Starr Hill Boxcar Pumpkin Porter

Brewed by Starr Hill
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Crozet, Virginia USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Bottle. Deep brown body. Short, beige head, slowly diminishing. Aroma of roasted malts, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh vegetables. The flavor is lightly to moderately sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes lightly sweet and lightly bitter. medium body, watery texture and moderate carbonation. Combining roasted malts with spice and pumpkin produces an odd flavor. Spiced pumpkin pie with chocolate? Just OK.

Very nice beer and unusual for both apumpkin beer or Porter, mild, on both sides, easy drinking.

Pours dark brown with thin off-white head. Aroma is sweet with cinnamon and spice. Smells nice, taste...not so much. A little sweet up front but leads into a metallic twang. Thin on the palate and finishes with some astringency. Not their best stuff.

Deep rich dark brown coloured body with a thinnish tan head that tops the beer nicely and a lightly clear brown at the very bottom - around 70% opaque. Aroma of rich squash and pumpkins, a bit of alcohol, yeast, coriander seed and the very strong smell of nutmeg and allspice. Light-bodied; Sharp squash and toasty flavours up front, but a relatively watery taste soon afterwards, kind of mutes the taste. A little spices near the end, but a surprisingly understated beer, considering the pour and the smells. Aftertaste has a bit of a medicinal and slightly metallic note, with a touch of the spices and not much else. Overall, not such a strong beer, primarily due to the weak flavours and the thin body - interesting, because it seems to have a lot of potential when it comes out of the bottle. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Total Wine in Alexandria, Virginia on 09-October-2011 for US$1.49 sampled at home in Washington on 27-October-2011.

Bottle->honker: Pours a a large, brown head atop an opaque, brown body. Aroma of pumpkin and spices, which is quite pleasing. Mildly sweet, medium bodied, exhibiting not a lot of sour or bitterness; perhaps some coffee flavor in there as well, but does end ever so slightly astringently. I’ve had this previously out of a bottle, straight, and I have to say that putting it in a glass does help considerably.

(12 ounce bottle - Shaker glass) Nearly opaque dark brown, ruby colored around the edges, appearance. Aroma is of cloves, little pumpkin, toffee, chocolate, allspice and caramel. Moderatley sweet and light bitterness. Velvety mouthfeel and little to no carbonation.

Seems to be a very light very little pumpkin porter. Low carbonation, light pumpkin flavor, light malt flavor. Disappointing.

Bottle. Pours opaque dark brown, thin off white head. Aroma is spicy, smoky, and vegetal. Flavor is pretty much the same, but a little watery. I can’t really taste any pumpkin, but maybe that is a good thing. It’s just ok.

Bottle. Deep brown, clear, tall foamy head. First sip is very heavy with allspice although I got used to it. The body is a little thin. Aroma is a mild roasty pumpkin. Not bad, but not a big fan of the spice mix / level on this one.

Pours a nice dark brown with a dense 1/4" head. Pleasant porter aroma with smoked malt. Nice smooth taste, medium bodied. Tasty flavors of malt and a tiny amount of vegetable and spice.