks. Get ready for the pumpkin parade!