Pumpkin Ale
F.X. Matt Brewing Company (Saranac) in Utica, New York, United States 🇺🇸
Spiced / Herbed / Vegetable / Honey - Vegetable Regular|
Score
5.84
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In celebration of the fall harvest. Here's an autumn favorite that's as enjoyable as pumpkin pie. This hearty ale is brewed with cinnamon, allspice, cloves and vanilla. Look for a full body and amber color. We're sure you'll enjoy this special brew.
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4.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 4
Interesting label. Sweet pumpkin spice aroma mixed with odd tart fruit. Taste has some veggie, perhaps pumpkin, nothing like pumpkin pie. At times has a soda feel to it. Familiar Saranac finish. The overall taste bud effect evolves from a sweet greeting that feels completely lager like to a medium alky industrial malt bitter bite that hangs for a moderate time.
Tried
on 01 Sep 2007
at 11:42
6.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
12oz bottled on 07/24/07. Color is dark amber with orange tints, completely lucid, small head but rather sticky lacing. Aroma is upfront cinnamon and really that seems to take over everything else. Taste is light and very clean and covered in light spices (kind of a mixed bag nothing too dominant over the other spices). Its just a light ale with spices and nothing off-putting, hey that’s enough. Just a faint bitter kick at the end.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Aug 2007
at 20:36
2.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 1
Texture 4
Overall 1
I can barely believe this is a pumpkin ale, and then I note that the commercial description lists spices but no pumpkin. As I sampled this, I could taste no pumpkin flavor at all, just a thin crystal malt dominated palate rifled with a bunch of dry dusty spices, with a profile that reminded me of some christmas beers, heavy on a nutmeg/ginger type spicing, despite neither of those being listed. I think it was the allspice that gave rise to that. But, without enough malts to offset those spices, nor any pumpkin flavor, this beer misses widely on multiple counts - and thats not even a ’rating to style’ comment, but rather its missing the mark on being a good, drinkable beer. The first few sips made me shudder (slight unpleasant tartness in there too), after half the glass, I started to gag a little and dumped it.
Tried
from Can
on 01 Nov 2006
at 09:25
4.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4.5
A dark amber colour with a thin off white head. Overbearing aroma of pumpkin spices, nutmeg, very sweet. In mouth, a very sweet concoction ith pronounced cinnamon and cloves, artificial, light and not very good. Bottle. The Real Beer Expo - Rochester, NY, Oct. 21, 2006.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Oct 2006
at 21:33
4.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 4
Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark amber color with a trace of a tan head. The aroma is spicy and hot and not entirely pleasant. The flavor is dry, spicy and hot. The spices are hard to identify but are nothing like pumpkin pie. Not one of Saranac’s better offerings.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Aug 2006
at 19:06
5.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
Pours brown with no head. Armoa of malty beer with some hints of pumpkin. Flavor is full of light spices and pumpkin paste... not a tasty pumpkin brew by any means.
Tried
on 17 Oct 2005
at 18:28
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
2005 bottle as a bonus from Shadey. I just love rating Saranac beers. They are always so simple and they are very true to what the name of the beer is. This one is no exception. I was pretty skeptical that the commercial description said "full body" but upon drinking it, while I wouldnt quite say "full" I’d give it a medium-full body, it is quite sweet and substantially malty. The aroma, true the description, has notes of cinnamon, allspice, vanilla (dont get as much clove). There is some pleasant caramel, and/or light sugary pale malt. Head pours large initially, with fair retention, spotty lacing and a clear body that is dark amber with light brown tinges. Flavor has tons of vanilla and cinnamon, some sugary sweet caramel and light pumpkin flavoring. Bit of spiciness to it and some definite crayons on the finish, not sure if that’s a product of the vanilla flavoring or not. Forced carbonation, but not obnoxious and not an overly thinned out mouthfeel, though it is filtered. I enjoyed it. Good flavor, the crayons even grew on me a bit towards the end. . .At least it has malt, that’s more than I can say for most other pumpkin beers. Thanks Shane!
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Sep 2005
at 10:31