Woodchuck Reserve Pumpkin Cider (7/10)

I know, this is an apple cider review showing up on a beer site… Still, since we’re featuring pumpkin beers this month, it seemed fitting to cover this one.

Woodchuck Cidery is a pretty well-known name in cider circles.  They’re known for producing sweet, but very drinkable ciders.  Woodchuck Private Reserve Pumpkin Cider is no exception.

The aroma, as you might guess, is that of a hard apple cider, which is to say “very apple-like”.  There’s virtually no head, and you won’t get any lacing out of it.  Carbonation is significant but not extreme.

The color is a bit of an orange or reddish amber.

The flavor is overwhelmingly that of hard apple cider.  You’ll get a hint of pumpkin and spice there, but mostly cider.  It’s on the sweet side, with some tangy elements tagging along.

I like Woodchuck Ciders generally, though they’re too sweet to consider drinking them all the time.  This one is no exception. I’m giving it an 7/10 for being drinkable and delivering something a little different than just a straight cider.

I’ve not seen this in local retailers.  I tried this sample at an Oktoberfest, where it was offered on draft.  It’s available in bottles with very bright orange and black labels featuring the Woodchuck Hard Cider logo.

Smuttynose Pumpkin (3/10)

The Smuttynose Brewing Company of Portsmouth (New Hampshire) produces this Pumpkin Ale.  I like their Star Island Single, so I was curious to see what they’d do with a pumpkin ale.

According to the brewery’s web site, they use a straight-up ale recipe with pumpkin in the mash, along with “traditional spices” (cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves) to produce it.  Cascade hops are used to bitter it, and both Cascade and Liberty hops are used in the “flavoring”.  That’s quite a bit of hops for a pumpkin ale.

When poured, it’s a cloudy, orangey color with a thick white head on it.

The first thing I got from the aroma was hops.  It’s probably 80% of what I smell here.  Behind that are some pumpkin and spice.  But it takes a few sniffs to get to those. 

The flavor follows the nose on this one.  At 35 IBUs, it’s not as bitter as a Rogue Dead Guy (which is in that range) but it’s not far behind it.  That’s just too high for a pumpkin ale to me.  The hops in this beer acted as a giant club that beat the other flavor elements so far into submission as to be virtually undetectable.  I can tell from the body and some hints of the flavor that there is pumpkin in it.  After several sips, as my hops tolerance increased, I got some barely visible hints of spice.  But make no mistake, this is a very hop-forward pumpkin ale.  If you're an IPA fan, this may be your pumpkin beer.

It’s that over-hopped nature that kills this beer’s rating for me.  The Beer Advocate crowd disagrees with me.  The Bros give it 93/100 or “outstanding” and the 1300+ other reviewers rate it only 83 or “good”.  I can’t be that kind.  I’m giving it a 3/10, which essentially means I’d rather drink a macro brew.  (At 1-2, I tend to pour it out rather than subject myself to drinking it.)

You can find this, while it’s in season, at a number of area retailers.  I picked up this particular bottle at Kenny Road Market, but I’ve seen it elsewhere.

Pumpkin Beer Flavor Profile:
Dominant Flavor (Beer, Spices, Pumpkin):  Hops
Pumpkin intensity:  Low
Spice intensity:  Low
Malty or hoppy:  Hoppy
Sweet, balanced, or dry:  Balanced
Dominant flavors:  Hops, and once you get past that, some malt and pumpkin
ABV:  5.8%
IBU:  35
My Rating: 3/10

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale (5/10)

Pours a clear gold, amber color with finger-thick white head that dissipates quickly, leaving behind almost no lacing.

Aroma is pumpkin, ginger, and cinnamon.

Flavor starts with ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin.  I get some nutmeg, too.  This initial flavor gives way to malt, pumpkin, and cinnamon.  Finish is mildly bitter and sour.

Beer Advocate gives this a 41-68 or “poor” rating.  Ratebeer gives it a 32/100.

I’m rating it a 5/10.  It’s not terrible, but it’s disappointing for a pumpkin beer.  The aroma is nice, but beer itself is sour and just mediocre overall.

Pumpkin Beer Flavor Profile:

More standard beer flavor or more spiced ale:  Beer
Pumpkin intensity:  Medium
Spice intensity:  Medium
Malty or hoppy:  Malty
Sweet, balanced, or dry:  Balanced
Dominant flavor:  Ginger and Pumpkin sourness

ABV:  5.1%
IBU:  Unknown, but estimate in the 18-20 range
My Rating: 5/10

New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin Ale (6/10)

The label of New Holland’s Ichabod Pumpkin Ale might just be the coolest pumpkin beer logo out there.  Ichabod Pumpkin Ale is available from August through October each year.

It pours a fairly clear mahogany or coppery brown color.

The head, as one might expect for a beer named after the story of a headless horseman, isn’t around long.  It takes a pretty hard pour to even get one.  (In the photo, I took the shot within two seconds of pouring it.  By ten seconds, it was gone.)  It’s an off-white color and made of small, mostly-consistent bubbles.

The aroma has pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg to it.  Malt and hops are harder to sniff out.

The flavor starts with malt and nutmeg, then gives way to some pumpkin creaminess, and ends mildly bitter.  The draft version I tasted earlier in the year was considerably more hoppy.

It’s a really “middle of the road” pumpkin beer.  I don’t dislike, but I don’t love it, either.

The Beer Advocate crowd seems a little split on it.  With over 950 ratings, most people give it 80/100 or “good” while “The Bros” give it a 90 or “outstanding”.  The RateBeer group gives it only a 61/100, which is in line with my own 6/10 rating.  Amping up the spice might push it to a 7.  Dialing back the bitterness would maybe move it to 7.5.



Pumpkin Beer Flavor Profile:

Dominant Flavor (Beer, Spices, Pumpkin):  Beer with Pumpkin close behind
Pumpkin intensity:  Medium
Spice intensity:  Low
Malty or hoppy:  Mildly bitter
Sweet, balanced, or dry:  Balanced
Dominant flavor:  Mild bitterness and pumpkin funk

ABV:  5.5%
IBU:  16
My Rating: 6/10

Southern Tier Pumking (8/10)

Southern Tier Brewing Company of Lakewood, New York, is the birthplace of this pumpkin beer.  It becomes available in August and stops when it sells out.

Southern Tier Pumking pours a clear copper color with a finger-thick white head that lasts a while.

The aroma is that of a fresh pumpkin pie with plenty of spice.  It may well be the best-smelling pumpkin beer of all.

The flavor starts with creamy pumpkin up front, adds some spice, and finishes with malt and mild hops.  The finish is only very mildly bitter.

The draft version is a bit more mild and less bitter than the bottled version.  Both have the same creamy, spicy, pumpkin aroma.

With over 4,300 ratings, Pumking gets a 91 or “outstanding”rating from Beer Advocate.  With over 1,500 ratings on Rate Beer, it gets 98/100.  I’m slightly tougher on it, giving it an 8/10.  But make no mistake, this is a fine pumpkin beer and one that Southern Tier should be proud of.

The beer is available on draft at various restaurants and bars.  The bottled version can be found at a number of retailers like Giant Eagle, Kenny Road Market, The Andersons, and others.  It’s not too hard to find in season.


Pumpkin Beer Flavor Profile:
Dominant Flavor (Beer, Spices, Pumpkin):  Hops
Pumpkin intensity:  Low
Spice intensity:  Low
Malty or hoppy:  Hoppy
Sweet, balanced, or dry:  Balanced
Dominant flavor:  Hops, and once you get past that, some malt and pumpkin
ABV:  8.6%
IBU:  Unknown, but low, probably 15-20
My Rating: 8/10

Saranac Pumpkin Ale (6/10)

Saranac Brewing Company of New York produces this pumpkin ale.
Aroma is sour pumpkin and toasted grain.  I don’t get much else.
It delivers a finger-thick off-white head.

Flavor starts with smoked barley, followed with a pumpkin funk and ginger, and some nearly-undetectable spice.  The roasted dark malts are the overwhelming flavor component.  This isn’t bad, just not what I want from a pumpkin beer.

Ratebeer gives it a 38/100.  Beer Advocate gives it a 76/78 rating.  I found it disappointing overall.  Not bad as a beer but not what I expect in a pumpkin ale.


Pumpkin Beer Flavor Profile:
More standard beer flavor or more spiced ale:  Beer
Pumpkin intensity:  Low
Spice intensity:  Low
Malty or hoppy:  Malty
Sweet, balanced, or dry:  Dry
Dominant flavor:  Smoky grain
ABV:  5.4%
IBU:  Unknown, but estimate in the 18-20 range
My Rating: 6/10