So much to learn...

With two reviews under my belt, there's one thing that's really sticking out about my writing: it sucks!

There's still so much I'm trying to figure out.  What is meant by words like "mouthfeel"?  What does malt actually taste like?  How many different words for "ale" are there?  And how many shades of color are there between blonde and brown that actually have distinct names?

I knew I wouldn't just magically become some overnight wordsmith with the most thorough beer reviews this side of the Mississippi... but my lack of vocabulary and ability to string useful sentences together is a bit alarming.  Perhaps I'll learn some cool new words while I study for the GRE and they'll start cropping up throughout the entries here... or perhaps studying for the GRE will stress me out so much I'll drink through so many of my seasonal ales that I won't be able to keep up with reviews and/or I'll be writing them totally blitzed.

Only time will tell.

Pumpkinhead Ale from Shipyard Brewing Co.

The beer this pumpkin-headed horseman is holding in his hand has considerably more head than the actual ale in the bottle did *sigh*

Brewer: Shipyard Brewing Co.
Location:  Portland, ME
Name of Brew:  Pumpkinhead Ale
Manufacturer's Description:  "A crisp and refreshing wheat ale with delightful aromatics and subtle spiced flavor."
ABV:  4.7%

Head
Not much more than 2-3mm of white head on this beer, even after several attempts to swirl it just to generate head.  What did show up cleared pretty quickly, leaving only a trace white ring around the glass and nothing in the middle.

Color
Poured into a glass, this ale is slightly more orange than your typical blonde ale.  The color actually reminds me quite a bit of a coppery cider.  There are some slight bubbles but no "floaties" or clouded debris indicating that this must be a filtered wheat (if it is indeed even a wheat, as the manufacturer claims).

Aroma
The first hit of this ale is very nearly wine-like.  Hints of fruit scents (apricot, apple) come through on the first pull, but a second sniff uncovers a touch of cinnamon spice as well.  There's virtually no "beer" smell here at all.

Taste
Early palette
Very tart, strong intial presence and bite at the front.  Immediately I noticed the carbonation "zing" on the tip of my tongue.
Middle palette
Apple and spice flavors are really coming through here.  The taste is sweet, but not overly so, with the tiniest hint of hops coming through.
Late palette
Finally, the pumpkin flavor creeps in, although it's a very muted pumpkin taste.  Still getting hits of spices lingering on the tongue (nutmeg, cinnamon), but the strong apple flavor present in the middle palette is much weaker here.  Almost as weak as the fleeting pumpkin flavor, which is already gone about as fast as it came in.

Overall thoughts
While the flavor was mostly pleasant, it almost tasted more like a cider than an ale.  The strongest flavors that come through are clearly apple and spices, and although it didn't have that clear, crispness of an actual cider, it certainly felt like some kind of cider-ale hybrid.  About as weird as it sounds.  And I'm not trying to say it tasted like an apple-beer either (which my brother has the most amazing recipe for - I hope he'll make it again sometime in the future).  At the end of it, I'm left wondering, "did I really just drink an ale?"  More specifically, "did I really just drink a pumpkin ale?"  Even more specifically, "did I really just drink a pumpkin wheat ale?".  I feel like if I were given this in a blind test, I would never have known it was supposed to be pumpkin or wheat, as there is nothing distinctly wheat about the appearance, smell, or taste, and the pumpkin flavor is elusive at best.  I think it's there?  Or I may have been trying to convince myself it was there, since this was supposed to be a pumpkin ale afterall.  Enjoyable, I guess, but not one I'll be buying again.  Really makes me curious about these pumpkin ciders I picked up, though...

Alas, the hunt for the best Fall seasonal continues... see you next beer!

Pumpkin Seasonal Ale from Wasatch Beers

Brewer:  Wasatch Beers
Location:  Salt Lake City, UT
Name of Brew:  Pumpkin Seasonal Ale
Manufacturer's Description:  "Ale brewed with natural pumpkin and spices.  Brewed with the finest barley and pure pumpkin, then spiced like your favorite holiday pie.   This amber-hued beer is sure to please!"
ABV:  4.0%

The color is a bit misrepresented here thanks to my amazing camera phone.  The lack of head, however, is completely accurate.

My take on this seasonal ale:

Head
Very minimal head with even less head retention.  I was able to somewhat create head in the glass by swirling it around a bit, but it always disappeared into a thin ring of bubbles around the outside of the glass within seconds.  What head did appear briefly was a simple off-white color, slightly darker than eggshell.

Color
Unfortunately the photo doesn't represent the color very well.  It was definitely a caramelly amber colored ale, exactly how the bottle described it would be.  It was slightly cloudy although not opaque, but my brother thinks that's because I "poured it with reckless abandon" (which still doesn't say much for the lack of head, in any case).  I feel like I poured it carefully enough and the cloudiness was just an aspect of the beer regardless.  It had a few floaties, nothing very off-putting and definitely nothing noticeable upon drinking.

Aroma
My first impression, admittedly, was "it smells like beer."  Extra swirling started to bring out the pumpkin spice smell until it became "beer with pumpkin pie spice".  It was definitely present without being overpowering for the first few sips.  As the beer became half empty and beyond, however, the smell transformed into what was basically pumpkin pie in a glass.  It was a really pleasant smell with all of the pumpkin being at the forefront and very little alcohol/beer smell remaining.

Taste
Early palette
There weren't any obvious flavors jumping out at me right at the beginning of the taste.  Kind of your generic "beer" flavor without anything distinct.
Middle palette
This is when I started getting hit with hints of pumpkin flavoring.  There was some fizzy bite, but not much.  It almost felt like it'd been poured a few hours ago and it was close to flat.  I couldn't detect any spices or anything behind the subtle hints of pumpkin.  Little to no hoppiness.
Late palette
Pumpkin is way in the foreground now and finishes all the way with the drink.  Aftertaste is a combination of pumpkin and something somewhat tart or sour, but I'm not sure what.  The tartness lingered on the back of my tongue while I was still tasting pumpkin the foreground.  Still no detectable hop flavor.

Overall thoughts
The flavor, overall, wasn't very strong.  It tasted almost like it was flat after the initial fizz on the early palette dissipated.  The aroma of the beer was much stronger than the taste and was quite pleasant throughout.  I'd say it was a good beer, very drinkable, but I don't see it being my go-to for a pumpkin ale.  It wasn't pumpkinless by any means, but if it didn't have that small amount of pumpkin taste going for it, well, it may not have tasted like much at all.  Just... okay beer.  Like an amateur first "ale" homebrew - good but not great, very drinkable, but I probably wouldn't pay money for it (again).

Coming up soon I've got Shipyard Brewing Company's Pumpkinhead Ale!  See you next beer!

Introduction

This is my new beer tasting adventure!  Yes, yet another attempt to keep a blog and actually write in it more than a handful of times... but this time I think I've really got something that can succeed.  I actually have a specific idea in mind, a project, rather than another aimless "well, I'll just write about science or food or something".  I'm very excited by the prospect of being able to exercise my creative muscles through writing, while also improving my knowledge of and appreciation for the wide variety of beer flavors and styles available throughout the year.

The focus of this journal will be seasonal beers/ciders and special edition brews.  Stuff that the breweries don't sell all year, or produce only for a limited time.  I had to try to choose a focus because there are obviously just so many beers already, with new brews coming out all the time, there is no way I could get through even a fraction of what exists.  Although, thinking about it, I bet I'll still only get through just a fraction of the seasonals... oh well.

Guest posts will come from my brother Taylor, who is a superb home brewer and beer enthusiast, and my husband Mike, who will offer up his opinions on gluten-free brews and ciders whenever possible.  I'm hoping Canada might have some unique seasonals for him to try that we won't get imported into Oregon.

With the recent turn in weather and October just around the corner, we're going to start with Fall seasonal beers and ciders.  Bring on the pumpkin ales, Oktoberfest lagers, and spiced harvest brews!

Just some of the Fall seasonals I'll be trying!  I'm particularly excited about the Elysian... I've heard it's good.

Until next time - see you next beer!

(that's going to be my signoff for each beer review, heh)

P.S. credit goes to Jenilee for the title of the blog!