Cape Ann Fishermans Pumpkin Stout

Brewed by Cape Ann Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Gloucester, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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Draught pint at Sunset Grill on 10/6/07
Deep coal black with perhaps a touch of deep auburn-mahogany. Dark beige head is small and fizzles to nothing, leaving no lacing. Medium-low clarity.
Sharp spice shoots up the nostrils, definitely some cinnamon-nutmeg and quite dry. It recovers with some light caramel and cookie dough-like sugars, but only briefly, before a very ashen black malt astringency shuts off any sweetness and really kills the aroma. Some pumpkin notes trickle through, with more spices, but there isn’t anywhere near enough beer flavor. Not overdone on spices, other than up front, and not overdone on pumpkin either, but just because things arent overdone, as I always say, dosent mean they’re particularly good. I don’t find much else here. Some chocolate comes through with warming, but it’s way too much dark malt. No flaws or alcohol.
Somewhat better in the flavor, with some soft slippery textures and lightly sweet choco-caramel. Spices are quite pronounced though, and hang on the finish, dulling the beer character. Very ashy, and char-like, with little pumpkin character. Just not enough malt suppleness for a stout. Traces of vanilla, light smoke and ash linger. No alcohol or flaws.
Looks like the bottles are MUCH better.

12oz bottle from Premier Gourmet. Opaque black with a large fluffy/foamy tan lasting head. Mmmmmm - deep roast and pumpkin spicing - that’s lovely! Taste is a bit weird - same as aroma, but some bacon and ... campfire - not much alcohol. Average body, some astringency from the dry spice, subtle finish. I liked this a lot - and nice that it’s in a small bottle.

Bottle, winter beer tasting. Pours opaque black, sour-rotten nose, milk in the mouth, sour and weird. sweet and short finish. Love stout, love pumpkin, but the two didn’t mix well.

An average pumpkin beer which lacks the thick creamy palate that the imperial version has. Taste is pleasent and spicy with notes of chocolate and lactosey? sweetness.

12 oz, dry and bittery roasted. Some pumpkin flavors and spices but the roasted malts really take over. I remember this having a lot more body. Oh well.

Bottle at a winter beers tasting at Norma Jean. Very dark brown to black with a beige head. Sweet and sour aroma with a bit of pumpkin, spiciness, a bit of smoky notes, light roastiness, milky notes and other weird stuff. Sweetish flavor with light roastiness, sweet spiciness and a drier finish. Medium-bodied. Pretty weird.

oh man was this good, stout like with delicous pumpkin spice, why isnt this more common, a sweet stout with pumpkin? could have it everyday and not get sick of it.

Aroma is more pumpkin than stout, with a little cinnamon and yeast. Flavor starts like a typical stout with malt and a little chocolate. Nice, creamy mouthfeel, and pumpkin and spice come back in the finish. This is the way seasonals should be--really good, solid base beer with something a little different thrown in.

Pours a two-fingered light cream head that fades quickly to a ring leaving some lace. Black color, no highlights. Medium carbonation and medium-heavy bodied. Light chocolate/pumpkin nose and flavor is almost sweet pumpkin and chocolate. $2.25 for a 12oz bottle from Julio’s Liquors Westborough, Ma.

The stout pours dark chestnut brown with a dark tan head. The aroma is delicious light sweet pumpkin, not roasted malts as expected. The flavor sweet malts, spices, and a very light blend of subtle roasted malts and earthy pumpkin. The body is more ale than stout unfortunately.

I poured a 12oz bottle into a stout glass.

Appearance: Typical stout cosmetic features of opaque black body, a large, khaki-colored frothy head which retains well but doesn’t lace.

Smell: Mild pumpkin ale aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin. Slightly sweet dairy-like scents often found in a milk stout as well.

Taste: Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout is one of those beers that walks the tightrope off being a genuine, unique brew and a novelty act. It wouldn’t seem that pumpkin and stout would work, but they definitely do in the case of this beer. But that’s not to say it’s anything spectacular.

The palate begins with two distinct stages: the first is by-the-book pumpkin ale with light spices and a gentle sweetness. It’s definitely in the pumpkin potpourri style of beer, not the liquid pumpkin pie type. The second half by-the-book stout - a milky, velvety taste and texture with a quick burst of roasted malts and bitterness. But as I drink on the two halves homogenize into one and create for a pub-style stout with subtle pumpkin potpourri flavors. Not that this is bad, but when you combine two otherwise mild palates you end up with one big mild palate. So there’s some uniqueness to it, obviously, but there’s just not enough flavor to garner anything more than a simple "pass" from me.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, tepid, soft, milky texture. Mild dry aftertaste.

Drinkability: I had no idea that Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout was 7% ABV while I was drinking it (I hate it when brewers don’t put it on the bottle). From the mild palate and complete lack of alcohol presence I assumed it was closer to 4 or 5%. So in one aspect this beer should get extra accolades from me for masking its alcohol so well. But on the other hand, with so much potential energy it doesn’t seem to capitalize on it