Smashed Pumpkin
Shipyard Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, United States 🇺🇸
Spiced / Herbed / Vegetable / Honey - Pumpkin Autumn|
Score
6.67
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Pale Ale, Wheat, and Light Munich malts combine with the natural tannin in pumpkin and the delicate spiciness of Saphir and Hallertau Hops to balance the sweetness of the fruit.
This beer is best enjoyed at 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottled. Poured a fairly transparent orange red. Pumpkin aroma of course and some cinnamon, not sper strong. Similar taste with maltines and a hint of sour.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle. Cloudy, light orange with a medium head. Aroma is a pumpkin spice with strong hints of honey. Taste is sweet up front, almost a honey taste in the middle and a well balanced finish. Just a tad cloying.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Quite spicy aroma, cloves, cinnamon, cardamon. Flavor has some intense chai tea flavors. Quick dry finish. Slight warming from the alcohol. Interesting, the first pumpkin beer ive had that isnt a sweet pie like mess.
I'm not totally sold on this. Not lacking in flavour but the flavor doesn't stick around. Tastes almost coppery?
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
2023 can from Livonia Liquor. Pours a clear copper with a finger of beige head that dissipates. Lots of clove, cinnamon, vanilla and brown sugar on the nose. Caramel, pumpkin and brown sugar on the palate. Sweet and rich with a slightly balanced finish. I prefer this to the regular Shipyard Pumpkin.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Orange color with pumpkin pie spice aroma. Flavor matches, nutmeg, cinnamon, slightly sweet. Nice amount of pumpkin / vegetable flavor to balance the spices. Alcohol burn with the dry finish.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
This review was imported from my RateBeer ratings.
10/13/2023
I'm updating my evaluation of this beer. In 2022, I tried it for the first time and wrote my initial review. This year, I tried it again and have decided to make a few minor changes to my review and rating. Immediately below, are just the categories that I've decided to update for this year's evaluation. If a category isn't listed then that is because it is the same as last year's evaluation. In which case, you can just reference my 2022 review, which appears at the bottom.
16oz. can, 9.0% ABV., Recommended temp:55F, I could find no discernible BEST BY/BORN ON date.
NOTE: The can states that is has an IBU of 20, while RateBeer shows it as 26. I would say that the can is more accurate as there is almost no detectable bitterness.
MOUTHFEEL: I still feel like this is borderline between being thin- and medium-bodied. However, this year, that texture stays consistent throughout. Given the sweetness level, I think I would prefer a slightly heavier body to the beer. Also, I feel like this year's vintage has a bit more fizz, so I would rate the carbonation as above-average.
OVERALL: I still find it a little too sweet, but not objectionably so. After all, it is a pumpkin-pie-in-a-bottle beer, so you gotta expect it to be on the sweet side. I'd also change my "not sure I would buy again" to "probably buy occasionally (i.e. every few years)".
For comparison purposes, my original review from 10/14/2022 is below, along with the rating I gave it in each category.
16 oz. can, 9% ABV, Born on: 08/11/22
AROMA (7/10): I'm first hit with scents of pumpkin, clove, and booze, which is then followed by brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Basically, it smells like a pumpkin pie only the aromas are more subdued than a pie's.
APPEARANCE (5/5): Pours a slightly hazy, golden-amber, with a tall, off-white head that dissipates very slowly and has excellent lacing. This is one good-looking beer! In fact, I would say this is the poster-child of what all beers should look like in a clear glass!
TASTE (6/10): Moderately sweet. On the front-end I get big flavors of pumpkin and booze. In the middle I get cloves and brown sugar. And on the finish I get a hint of cinnamon that lingers for a fair amount of time. This is your typical pumpkin-pie beer, but with a bit of a boozy flavor. The bright part is that the pumpkin flavor is the star, with the spices playing second-fiddle.
MOUTHFEEL (2/5): This is borderline between being thin- and medium-bodied. Texture is somewhat smooth but has a hint of tackiness. Carbonation is average. To me, this has a confusing body. On each sip I get a very watery feel at first. But then as I let the beer rest in my mouth for a second, the body "thickens" a bit, only to "thin out" again as I swallow. It's a very odd sensation that is hard to put into words. Suffice it to say, that I have never had this experience with any other beer.
OVERALL (14/20): Not bad but I do find it a little too sweet for my tastes, and the body seems a little thin, too. Other than that, I was pleased with the aroma, as well as the level of pumpkin-to-spice flavor ratio. Although, I'm not sure I would buy this again. Mostly because I've had better pumpkin beers than this, and there's nothing unique about this one to make me want to buy it over one of those other pumpkin beers. But also because I like trying new beers. Which means, unless a beer really "wows" me, then I'll probably buy something I haven't tried, rather than something I thought was nice but not spectacular.
NOTE: This beer is no longer labeled as being part of the Pugsley's Signature Series. The label now just says "Smashed Pumpkin".
Pumpkinhead season is here, and at candlepin bowling!
Lubiere (24459) ticked Smashed Pumpkin from Shipyard Brewing Company 5 years ago
A reddish copper ale with a thin lacing off white head. In aroma, sweet caramel malt with light pumpkin spices, light mineral notes, OK. In mouth, sweet caramel malt with dark fruits, light pumpkin spices, alcohol warmth, OK.