Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale - Sierra Nevada

http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/tumbler.html

 Happy Autumn Everybody! Up here in the Appalachian Mountains, peak is just right around to corner, so to match the season, we are looking at the Tumbler from Sierra Nevada.  The brewing company takes some brewing style traditional done in the winter and applies it to this beer.  Fresh roasted malts are the primary ingredient, along with some spices that work well with this toasty main ingredient.  Is the roasted malts a good pick, or will they go up in flame?

Sight - Dark and full of flavor is this beer's appearance.  It does not carbonate well, but this helps to lock in the flavor of the roasted malts.  You can tell this from the size of the head of the beer, as a full pour into a glass gives almost no head.  A good start for this style of beer.

Smell - Malts! Malts! Malts!  Not only that though, but roasted malts!  It has a sweet smell of sugar, but also the scent of a roaring bonfire on a crisp fall night.  This is due to the various spices that are brewed within the beer.

 Taste - The first thing you taste is the sweetness of the malts, followed by the roasted flavor of beer.  This is not your hoppy beer, but a smooth dark beer that is perfect for any day in the Autumn.  The aftertaste is where the true roasted flavor lies with an explosion of the roasted malts.  The aftertaste taste like liquid bonfire smell.  It might be the best part of the beer.

Overall -  Grab this beer and go to the nearest bonfire you can find.  Make sure to bring a lot of them and that the sky is clear for the night.   Or go on top of a mountain on a windy day, sit, and watch the leaves tumble down with this one. This beer will satisfy any beer wants you have for a fall beer.  Go out and grab them NOW!

5 out of 5 Cheers!!! 

Jacked Pumpkin Ale - Uinta Brewing Company

http://www.uintabrewing.com/Default.aspx

      This is an interesting ale.  Not only is it a pumpkin ale, it is an aged pumpkin ale.  Not only is an aged pumpkin ale, it is an aged pumpkin ale in oak barrels.  Because of this aging process, the beer has a very high alcohol, at around 10.3%.  The alcohol cannot even be tasted in this beer, but at what cost does this come?

Sight - This beer happens to be the darkest pumpkin ale I have ever seen.  The barrel aged process in the reason for this.  The spices are allowed to age within the barrel, and the barrels themselves.  Oak barrels tend to leave beer darker than other barrels, outside of whiskey barrels.  You can also tell that the beer also carbonates well from the size of the head.

Smell - Surprisingly, there is a great smelling beer.  It has the aroma of not only pumpkins, but the fall spices that goes with pumpkin ale.  It does not smell any different from the other pumpkin ales I have reviewed, but it still has a that great scent.

Taste - Just as I stated earlier, you cannot taste the alcohol one bit in this beer.  It is smooth with a malty finish.  Yet, through out the entire beer is the taste of pure pumpkin, with just a hit of the spices you would expect in a pumpkin ale.  Since it was aged in the oak barrels, I was expecting an oaky finish to the beer, but that is lacking from the beer.  I am rather disappointed in this.

Overall - With this beer, you are paying for a very alcoholic beer that taste like light alcoholic beer.  This is quite a feat of beer craftsmanship, but the actually taste is just run of the mill.  It is good, but at the price you pay for one 750ml,  one should expect something to brag about.  A simple price drop would make this beer a classic, but it will have to suffer mundane status for now.

3 out of 5 Cheers!

Pumpkin Ale - Dogfish Head Brewing Ale

http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/seasonal-brews/punkin-ale.htm

 Dogfish Head beer is not  for getting drunk.  There philosophy is that beer should be paired with a certain meal, to compliment the taste of the food.  This is their famous pumpkin ale and also their best selling seasonal.  They recommend lamb, duck, or stuffing to go with this beer.  I made some stuffing to go with this, but I will be reviewing the beer, not my cooking skills.

Sight -  This beer just looks like fall.  It has a cool crisp color that reflects an Autumn day of the same qualities.  It is fairly weak in carbonation, but a weak carbonation helps keep spices strong in beer.  The head of the beer is larger than any other pumpkin ale I have every seen.  It is full bodied, even having the spices in the head!

Smell - Cinnamon and nutmeg! This beer has a defined smell that differs from other pumpkin ales.  It is hard to pick up a smell of the pumpkins, but it's there.  This beer actually smells more like a fall spiced ale than a pumpkin ale.

Taste - As with the smell, this beer taste like fall spices, not pumpkin.  The guys and gals at Dogfish Head have created a great beer for the fall (goes great with the stuffing), but where is the pumpkin?  This beer is a huge let down given how great other Dogfish Head beers are.  It is 7% alcohol and you cannot not taste it, as the spices are in every part of this beer.  This shows master craftsmanship, but the lack of pumpkin is trouble some.  The spices are wonderfully mixed and brewed together for near perfection.  The nutmeg can be tasted within the first sip, but the cinnamon is deeper in the beer, lingering well in the aftertaste.

Overall - This beer taste good, but is mislabeled.  It needs more pumpkin!  Now comes the issue or price.  This is one of the most expensive beers I have bought, at about 8 or 9 dollars for a four pack.  For a beer that says what it is not, that is a steep price to pay.  If you are trying to drink a beer with a Thanksgiving style meal, then I would recommend this beer.  Beyond that, do not get this beer.

2 out 5 Cheers!