Beer!

[Ryan Ruck]

I recently made a run to a new Jungle Jim's that opened up on my side of town to pick up some Octoberfest/Pumpkin beers.

I had this one last night for the first time:

Attachment 955

Let me tell you, I used to think that Dogfish's Punkin was top pick for me in the pumpkin beer category but no more! Southern Tier's Pumking has dethroned it! Punkin tastes like you are drinking pumpkin pie and Pumking tastes like you are drinking really, really good pumpkin pie.

I highly recommend looking for it where you are and picking some up! You will not be sorry. It comes out of Lakewood, NY so East Coasters will probably have better luck.



Tonight I am trying Shipyard's Smashed Pumpkin.

Attachment 956

Not too shabby. It's not as good as Pumking or Punkin but it is pretty good. More spice than pumpkin though.

[American Patriot]

Rock Bottom tapped one at the end of September. It was GOOD.



But, that was just the one here where I live, not all of them.

[Ryan Ruck]

Tonight's pumpkin is Heavy Seas The Great Pumpkin.

Attachment 959

Not as flavorful as the previously mentioned options and very slightly more bitter but still good.

[American Patriot]

Arrrrrrh Matey, avast there.... pass me some!

[Ryan Ruck]

It's Friday night so I figured I'd give a new pumpkin beer a try.

This time it's Shipyard's Pumpkinhead.



Right off the bat I will say I don't think it deserves the low rating it has on RateBeer. I think it's decently good. I'd rate it at the bottom of the list of the ones mentioned here but it is still pretty good. A hint of a tart/sour note to the pumpkin with lots of cinnamon.

[American Patriot]

warm it up, and add some whipped cream for Pumpkin Pie!

/grin

[Ryan Ruck]

LOL! Come to think of it, considering how close to actual pumpkin pie Pumking tastes, I do wonder how it would pan out drinking it at room temperature. Not sure I want to chance it though at $8-$9 per bomber.

By the way, tonight's pumpkin beer is Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale.



Pretty good stuff! I'd rate it #3 right behind Pumking and Punkin in fact! Very flavorful though a hint of bitterness.

[American Patriot]

Don't laugh at the whipped cream in it. They were ordering it in Rock Bottom like that last year. Not "warm" but certainly with the whipped cream. Apparently it's an aphrodisiac too (/shrugs lol)

[Ryan Ruck]

Hmmm... Maybe whipped cream isn't such a bad idea after all. Just has to be the right type!

[American Patriot]

LOL! "Whipahol"? LOL I never saw that before. That's a GREAT idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ryan Ruck]

I've decided to hijack my own thread for talking about not just pumpkin beers but rather all beer in general! Feel free to join in if you've had something you like.

I've been going through a couple tonight and just had one that really stood out to me. Don't think I've had anything like it before.

It is Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude.



From the official description:

They said it couldn’t be done, that it would be undrinkable, that we couldn’t use more than 5% heavy peated malt in a beer. So we carefully considered their advice and decided to try 100% instead. Rex Attitude is inspired by French techno and the whiskey of Scotland’s west coast. Like the ’Auld Alliance’ it combines a little Scottish rogue with a dose of French je ne sais quoi. It is, as far as we know, the world’s first beer made from 100% heavy peated distilling malt.

Don’t fucking sniff it and swirl... this is Scottish malt. Drink it.

The smokey peat smell and flavor is off the chain! As soon as you pour it into a glass (preferably a lager glass), give it a whiff. It will take you by surprise!

If peat-heavy whiskey isn't your style, this will likely be too in-your-face. I, however, like the bold flavor and departure from standard beer. I wouldn't drink a ton of it in one sitting but a bottle every now and then would be great! Unfortunately this is from Invercargill, New Zealand so that might be a little cost prohibitive.

Guess I'll just have to stick with my Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. I do like bourbon better than whiskey anyway.

[Ryan Ruck]

Got another one I thought worthy of mention...

Stone/Dogfish/Victory's Saison Du Buff



This beer is a collaboration beer between Stone Brewery, Dogfish Head Brewery, and Victory. Each one brewed their own take on it and this is Stone's version of it.

It has a sweet, very herbal taste to it which isn't too surprising since it is brewed with "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme", with a bit of bitterness tossed in. Definitely an interesting taste!

I've already had Dogfish's Saison Du Buff but if anyone knows where I could get my hands on the Victory version I'd appreciate a heads up. Even though Victory is in Pennsylvania and I can find their other brews around here no problem, I just can't seem to find their Saison Du Buff. It's the only one I need to complete the trifecta!

[American Patriot]

I've been drinking one at RB that is a Scotish Tartan dark ale. It has vanilla in it. Damn that stuff is awesome. haha (And 6%)

[Phil Fiord]

Ryan, Speak with your procurer of beer and ask them if they can get that for you. I had to do that in order to get Oberon last spring and they brought more in and it blew off the shelf from more than me.

[Ryan Ruck]

Yeah, I may have to see if I can get in touch with someone at the new Jungle Jim's to see what they can tell me.

Can't say I'm all too surprised that was the outcome with the Oberon.

[Ryan Ruck]

[American Patriot]

lol

[Ryan Ruck]

I've been on a stricter diet than usual to knock off the weight I'd picked up over the holiday so up until last weekend it had been 3 weeks since I had any beer...



Last weekend was just drinking some of the Oberon I have stocked up. I've got way too much of it left and need to get it finished off before Bell's starts turning out the 2013 batches of Oberon so I told myself I wouldn't buy any other beer until the Oberon was gone. I didn't stick to my promise...

I was wandering the aisle at the local Jungle Jim's earlier this week to see if Dogfish's Rhizing Bines had hit the shelf yet. As expected it was too early and hadn't. But while there I saw a beer by Alesmith that I couldn't pass up...



So here I am drinking it on a Friday night!

It's got a very strong citrus/pine nose. Going by scent alone, you'd expect it to have quite the hop bite but it is surprisingly mellow! It has just the right amount of hops and malt. It's nothing spectacular in my opinion but it's pretty tasty for an amber if you're looking to try something new.

[Ryan Ruck]

Since I was already breaking my promise not to buy any new beer, I figured "In for a penny, in for a pound".

So I also picked up some of Bell's Smitten which I knew had just hit shelves.



Not bad but not exactly my thing. Taste is slightly spicy, plenty of hops, and rye.

I can honestly say there hasn't been a single thing I've had from Bell's that has been bad but this just didn't hook me. I think it was a little overly bitter for the rest of the flavor. I'm glad I only bought one bottle since It probably would have been a while before I got around to the others if I had bought more.

[Ryan Ruck]

Last up for tonight is Rogue's Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout...



Pretty good!

Has a smokey coffee taste to it and just a hint of bitterness. Couldn't really pick up the oatmeal but it's definitely drinkable!