Review: Phillips Crookeder Tooth Barrel Aged Pumpkin Ale

I don't know when I'm ever going to get through the backlog of pumpkin beers I have to remember.. BC alone had way too many this year! Phillips Brewing out of Victoria has not one.. but TWO pumpkin ales, first off they have Crooked Tooth Pumpkin Ale, and then they also have Crookeder Tooth Barrel Aged Pumpkin Ale, which of course, is a bit stronger.. and barrel aged. Tonight I'm reviewing Crookeder Tooth as I don't think I have any Crooked Tooth.. because the local LCs never seem to carry enough of anything with the growing craft beer demand.

Appearance: Pours a fairly clear (only slight haze) caramel brown, good amount of carbonation, a good amount of beige head popping on top.

Aroma: Lots of brown sugar, good amount of nutmeg, some cinnamon, a touch of vanilla, light notes of pumpkin and only a hint of oak. When I've sampled this previously, I never realized this was a barrel aged beer as it is because it doesn't pop out in the aroma.

Taste: Pumpkin is first and foremost in the taste.. unfortunately.. buuuuut the barrel pops out here, thankfully. I get a bit of an oaky wood flavour to it, some whisky, notes of vanilla and a hint of cream. Very reminiscent of gingerbread in this case and there's a good deal of brown sugar and nutmeg making a presence again.. and just a touch of cinnamon.

Overall Thoughts: The flavours are certainly more present in the taste than the aroma, so it's not a write-off of a pumpkin ale. Good amount of oakiness in there which I appreciate when the nights get longer, and the temperature drops. Has a light Innis & Gunn-like syrupiness, but I'm able to get past that as the brown sugar and nutmeg certainly compliment the beer. 7.3% ABV