Post Road Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Brooklyn, New York USA

12 oz. bottle from Ludlow Wines. Pours a clear amber color with a small white head that leaves a film on the beer all the way down. Aroma of nutmeg, cinammon, caramel, honey, and apple- it smells a lot like pumpkin pie. Flavor of apple, mild spices- cinnamon, nutmeg, and other fall spices- stale apples, sweet malts. Light bodied, with an apple juice mouthfeel. Too thin and watered down. Most of the spice comes across in the nose. Cinammon and nutmeg finish.

Great stuff. All-spice, berry, clove, cinnimon, and of course pumpkin. They really pulled off the fall style on this one. Looks appatizing with a good sized white head atop a clear burgundy body. Nice medium bodied beer. You really have to like spicy fall beers to enjoy this one.

Pours an orangish yellow, with moderate white to off white head. I smell mostly spice, primarily cinnamon. I do sense some pine essence also. There isn't an explosion of flavor by any stretch at the start. I do taste the cinnamon that I smelled, and some nutmeg/all-spice. The pumpkin is very subtle and is evident in the finish. Not the best pumpkin ale that I have sampled, but it isn't terrible either.

As I sit here at the end of November, listening to a Christmas CD, I ponder the true meanings of the season, the holidays, and the delight of a holiday brew. I am growing ever more impressed with the consistent quality and diversity of the beers Brooklyn Brewery makes and so it is with great anticipation that I delve into their contribution to the fall pumpkin beer scene: Post Road Pumpkin.
An amber orange body fills my glass while a thick cream-colored head tops her brew. She fades slowly into a thin layer on top, leaving traces of brussels lace along the way. As her head fades, a bouquet of warm winter spices and aromas waft up to my nose. Cinnamon and spices, nutmeg, freshly pulped pumpkin and a hint of toasted biscuits. As I savor my first quaff, I am pleasantly surprised by her clean and mild mouthfeel. Though her nose is rich, her body is clean and easy to drink. A hint of bitterness shows up in the after bite with a citric essence. While her hops nip you in the finish, her palate is overwhelmingly a pleasing chorus of fresh cinnamon and nutmeg adorning my pumpkin as ginger dances in the background. A very well-balanced palate and body, I can feel the seasons warming my body and adding extra cheer to my spirit as I savor my Post Road Pumpkin to her very last pumpkin spiced drop.
Once again Brooklyn does not disappoint and I have thoroughly enjoyed their contribution to the Pumpkin beer scene. Maybe a bit more of a heavy chewy mouthfeel to truly bring her to the top of the pumpkin kingdom. The spices and pumpkin is there, but lacking a bit in overall meatiness and chewy pleasure. That being said, Post Road Pumpkin is still a good brew.

( 12oz bottle) Clear amber/orange with no head. Nose of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg. Taste is oddly bitter, unsweetened pumpkin, and the linger if off. I didn’t like this example of the style at all.

[355ml bottle from Tesco’s Reading] Reduced to 60p without even being anywhere need the best before date! It’s a mid brown with a slight carbonation that leaves a pleasant tingle on the tongue. For an American ale it’s surprisingly sweet, although this is well balanced with bitter hops lurking in the background. There’s a definite hint of spices here (cinnamon?) but for some reason it reminded me more of Morroccan food than of pumpkin pie! Overall I felt that this ale was a bit too light to suit the style - a deeper, richer, smokier flavour is needed to match the season it’s aimed at. All the same, not a bad beer - especially at such a bargain price!

Lots of spice and hops the pumpkin isnt nearly as prevelant as I expected. Makes for nice slow drinking on a cool New England night, not that this is actualy one of those, but I can imagine.