Mike Loves Beer

Name – Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin (Pugsley’s Signature Series)
Country – United States
Type – Pumpkin Ale

Consider this review a treat today.  Because I just do not like pumpkin beers.  Not being a big fan of pumpkin in general is probably the cause of it.  The same reason I’m not a fan of coffee beers.  I just don’t like coffee.  But I’m sort of cheating with this one I will admit.  I got a small sample of it and liked it enough to go buy a bottle and do a proper review for it.

I got to say that I love the just bright orange label on the bottle.  It sticks out.  Sure lots of other pumpkin beers have orange on their labels but this one is over the top.  And sometimes over the top is good.  This one in particularly.  Also if I didn’t know that Alan Pugsley was still alive I would think the pictures they put of him on the Pugsley Series were from the beginning of the 1900′s.  It just looks very old timey.

So on to the beer now.  I removed the top of the gold foil and popped the cap.  Pouring into my imperial pint glass it came out an extremely clear orangish color.  There was a maybe one finger wide white head that was gone very quickly and left really no lacing at all.

The smell of this is what originally hooked me to try it back when I sampled it.  There is almost no hints of pumpkin.  Instead I am greeted with aromas of gingerbread, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Sure there is an ever so slight scent of pumpkin in there but I could convince my brain it’s not there if I wanted to.

I hate when I say that the taste is much like the smell but this one definitely is.  All those same scents I got are in the flavor as well.  I did also get a nice brown sugar taste to it as well.  And coming in at 9% ABV there is a great job done to hide this alcohol as I pick up nearly no definitive boozey taste or aroma on this.

Last year I enjoyed this ones little brother, Pumpkinhead, for the same reasons I like this one.  It doesn’t taste like pumpkin.  In this fall season I am always more looking forward to the Oktoberfest Marzens than the pumpkin beers.  But with this beer I can definitely say I have found a pumpkin beer I like.  And now no one can call me a complete party pooper when it comes to this popular fall style.

Grade - B+

Name – Pumpkinhead Ale
Country – United States
Type – Pumpkin Ale

Appearance – Pours a clear orange color with a small white head that is gone very quickly.

Smell – Sweet malt smells with a some hints of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Slight pumpkin smell.

Taste – The first and immediate thing that hits me is ginger bread.  Sweet with some backing spices to it.  Not a whole lot in the way of pumpkin.

After I wrote my review I decided to see what others thought of this and was completely surprised by how bad the reviews were for it.  Many think it is not a true pumpkin beer as it may not use real pumpkin in it.  While maybe they are right I find this the best pumpkin beer I have ever had.  I enjoyed the ginger bread taste in it that I have never seen in any other beer.

Overall Grade – B+

Name – Punkin Ale
Country – United States
Type – Pumpkin Ale

Appearance – Pours a clear copper amber color with a little white head that was gone pretty quick.

Smell – Spices, spices and more spices.  Cinnamon and nutmeg are definitely there (as the bottle says) and you get a pumpkin scent.

Taste – Slightly sweet taste up front, almost like brown sugar then the pumpkin comes in but it is not over powering.  There are cinnamon and nutmeg spiciness to it as well but again not over powering.

I am usually not a fan of pumpkin anything really let alone pumpkin beers.  They tend to be overbearing on the spices.  This one, while containing it’s fair share of spices, has a nice subtle sweetness to it as well that seems to even things out and make it bearable to a non-pumpkin fan.  Also I got to finally use my brand new Dogfish Head glass as I wanted my first use to be a DFH brew.  While I am in no way now a pumpkin beer fan I found this one some what enjoyable.  Maybe one or two for the season.

Overall Grade – B-