Entries tagged with “Autumn” from Malt & Barley Chronicles

Another of Brooklyn's seasonal offerings, this beverage (even more so than Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin) has restored my faith in pumpkin beers.  Post Road carries its excellent, savory blend of pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon flavors consistently from the first (perhaps too cold) sip to the last (approaching room temperature) without being overpowering or getting syrupy. With prime pumpkin season now over, I won't be sampling any more varieties until next fall (anything still in the stores will be suspect at best).

Characteristics: Rich copper color (tending toward brown), light-to-medium carbonation with a small head, medium body, smooth mix of savory pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg that crests just as you finish each sip. 

Minor Gripes: The season of availability is just a little too short... I was only able to score one six-pack before my local store ran out.

Bottom Line: This beer manages to replicate the experience of eating a great pumpkin pie filling without being filling.  That's quite a feat, and it will keep me coming back to this brew for seasons to come.

Rating: 7.5 / 10

I have yet to find a local (metro-DC) brewery I like enough to try all their beers, which is why I keep coming back to the Vermonters.  And it is the season to wander through the Oktoberfests, whether ale, lager, or weiss ...

Characteristics: Medium amber color, light to medium body and carbonation, minimal head, peppery bite masking malty flavors and adding more than a touch of bitterness.

Minor Gripes: I'm not sure if the pepper is intended or not -- an earlier batch I had this season was not nearly so strong, relying more on the malt to carry the flavor.

Bottom Line: I like this beer well enough as an amber ale, but it doesn't quite fit the real Oktoberfest model (where the malt should dominate with a heavier body, even in ales).  Then again, just about any beer would suffer in comparison to the fresh Hacker-Schorr Oktoberfest I was enjoying last weekend at a German bar in NYC.

Rating: 5.5 / 10