Mashing Pumpkins
(has 3 batches)

(Draught at In De Wildeman, Amsterdam, 20 Feb 2016) Amber colour with frothy, beige head. Malty, fruity nose with pumpkin, cinnamon, dried fruit and caramel. Malty, fruity taste with notes of caramel, toffee, pumpkin, dried fruit, cinnamon and a balanced spicy bitterness in a slightly sweetish finish. Almost full body, with a certain sweetness. Tasty an well made with a balanced pumpkin character. Quite nice.

Courtesy of Craftmember, thanks! With slightly altered label. The (self-proclaimed) first American style pumpkin ale in the Netherlands. Thickly cobweb-lacing, pale greyish beige, moussy, dense and stable head over a clear warm orangey copper coloured beer. Aroma of cinnamon, old gingerbread, straw, cooked pumpkin (or ’courgette’) indeed, chicken broth, pink pepper, mangostan, pumpernickel bread, old apple cake, allspice, dried garden herbs, brown sugar, damp earth or even fermenting autumn leaves, mushroom, some ’deep’ redcurrant underneath. Sweetish onset, mashed pumpkin indeed, but also hints of red apple, overripe apricot, redcurrant - more sweet than sour. Softish carbo, lean and supple body, agreeable bready and lightly caramelly malt sweetness forms a steady and firm backbone, while the initial fruitiness goes on and quite a lot of aromatic, ethereal spiciness comes in, growing in intensity, yielding retronasal flavors of cinnamon, allspice and cloves, quite intensely so as expected from the style; finishes juicy and sweetish with a big amount of drying, ethereal spices and a splash of warming, brown rum-like alcohol, which becomes a bit tiresome in the end. Unusual but not unpleasant, warming autumn beer, I enjoyed this a lot, but it does require an understanding of American pumpkin ales, for sure. I wish some Belgian micro breweries were brave enough to try out something like this.

Sample thanks to Joergen@Taphouse, Copenhagen - orange coloured pour with a off-white head. Aroma and taste is fruity and light malty and yeasty, prominent pumpkin, some caramel sweetness, floral and herbal hoppy backing, herbal spicy lingering finish.

Draft. A hazy red beer with a yellowish head. The aroma has strong notes of spices especially black pepper and cinnamon, but also notes of yeast, malt, and alcohol. The flavor is sweet with notes of pumpkin, cinnamon, yeast, and malt, leading to a dry finish.

Week van het Nederlandse Bier 2015. Kauwgomballen en kruiden, erg zoet. Moeite om pumpkin te herkennen. Backlog from 2015/05/28.

Draft @ Fermentoren, Copenhagen. Pours a pale amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty spicy pumpkin aroma. Fruity malty spicy pumpkin flavor with weak hints of caramel. Has a fruity malty spicy pumpkin finish.

Draught @ Fairbar, Aarhus. Pours dark amber with a small offwhite head. Aroma of malt, sweet fruit, pumpkin, light spice, cinnamon. Flavor is sweet, malt, caramel, sweet fruity, cinnamon, nutmeg, alcohol. Medium body, average to lively carboantion, sweet finish with some alcohol. 031215