Grand River Highballer Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by Grand River Brewing
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Cambridge, Canada

Draught. Clear light orange with a small white head. Very fragrant sweet pumpkin aroma, soft spices, and oranges. Soapy, decent palate. Refreshing and unique infusion of pumpkin and peach sweetness with a citric touch. I enjoyed this.
C’est What, Toronto. 2007.09.28

growler from the brewery. pours orange with a small white head and little carbonation. aromas of nutmeg, cinnimon, peach, pumpkin and hops. it is basically liquified autum in a glass. a malt backbone provides the balance for the other flavours to cascade around in a dizzying display of delicious complexity. my wife simply stated "that is the best beer ive ever had!". I wont go as far as that but this is an excellent brew. the continued consistancy of steller top-notch products that come from this brewer and un-matched in this area. 5 for 5 so far! I cant wait for the christmas ale.

Draught. At C’est What Beer thing September 2007. Clear light copper with a small white head. Decent aroma of pumpkin pie spices (not actual pumpkin, really) and light rye. Mild, sweet and spicy flavour, not as pumpkin-y as the aroma - just spicy and sweet. Light, almost watery body, with a very quick finish. This one didn’t impress me that much.

Draught at ’C’est What? Festival of Small Breweries’. Pours a clear amber-orange with a small diminishing white head. Aroma of pumpkin, spices, more fruit and light hops. Flavour of pumpkin, bready malt, light spices and light hops. Average to medium bodied. Pretty good, a well done Pumpkin Ale.

On tap at Cest What
Appearance :Clear copper gold with small top.
Nose :Neat pumpkin aroma, clean straight nose.
Flavour/Palate : Medium bodied. Clean well used malt with balanced dose of pumpkin extract. Fruity finish, berry like. Gentle hop reminder at very end.

I tried this at the C’est What fall festival and had a chance to speak to the brewer. He said this was their first pass, and they’d be adding more flavour when they filtered. The Amarillo hops have certainly yeilded some fruityness.... A: Amber-bronze, no head.... S: Nectarine, pumpkin spice, bready malt.... T: Bready, nectarine, pumpkin, very light spicing, fairly bitter (somewhat surprising).... M: Moderate body, smooth, dry finish, moderate carbonation.... D: Nice drinkability.

Growler straight from the brewery. Pours a nice copper colour, with a small beige head that almost has a tinge of orange. The aroma is of pumpkin pie, ginger, and hops. The taste is a blend of some spices and hops, not much in the way of malts. I find that the most dominate flavours seem to be ginger, clove and pumpkin, but you may find that the pumpkin only comes through at first in the finish and aftertaste. When it warms the pumpkin becomes more evident. The mouth-feel is smoother than the other GRB ales. I wish I didn’t have to travel so far to get their beers, but once again GRB has provided me with an outstanding beer, at a decent price. Unlike anything I’ve tried before.

Fresh sample from the brewery: A shimmering dark amber-gold in color with a decent 2 finger white cap Aroma is distinct and interesting...you get spice (cinnamin/nutmeg) over some fruity esters ( peach-strawberry) and a nice whiff of crystal malt that carries the musty botanical tones of pumpkin. Pumpkin is less defined in the flavor which is a very tasteful blend of spices and savory hops, bready-sweet malts with light fruit/pumpkin tones...all in a extraordinary balance where none over power the other. Finishes slightly bitter but pleasant. The 5.2% ABV makes this a satisfying and more substantial ale. A very decent ale and a good attempt for this brewer’s first specialty offering. My favorite ale from GRB so far.