Shipyard Brewing Co. Smashed Pumpkin Ale

I believe I have tried just about every pumpkin ale I can purchase in the state of Utah, plus one or two others. I do, however, have one more left to check out, and then I'm onto lots and lots of dark ales. This particular beer comes from a brewery in Maine that has only recently begun to distribute their wares through the nearly impermeable state lines of Utah. May these victories continue to roll on through!

Shipyard Brewing Co. - Pugsley’s Signature Series - Smashed Pumpkin Ale

BG Poured from a 1 pt 6 fl oz (650ml) bottle into a stemmed tulip, 9% ABV, 1.088 OG, EXP 09/03/15

A Light amber in color with 2.5 fingers of cream-colored head. It pours very clear. Heavy lacing gradually slides back down into the beer.

A Nuttiness, alcohol, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, slight floral hops, caramel malt, spice, gingerbread, apple cider

T Banana nut bread, ginger snaps, brown sugar, pumpkin and all the pie spices, warm candied nuts, bread crust

M Medium body, medium carbonation

A Earthy spices and maybe a bit of hops. I wish the full taste was more like the aftertaste.

C Relive your childhood memories of eating so much Halloween candy your teeth ached, with this sugary-sweet ale. This would be the basic white girl’s pumpkin ale, but the alcohol content is too high, and would throw her into some sort of FourLoko frenzy as a result of also slamming PSLs all day. It’s a well crafted beer, but it’s just too sweet and light for me. Dark is the way to go for the pumpkin style.

FP Pecan pie, Thanksgiving leftover turkey sandwich, candied walnut and cheve rocket salad with sweet vinaigrette


That's all I've got for pumpkin ales. In retrospect, I'd say Epic's Fermentation Without Representation Imperial Pumpkin Porter is my top favorite. It has an amazing mouthfeel, with a rich and complex set of flavors that equate to an amazing experience. If I had to choose a pumpkin ale to session, it would be Uinta's PUNK'N. It's not too sweet, but has a great balanced flavor profile I wouldn't have a problem with if I wanted to throw back a few. If you like the sweeter, lighter end of pumpkin ales, good for you! I don't mean to put them down, it's just that I find them mildly abhorrent. Find what you like and enjoy!

Uinta Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin

Trees are becoming more barren than full, the sun sets much earlier in the day, and I have thought about turning on the heat in my apartment maybe 3 times. Fall is upon us, and it's time to get cozy with some boozy beer.

BUT FIRST! We need a carved pumpkin or two for a good picture. 
These should do the trick...

Uinta - Crooked Line Series - Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin

BG Poured from a 750ml cork & cage bottle into a stemmed tulip, 10.31% ABV (get it?), Bottled On 10/07/14, Aged in Oak Barrells

A Deep brown in color with a ruby hue. Two fingers of cream-colored head leave behind sticky fingers of lace.

A Lots of pumpkin spice, booze, grassy hops, pie crust, ginger, caramel malt, toasted oats, nothing sweet on the nose

T There’s no hiding the booze here! A balanced dose of piney hops and sweet caramel malt prep your palate for the following boom of boozy warmth that blankets the tongue. Vanilla, pumpkin flesh, brown sugar, dark fruit, and a touch of oak are all rockin the party.

M Creamy, very sticky and chewy, heavy body, medium carbonation

A Alcoholic warmth stretches from the tongue all the way down to the stomach. Spices, sweet malt

C It’s like shooting a tiny whiskey filled pumpkin from a cannon straight into your mouth, and the only degree of danger exists in the form of deliciousness. I really appreciate that they’re not trying to hide the alcohol, and actually use it to their advantage. There’s a ton of flavor here, and it’ll overwhelm you if you’re not prepared. I also appreciate the use of hops. Most other pumpkin beer I’ve had is usually all about the sweeter, malty, sugary side of the spectrum. Not an everyday drinker, but I’d buy one at least once a season.

FP Roasted pumpkin seeds, vanilla cream pie, spaghetti alla carbonara

Leffe Blonde

While evaluating a beer, it’s important to keep the brewer's intentions in mind. If the brewer’s goal is to create something light and mildly sweet, you can’t bash it for lacking hop bitterness and tons of flavor. There’s a lot of domestic beer bashing in the craft beer world, of which I am plenty guilty. But that’s more about bashing a giant corporation with a death grip on the market than how the beer they produce tastes. America’s taste buds may be shifting toward more flavorful craft beer, but that doesn't mean adjunct-filled beer doesn't have a place. 

My typical drinking style is having between 1 and 3 flavorful craft brews in a sitting. But if you’re at a party and you're in for a session, I guarantee you’re not going to want to sling back double IPAs all night. It's hard on the taste buds, and on the wallet. Plus, there’s nothing worse than bringing really good beer to a party and having it disappear from the fridge before you can grab a second bottle. It’s fine if you intended to share, but it still makes that bud light you have to grab instead taste so… untasty.

Speaking of brewer's intentions, it's absolutely necessary that you drink from beer specific glassware if you want the best experience from your beer. Each style delivers best from a specific matching glass, and some brewers even create a glass style for a specific beer. The best beer bars will only serve beer in the appropriate branded glass, and some won't serve you that beer if they don't have any matching glasses available at the time. If you're interested in why using proper beer glassware is so important, check this out.

I mentioned a few posts ago that I love thrift shopping. Today I was out looking for a halloween costume and came across a Leffe glass. Exciting! Good thing my next stop was a thrift store right next to a liquor store. I grabbed a Leffe to enjoy later in my new Leffe glass before continuing my costume hunt, which was successful. Time to celebrate!

Leffe Blonde

BG Poured from an 11.2 fl oz bottle (330ml) into a Leffe chalice, 6.6%ABV, Best before 11/17/2015

A Straw in color and brilliantly clear. Two fingers of snow white foam rest on top with great retention. The lacing is even and coats the glass like frost. It’s quite beautiful.

A Bubblegum, uncooked bread dough, wildflowers, light berries

T Honey, more bubblegum, cracked wheat, yeast phenols, clove, a dash of nutmeg, a little bit of adjunct

M Medium carbonation, light body, some creaminess

A Sweet honey and the slightest hint of bitterness

C This is an ideal blonde. There’s not a lot going on here, but there’s enough to keep me interested. I can’t say it would be my go-to beer, but I would certainly consider it after a few stronger Belgians when I want to give my taste buds a rest. There’s a lot of sweet bubblegum character from the yeast, and a little breadiness, too. Did I mention how pretty it looks in its own specific glass?

FP Lightly fried mozzarella sticks with marinara dipping sauce, chocolate covered pretzels, squid salad with herb vinaigrette

Last thing - it's pronounced "Leff". The second "e" is silent. =)

Trappist Rochefort 8

No other style of beer has repeatedly impressed and surprised me more than Belgian beer. The complexity and attention to detail for every aspect of each beer is never a disappointment. My expectations are surpassed every single time. I feel that absolutes, like the words "never" and "always", are used too frequently in American culture as an exaggeration, and subsequently lose their impact for truly absolute description. But I mean them here as the original intention and potency of the word. I've never had a beer from Belgium that I wasn't in love with. Some American or non-Belgian country interpretations may have left me wanting, but anything from Belgium is pure gold. End fan-girl talk.

Trapistes Rochefort 8 Belgian Strong Dark Ale

BG Poured from an 11.2 fl oz bottle (330ml) into a stemmed tulip, 9.2%ABV, Best before 11/27/2018 - wow!

A Deep copper/brown in color with a cloudy appearance. 2.5 fingers of tan, super airy head tops the beer and gradually settles to a thin film that’s constantly replenished by bubbles from the bottom of the glass. Lacing is plentiful and pretty.

A Bready malt, molasses, sour yeast phenols, clove, spice, touch of banana, ginger

T Surprisingly light, lemon, rye bread, ginger snaps, brown sugar, initially sweet and then a very dry finish, hint of roasted malt, alcohol is well hidden

M Highly carbonated, tiny bubbles zap every part of my mouth like pop rocks, light body

A Spice and a bit of nutty malt

C After testing the appearance and aroma of this beer, I was expecting something fairly malty and a tad sweet. That was a portion of what I experienced in the taste, but the presentation was so different and more exciting than what I expected. It’s malty sweet on the front, extremely dry on the finish, and super carbonated. These aren’t big, belchy, adjunct bubbles, but tight little bubbles that tingle and tantalize. This isn’t isn’t even my favorite beer. I would absolutely love to travel to Belgium next year and make a big beer event of it. I can’t wait to try more Rochefort selections.

FP Lightly spicy hoisin glazed wings, BBQ chicken pizza, churros

Sierra Nevada/Russian River BRUX

Today I sampled something I've been storing in my fridge for about a month. After yesterday, I've been dying to give a Russian River sour another chance. Even though this isn't the same beer, I thought it might help with redemption. And I believe it did.

Sierra Nevada BRUX Domesticate Wild Ale - Collaboration with Russian River

BG Poured from a 1 pt 9.4 fl oz (751ml) cork & cage bottle into a stemmed tulip, 8.3% ABV

Bottled On 02/21/12 (yeah, 2012)

A Pale gold in color with a tiny light tan head that dissipates quickly. However, a thin ring of bubbles holds tightly to the edge of the glass. There’s a little bit of haze from the bottled yeast.

A Pears, sour apples, tart candy, brett, golden raisins, white grapes, lemon

T Fairly dry, little bit of funk that’s more like gouda than bleu cheese, lemon, green grassy notes, white bread crust, white cherries

M Light carbonation that tingles the tongue, light body

A Funky gouda, light malt

C I consider this a great beginners sour beer. It’s light enough to not offend, but holds enough character to familiarize the consumer with the traits of a sour beer. At the same time, it’s tasty enough for the experienced brett drinker, but also not high enough in alcohol (some are about 13%) to make you count your caps. In the craft beer world, there are quite a few brews that are either too rich or too high in ABV to have more than a few, but BRUX is an easy drinker and won’t put you on your keester.

FP White chocolate peach cobbler, three cheese pizza (gouda, mozz, muenster), soft pretzel

This particular bottle presented me with yet another hunt to decipher the date code. If you check on this great site that lists the key to figuring out date codes, you'll find it was actually bottled on 02/21/12. This picture should do the trick.

My bottle looks like this...

It's hard to believe this beer was bottled over 2.5 years ago, but that's what it says!

Russian River Consecration and Local Finds

Today I stopped by the DABC to look for a few new/seasonal brews. As previously mentioned, I've been looking forward to Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin, and I finally found it along with a few other delectables.

I'm super excited that Ninkasi from Eugene, OR is finally offered in Utah liquor stores! I've had both of these before, and look forward to giving them a closer look this time around. I threw a Trappist Rochfort 8 in there too, because why not?

I really wanted to give the smashed pumpkin a go when I got home, but the DABC clearly doesn't know the first thing about properly keeping beer, and keeps everything out on the warm floor. That means everything I buy needs some refrigerated love before touching these lips. It's ok though, because I have some older bottles that require my attention.

Russian River Consecration Barrel Aged Sour Ale

BG Poured from a 12.86 fl oz (375ml) cork & cage bottle into a stemmed tulip, 10% ABV, Bottled On 05/23/14, Aged in cabernet sauvignon barrels for 4-8 months with currants added

A Brown in color with reddish/copper hues and a light tan head. Not a lot of lacing is left behind as I sip.

A Oh my! This is really complex… tart cherries, black currant, booze, brett, barnyard funk, fruit leather, red wine

T I’m immediately slapped with sharp sourness, especially on the backsides of my tongue and cheeks. There’s a little bit of lactic acid, red wine, even some meaty flavors on the finish. Funk and fresh leaf tobacco are present as well.

M Almost no carbonation at all, which I think is very wanted. My cheeks are left aching after I swallow. It’s so puckering I have a hard time searching for flavor while my mouth struggles with not turning inside out.

A Meaty flavors maybe from autolysis, harsh tartness is long lasting

C Between the lack of carbonation and meaty flavors, I’m thinking maybe there’s something off with this particular bottle. If you look at my picture, you'll note the lack of head. A cork and cage type of bottle usually reads to me as "pour with extreme care" because of the supposed extra carbonation in the bottle. But this one had almost none. Overall, it lacks balance, and is incredibly harsh. There’s some cool flavor combinations here, but they just don’t work well in this bottle. I’d love to try it again and see if this bottle may have been off.

FP Cherry bread pudding, sweet and sour chicken and rice, NY steak and garlic mashed

potatoes

Consecration wasn't a a pumpkin ale, or even a seasonal, but it was extremely spooky. 

As I swirled the beer in my glass, this spooky face appeared not only once, but several times. This is a picture of the first. The second time it happened, I tried to take another picture, but instead fumbled my phone like an idiot, spilling half of the contents onto my slippers and the carpet. Between the potential off flavors, lack of carbonation, spooky face, and spillage, I'd say this particular brew was more of a trick than a treat.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

My beer stash from Erik's recent California trip has begun to run low, and I find myself with a fridge full of imperial stouts, a couple Pliney, and a few other stragglers. I haven't been to the DABC in a few weeks (state-run liquor store for you non-Utah people), and I've got a few brews in mind that I'd like to get. Epic just came out with a new Amarillo Hopped pale ale, I have yet to try Uinta Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin, and Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin might be at the DABC now as well. I'm looking forward to all of those. But for now, I have to get through what I've got. Luckily enough, one of those happens to be a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. Yum!

Please note: This is not a pumpkin beer. The pumpkin is simply in the picture for seasonal aesthetics. =)

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

BG Poured from a 12 fl oz (355 ml) bottle into a stemmed tulip, 9% ABV, Bottled 07/17/14

A Gold to light amber in color, and brilliantly clear. There’s only about one finger of white head, even with a fairly vigorous pour. Lovely sheets of lace stretch out on the glass as I drink.

A Piney hops, biscuit malt, citrus rind, pizzelle cookies, tangerines, green grass

T Fresh baked bread crust, super juicy citrus hops, pound cake, valencia orange, sweet biscotti, slightly vegetal, spice

M A little tart on the back sides of the tongue, light body, med-high carbonation

A Burnt bread crust, citric acid

C I was excited for this brew, not only because it’s one of the best imperial IPAs in the country, but because I’ve been working through a case of Pliny the Elder, and couldn’t wait to compare the two. The most stark contrast is the amount of malt character in the 90 minute IPA. It’s biscuity, and way sweeter. But it still has those citric hop notes. It’s like taking a big ol’ bite out of and orange, citrus juices rolling down your chin. Pliney paid very little attention to malt, and ran with the citrus hop character all the way, but much less with the sweetness. The one thing I appreciate most about beer is variety. Both of these brews are in the same style, but also so very different. I love it! 90 minute is a delicious and unique representation of an American Imperial IPA. It’s certainly one of my first picks at a liquor store out of state. If you have constant access to either, take advantage and consider yourself lucky!

FP Sticky bun with blood orange glaze, rocket lettuce salad with pine nuts, cranberries, and a sweet citrus vinaigrette, pepperoni mushroom pizza

Epic Fermentation Without Representation Imperial Pumpkin Porter

This beer speaks for itself, so let's just get right into it...

Epic Fermentation Without Representation Imperial Pumpkin Porter - Collaboration with DC Brau Brewing Company

BG Poured from a 650ml bottle into a stemmed tulip, release #18, 8.6% ABV, the website says this release was brewed July 21st, 2014 and bottled August 1st, 2014.

A Black in color with two fingers of tan head. It leaves wisps of lacing that sparkle like frosted window panes. When held up to the light, it reveals a reddish/copper hue.  

A If there was such a thing as a pumpkin chocolate bar, like a reeses cup with pumpkin filling, this would be the liquid form. Even amounts of chocolate malt and pumpkin spice, super sweet pumpkin pie filling, a touch of floral hops for balance, s'mores, hint of gingerbread, nuts, there might even be some peanut butter in there

T Oh wow… I don’t wanna write anymore. I just want to drink this. Chocolate fluff, pumpkin filling that has been whipped in a kitchen aid mixer with cream and sugar for an hour, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, then it turns dark: roasted walnuts, marzipan, burnt chocolate chip cookies, a little bit of hop bitterness, toasted pumpkin seeds, coffee

M Incredibly creamy roundness. This might be my favorite mouthfeel ever!

A Almost burnt pumpkin pie, espresso beans

C I’ve never considered myself a pumpkin ale fan, but this is actually phenomenal! Again, pumpkin flavors work so well with darker beers. I like it over Wasatch Black O’Lantern, which I love. This beer scores high in every aspect. It’s visually appealing, provides you with a great journey of well-balanced sweet/bitter flavors, and gives a long, pleasant finish. I think the only bad thing I can say about it is it might be a touch too sweet for me to drink an entire bomber by myself. But that’s just my personal preference. If I could recommend any pumpkin beer to you, this would be it.

FP There’s a contrasting food pairing here somewhere that I know would be the sh!t. I’m thinking something salty - sesame sticks, cheesy fries, even some regular potato chips. There’s a peanut butter to this jelly out there, and I need to find it. I think a similar flavor pairing might be too sweet and overwhelm the palate, which is why I think something very salty would be sinfully good. I’ll start pairing and keep you updated...

Racking to Secondary Fermenter Day and Ayinger Oktoberfest-Marzen

I started brewing my first batch of beer on 10/10/14, seven days ago. I've been taking note of the amount of bubbles per minute over the past few days in order to figure out the best time to rack (siphon) to the secondary fermenter. The bubble frequency shown in the air lock allows me to judge the yeast activity. Primary fermentation is the time during which the yeast eats up all of the glucose and maltose. These are the quickest and easiest sugars for the yeast to digest, sometimes creating a violent fermentation that can blow the top off of the fermenting vessel. After the easy sugars are eaten, the yeast goes after the maltotriose. This is when fermentation slows waaaay down. It will be another week or two before all yeast activity has ceased. Only a few consistent hydrometer readings will tell the full truth, but we'll get to that later on.

Yesterday, there were 5 bubbles per minute, and today there were only about 2. That means it's time to rack to the secondary fermenter! Racking means siphoning liquid from one vessel to another. Just like with the brewing process, I took the best of all my reading materials and made a step by step list for myself. This stage of the brewing process is quite straight forward, so there wasn't much room for confusion. Here are the steps I followed:

2. Racking to Secondary Fermenter Day

1. Clean
1. Entire Work Space
2. Clean & Sanitize
1. Carboy
2. Rubber Plug
3. Auto-Siphon & Vinyl Tubing
3. Retain sanitizer for after the PF (primary fermenter) has been cleaned
4. Attach vinyl tubing to auto-siphon
5. Place PF on the counter, and SF (secondary fermenter) on the ground
6. Remove the airlock from the PF and place in sanitizer
7. Remove the lid from the PF
8. Slowly place the auto-siphon into the beer, and the other end of vinyl tubing in the bottom of the SF
9. Pump the auto-siphon until the beer starts to flow into the SF, making sure to leave behind the yeast cake/trub on the bottom of the PF
10. Once finished, remove the vinyl tubing from the SF
11. Place the rubber plug and sanitized airlock on top
12. Place SF in cool, dark place
13. Immediately clean and sanitize all equipment

As with just about everything in the brewing process so far, it took me twice as long to do all of this than I thought it would. I've done a bit more cleaning this time around than I'll do in the future (getting the kit second hand = lots of cleaning to start). Next time it will be a bit quicker because of less cleaning, and more experience.

And I'll tag this on because why the hell not? I didn't try this beer today, but I wanted to share my notes because it's truly the best Oktoberfest out there in my opinion. Definitely grab it if you have the chance!

Ayinger Oktoberfest-Marzen

BG 9/5/14

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a stemmed tulip, 5.8% ABV, no dates on the bottle

A Amber in color, eggshell white head with great retention, stunning tiny wisps of lacing, lots of constantly rising bubbles, very clear

A Very light aroma, biscuit malt forward, little bit of yeast tang, sourdough

T Biscuit malt again, but also notes of dried fruit, bread crust, earl grey, spicy hops

M Med-high carbonation, light body, pillowy/fluffy on the tongue - especially the backsides, effervescence

A Clean lager finish, beautiful balance of those spicy hops and biscuit malt lightly lingering

C I've read many times about Oktoberfest beer, and have long understood its purpose as a seasonal autumn beer that bridges the gap between a summery, light hefeweizen and a chewy winter stout. But it was not until this beer that I truly grasped the idea. It's light enough to session, but has those gorgeous hints of fall and winter flavor yet to come. The spicy hops and biscuit malt remind me of Thanksgiving and Christmas without the blunt qualities of pumpkin ale or even something as bold as Samichlaus. What a lightbulb moment this beer is! I can see the leaves turning, and the distant (but not too distant) ringing of sleigh bells. But not yet! Eureka! Oktoberfest!

FP The whole damn fall gamut - apple pie, turkey, pumpkin everything