The Punkin Ale is a hazy dark pumpkin color with a foamy tan head. And prepare to be floored – it smells like pumpkin and spices. This has a squash flavor in the introduction, but it’s closer to a pumpkin than most of the others. The cinnamon and ginger spices compliment it nicely. It definitely is more akin to a brown ale with pumpkin spice highlights than a pumpkin ale, which I rather enjoy.
It delivers a little alcohol warmth, but nothing overbearing. The finish seems to leave remnants of the squash flavor to linger with a earthy/grassy hop flavor which strikes me as a little abrasive relative to the introductory flavors, but it’s not a game changer.
Overall, this is about as close to what I believe a pumpkin ale SHOULD taste like. It’s not something that I would want to drink year ‘round, but it’s festive and chock full of holiday fun. And at 7% alcohol it is guaranteed to make the holidays at least 7% more tolerable.
