Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/205938
Southern Tier Pumking; 22oz bottle; 8.6%- Serious nutmeg and vanilla notes on this higher alcohol seasonal, smells like pumpkin pie dipped in vanilla bean ice cream, a crazy tasty 98% rating on ratebeer.com Wachusett Pumpkan; 12oz can; 5.2%- Cinnamon and nutmeg fill your nose, alcohol is moderate increasing the drinkability, and it won't break on your driveway during a game of fall basketball. Cisco Brewers Pumple Drumkin; 12oz bottle; 6.0%Pronounced cinnamon and nutmeg aromas followed by medium to high carbonation with more spice and a touch of alcohol in the finish. Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale; 12oz bottle; 6.3%- Smooth malty profile with subtle hop bitterness, this is a seasonal favorite of mine, find some before it's gone. Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale; 12oz bottle; 5.0%- Nutty, malty offering brewed with real pumpkins. History lesson: It's named for the "post road" connecting New York to Boston. Woodstock Autumn Ale; 12oz bottle; 4.6%- Amazing cinnamon and apple aromas envelop this seasonal favorite. The beer imparts no actual pumpkin, but I had to include based upon overall style. Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale; 12oz bottle; 7.0%- Medium to heavy bodied brown ale, flavors consist of pumpkins, cinnamon and brown sugar. This brew scores big on ratebeer. com with a 90%. All these pumpkin beers beg the question, what does "fall" mean to you? I remember long trips to Lake Placid, NY watching the leaves turn as we drove the family station wagon (with faux-wood paneling) 100 miles up Interstate 89 and across Lake Champlain. I remember the chilly morning bus stop, hot chocolate and finally giving up wearing shorts. High school brought early morning practice and a coffee to stay warm. College brings leaves covering every inch of campus, brisk walks to the library and coffee porter for a study break. Some of us dream of drinking pumpkin beer year round, "How long will I serve pumpkin beer, remarks Ed Brown of the Snug, "there are so many great local brewers crafting this style, I'll bet it'll eventually be sold year round." We've spoke about pumpkins in beer, why they were used so many years ago, what flavors they impart, and how wildly popular they are in today's marketplace. Let us focus on a few "pumpkin facts" about this vegetable we so adore. In the USA alone there are over 100,000 acres of farmland that is planted with the pumpkin crop. This is big business here in America with a long growing season from the planting in late May in the Northeast and harvesting in the fall. Pumpkins require as many as a hundred frost-free days to fully develop into the size and shape we expect to buy this time of year. From a health standpoint, "A cup of cooked, mashed pumpkin contains more than 200 percent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A, which aids vision, particularly in dim light, according to the National Institutes of Health" (huffingtonpost.com.) We may consider adding raw pumpkin to the mash, which would essentially cook it to its full potential releasing these vitamins. Pumpkins are native plants to north, south and central Americas making them easy pickings for the colonial people. "I prefer my Christmas beer in December, and my pumpkin beer in September," proclaims Ed Brown. All too often our seasonal beer selections come out earlier and earlier, but it's nice to see bar owners sticking to their guns and pouring beer in the proper season. Either way, if you bought your first six pack of pumpkin beer in July or will order a cold pint with a cinnamon rim in November (if there's still any left) you will have enjoyed one of the many fine craft beer options available in our every changing beer landscape. Pumpkin beer is here to stay, say it with me! Life is hard, beer is easy. Cheers! 106