Saranac Pumpkin

Matt Brewing Co.
Utica, NY
Pumpkin Ale

I admit I’m not really a fan of pumpkin beers, but Saranac rarely veers too far off course.

The color is amber and gold, certainly reminiscent of a pumpkin with touches of orange and red. The head is decent, but quick to dissipate in the wider mouth of the Imperial pint.

The nose is very much like pumpkin pie. Gingerbread and brown sugar dominate, while subtler touches of clove-like sharpness and cinnamon waft around the glass. This seems to be softened by a hint of vanilla.

The mouthfeel is excellent. The body is full and the effervescence is constant and even. Fortunately, there is none of the coying sweetness that one might expect from something that smells so much like pie. There are a good amount of hops in there to kick the pumpkin sweetness down a notch or two.

This isn’t one of those heavier pumpkin ales that seems nothing more than fermented pumpkin puree. The beer is a bit earthy, but has a really good balance of sweetness, spice, and hop bitters. The pumpkin is far more subtler than you might expect and I give Saranac credit for crafting an interesting ale without going too far. Big beer is great, but sometimes a softer touch is necessary to produce a really quaffable brew.

Appalachian Trail Blaze

Appalachian Brewing Co.
Harrisburg, PA
Trail Blaze Organic Brown Ale

An even pour gives a bouncing light beige head which begins to sit quickly but looks as though it will maintain good lacing. The clarity is excellent and the effervescence is lively and erratic in upward cascades.

The color is cola or root beer with a touch of orange. When not held to the light, it appears brown and slightly murky. The nose is cocoa and malt, wet bread with a touch of damp mud – a nice earthiness that belies the sweet gingerbread malts and toasted caramel. Light hops are evident as a slight fruitiness – almost like fresh strawberries.

The mouthfeel is good and the beer has some bite – more than you’d expect from a brown. The initial flavor is soft bread, followed by a roasted, almost burnt caramel. The hops take over just before you’re put off by the blackened toast quality.

The aftertaste is slight acrid, so it’s not quite a successful brown in my book. There should be a roasted finish as there is in Casco Bay’s brown, or a total smoothness, as in Newkie, but this one doesn’t quite hit the bottle on the cap, so to speak. The lacing is pretty good, starting as illegible cursive and moving eventually to wide, Pollock swaths.

I hate to be disparaging about any beer – and I enjoyed ABCs  Susquehanna  Stout – but this one needs some tweaking.

Nevertheless, cheers.

Casco Bay Brown Ale

Casco Bay Brewing Co.
Portland, ME
Brown Ale

As I recall (which is “not very well”) Adi and I tried this brew during our Winter ‘09 Unemployment Taste Test. Of course, I have not written up those notes yet but I will soon. More on that later. Casco is one of Shipyard’s labels. They also do Pumpkinhead and the Sea Dog line.

An even, not too careful pour elicits a good half- or three-quarter-inch light tan head that his rocky but not too lively or aggressive and settles nicely. The clarity is exquisite – clear and crisp, highlighting the deep plum-and-cola color.

The nose is all sweet milk chocolate and caramel, very much a malty ale. There is a powdery aspect to the aroma, if that makes sense, which comes across as honeysuckle and toffee.

The taste is very clean and crisp. The mouthfeel is excellent, cool and creamy but not in the least bit heavy. The flavor starts with a faint biscuit quality but becomes deeper and more cocoa-like in a hurry. There are touches of orange spice in the hops, but really this is a wonderfully crisp and refreshing brown ale. It is somewhat creamier than a Newkie, and possesses that chocolate note that Newcastle doesn’t really have, but its smooth, just BARELY perceptible touch of roasted grain is just perfect.

The lacing finishes in an Arabic webbing that really rounds out a splendid foray into a very interesting, eminently drinkable ale. Cheers to Casco/Shipyard!