Well, I already tried this beer back in April after stopping at a brief LC visit in Winnipeg and seeing that there was a bottle of Great Lakes Brewery's Pumpkin Ale collecting dust, as any beer geek had to do.. I bought it because it deserved a better home!
This time, it's actually pumpkin season with Thanksgiving recently passing by and Halloween coming up next week, why not sample as many pumpkin beers as humanely possible?! Well.. at my LC, there was only one.. Post Road by Brooklyn Brewery, but finding this beer at the Main St LC in Winnipeg (right off Perimeter) sure helped.
Appearance: The Pumpkin Ale pours a very rich hazy orange, almost like a Unibroue (Chambly), a bit of sediment, minimal head as I pour with the only foam in this glass being the foam acting as a ring around the glass.
Aroma: A mixture of aromas we know and love this time of year - this smells like autumn. It has a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and a pinch of pumpkin. The fact that it's not overwhelming in pumpkin makes me happy.
Taste: As for taste, a bit aley, with a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar continuing its voyage into my senses. I think I'm noticing a smidge of corriander (as if I was drinking a witbier) and the pumpkin is really starting to take notice, the pumpkin doesn't make an appearance for the most part until the aftertaste, the aftertaste is incredibly pumpkin.. as if I'm eating raw pumpkin guts.
Overall Thoughts: Great Lakes' Pumpkin Ale is a bit pricey at $6.50 or so per bottle (650ml bottle), but seeing as this is a rarity, this is something you got to have once a year. I wish the LC had brought this a little sooner, to sip to while eating turkey on Thanksgiving, but sometimes they're just behind.. The beer has 5.5% ABV so you won't get a buzz off this, but if you've stressful day like I just did, you will appreciate this quickly. Great Lakes' beer is a bit of a rarity in Manitoba now as they only distribute one or two beers in the past 6 months here, so hopefully we see more offerings from them eventually as they are one of Ontario's most well beloved breweries.
Check out my review of the 2011 edition: (Link)
http://www.greatlakesbeer.com/beer/pumpkin-ale/
1 comment:
I stopped at my local MLCC polar opposite of your yours (Pembina South) on Friday and was very tempted to buy some of the pumpkin ales but wanted to read some reviews so thanks.
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