the "post your thoughts/review on the alcohol you have been drinking" /thread

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by gekko

I had the Pumpking recently, pretty good, but I don't drink a lot of pumpkin ales. Did have a 120 minute IPA recently, and that thing was amazing. Can't say I'm a big fan of the 60 or 90, but this was a pleasant surprise.

I thought the 60 was a clean and polished IPA....I have a bottle of the 90 I'm about to bust out. I wasn't able to find a bottle of the 120 this year: most of the stores that had it only received like 4 bottles. Crazy stuff.

Anyway, I hear with the 120 you want to either drink it hot off the press or like 5 years down the line. Anything between will leave you with a sugary, sticky, syrupy beer. I guess if it is fresh the hops are bright - between the hops fade but the malts haven't matured - and down the line it becomes more like a barleywine and the malts provide a really nice character to the beer.

So I've heard. The ABV on those is pretty inconsistent, do you know what ABV yours was?

[KillerGremlin]

I'm of the opinion that there is 0 science in pumpkin beer reviews because it all comes down to what you want and personal preference.

For example:

New Holland Ichabod - very little actual pumpkin, super high in cinnamon and nutmeg. Pumpkin cookie maybe on the back end.

Southern Tier Pumking - Sweet. Cloyingly sweet. This beer is PUMPKIN PIE melted down in stout form. This beer is heavy and sweet. A bomber is way too much for me, and I'm glad I was splitting it. This is absolutely delicious, but like pumpkin pie I only want a small amount.

Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale - Really surprised. This was malty, spiced with nutmeg, and had a decent pumpkin backdrop.

Of these three beers I actually thought the Sam Adams was the most balanced. The Ichabod was too spiced. The Pumking was good but I only want 8oz of the stuff, and only if I'm in the mood.

I could actually drink the Sam Adam's with food. That's my preference. I noticed that a lot of people like the sweet pumpkin pie flavor of Pumking. Some people hate spices. I think your best bet to trying pumpkin beer is to get your hands on 3 or 4 different beers and test them out. I'm the guy who only wants one slice of pumpkin pie a year. I love pumpkin pie in small amounts. I'm not getting 2nds or 3rds like I do with pecan pie or apple pie.