The Autumn season is upon us and breweries are rollling out that oft debated brew, the Pumpkin Beer. Well, some breweries rolled them out in July, but that’s a different issue.
Done right, a pumpkin brew can capture the spirit of the season like nothing else. Done wrong, and you can end up grimacing your way through a bottle of liquid potpourri and artificial gourd flavor. Luckily, Columbus knows a thing or two about brewing, so it should come as no surprise that there are several options to choose from when it’s time to get your alcoholic punkin’ on, including Elevator’s Pumpkin Ale, Smokehouse’s Punkt, Sideswipe’s Squashing Pumpkins, and Wolf’s Ridge’s Pi. And, in true Columbus craft beer fashion, they’re all tasty as hell.
Elevator Pumpkin Ale
Elevator’s offering is a modest little brew with the quaint and simplistic name of “Pumpkin Ale”. It begins with a bouquet of subtle cracker malts and mildly nutty pumpkin, before adding a touch of pie spices (mainly cinnamon and nutmeg) to compliment its malt/gourd base. A touch of dark fruits arrives at the end of each breath to add a faint sweetness, before fading away to nothingness. On the tongue it flows bright and crisp, arriving with toasted malts and the slightest trace of raisins. The pumpkin shows up next, contributing a nuttiness that is mildly sweet and slightly savory, as well as a Goldilocks level of pumpkin. Faint notes of cinnamon and nutmeg arrive with the gourd, complimenting it nicely before fading beneath a heavier bread malt profile that arrives at the end. A touch of bitterness finishes each drink, clearing it from the tongue before the spices have a chance to overpower. Overall, a simple pumpkin brew with a super tasty delivery.
Smokehouse Punkt Imperial Pumpkin Porter
On the opposite side of the pumpkin spectrum is Punkt, a beefy seasonal porter with an aroma of savory pumpkin, cinnamon, and roasted malts, made even better by a generous portion of chocolate malt. This adds a sweetness that wraps around the mild smoke and roast of the pumpkin, creating a wonderful balance and making it almost impossible to pull your nose away. As tantalizing as the aroma is, the flavors are about five times as fantastic, rockin’ the party with big pumpkin and controlled pie spicing, as well as a streak of chocolate in each taste that’ll make you want to high five your tongue because of how damn tasty it is (the smokey sweetness of the chocolate is the Chewbaca to the pumpkin’s Han Solo. Or the Bert to the pumpkin’s Ernie, if you’re less nerdy). Roasted malts and a touch of burnt caramel sweetness fill in beneath, pushing the chocolate and pumpkin to the top while providing a tasty base to build upon. A decent alcohol oomph is present throughout the entire drink, but it stays expertly masked beneath the flavors. This is a huge beer that presents delicious complexity and wonderful flavor matching, without resorting to forcing a pumpkin down your throat. Bonus: Smokehouse will be offering a bourbon barrel-aged, firkin-delivered version of this, (which goes by the name of Banshee), starting this Friday, and then on nitro-tap shortly thereafter.
Sideswipe Squashing Pumpkins
Sideswipe’s Squashing Pumpkins is a new seasonal ale made with roasted Ohio butternut squash, pumpkins and spices. On the nose, it arrives as mild bread and cracker malts, immediately followed by a savory nuttiness courtesy of the squash. A gentle breeze of cinnamon and cloves compliment the squash without sending your olfactory system into spice rack overload. Each breath ends with a touch of vanilla and caramel sweetness, before fading away. The flavors are much the same, though the freshness of the squash is evident from the first drop. A cinnamon vibe shows up early as well, largely due to the use of whole cinnamon sticks in each batch. Roasted nuttiness and cracker malts make up the majority of each taste, with clove complimenting the cinnamon and settling on top of the floral gourd flavors quite nicely. A touch of earth arrives to keep the sweetness down, which allows the freshness of the squash and pumpkin to rise to the top. A few drops of caramel arrive near the end, before the beer’s crispness clears the tongue of most flavor, leaving only a lingering cinnamon aftertaste. Squashing Pumpkins offers up a complex brew that holds everything in check from start to finish. It’s also the only pumpkin beer brewed in Columbus that is bottled.
Wolf’s Ridge Pi
Wolf’s Ridge’s Pi is made from roasted and smoked pumpkins and super-charged with seasonal magic. The aroma begins as a mixture of nutty pumpkin and toasty bread, before tossing some spices into the mix (cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and a hint of clove). At the end, a touch of smoke and a dash of vanilla settle in at the sides, complimenting the spices perfectly without obscuring the pumpkin notes. On the tongue, the smoked pumpkin starts things off, held aloft by a roasty malt base, and garnished with mild spicing. Vanilla and oak work from the sides, delivering a subtle yet noticeable aged quality. A pinch of caramel sweetness is countered by faint notes of burnt toffee, before finishing with hints of raisins. The pumpkin remains front and center throughout the entire drink, with the side notes adding tasty layers and wonderful sub-flavors. And, at 8%, this one will deliver a decent kick to keep the Autumn chills at bay.
Though pumpkin brews aren’t everyone’s favorite, these four are tasty enough to put a smile on the face of even the most die-hard anti-pumpkin drinker. They’ll also make for the perfect consolation drink after your “hidden hand in the bowl of candy” trick fails to scare any of the children in your neighborhood this Halloween (next time just wear a yeti mask and jump out of the bushes). Regardless of the reason, you owe it to yourself and your tongue to give these brews a try. To ignore them is like slapping Mother Nature in the face, and that’s a surefire way to earn an ass-kicking from Captain Planet.
