Silver Moon Twisted Gourd

Brewed by Silver Moon Brewing
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Bend, Oregon USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

22. Pours a cloudy dark brown with a loose tan head and light stringy lace. Big sharp pie spice nose, lots of caramel, molasses, and shortbread under that. The spices are sharp and very slightly prickly on the nose, a bit bitey. Creamy medium body, going a bit watery in spots. Under-carbonated by a bit. Caramel and dates on the mid-palate to some degree, but, mostly an awful, awful lot of pie spices. I think it’s the cardamom that’s so harsh here; it gets almost a black pepper quality near the end and has a real acetic pucker at the finish. Not like a minerally gueuze, but, still, startlingly so for a pumpkin beer. I think some carbonation, a little more malt complexity, and a little less spice intensity can make this very, very appealing.

This 22 ounce bottle was a shared tasting with Strykzone via Facebook chat. This beer pours a clear orange color with a cream colored head with gold highlights. The nose is very spicy with nutmeg and cloves, and lots of pumpkin a hint of citrus hops. The body is light and the mouthfeel is lively. The flavor mirrors the aroma but the pumpkin now dominates the spices. The spiced are quite distinct in the finish which all comes together into a quite delightful pumpkin beer.

22 ounce bottle from Hayduke with whom I am enjoying this via Facebook chat. This beer pours the color of weak tea with a light golden head. Aroma is very nice spice with nutmeg leading, pumpkin and soft citrus hops. Flavor is much the same except the spice that gets muddled. They come back in the aftertaste which is quite nice. Feel is quite nice when some foam is included but is a bit thin otherwise. This was one of the better pumpkin beers as I have tried. It would make for a great Fall beer.

22oz bottle from John’s. Pours a good looking clear golden copper with a good size dense looking white head. Nose is very much natural gourd aroma with a big blast of clove, nutmeg and cinnamon...underneath is a crisp cracker maltiness that may add just a tiny touch of sweetness. Tons of pepper and clove spice up front with lots of pale lager characteristics and just moderate to light pumpkin flavor. As 5000 mentions, this does fall off quickly and the flavor just doesn’t deliver on the aroma.

Bottle:   Hazy amber, moderate to large head, fairly frothy, off-white head, sparce lacing.   Sweet citrusy spiced nose.   Pumpkin spices but has a sweet citrusy flair to it.   Nutmeg and cinnamon spices up front, malty, slight pumpkin pie on the backside.   Moderate body and mouthfeel.   A little pumpkin mealiness on the backside.   Somewhat falls off quickly from the start.   Not bad, decent nose up front, flavorful start, but falls off too quickly.

The Twisted Gourd has a nice light copper color, a bit hazy with a moderate amount of head. The body is light, weak palate, a bit lacking in substance and too reminiscent of cheap lager. Plenty of pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin fruit. It’s not a bad effort and it’s hard not to give a go at pumpkin ale in the autumn, but this one could use some more refinement to make a really good ale.