Pours jet black into a shaker. Mocha-colored micro head subsides to skim surface. Pumpkin, spice and smoke aromas. Creamy with upfront smoked malt and a lasting pumpkin spice finish.

Poured a translucent amber with orange hues and an active, frothy head that settles to one finger on the top. Aroma is balanced between malt and American hops. Flavor is very similar with yeasty, biscuit notes more reminscent of a Belgian than an American. Mouthfeel and finish were rather fizzy, they may have gone a bit overboard on the carbonation. I’ve had worse, not many though.

Draught pint at Sunset Grill on 6/7/07
Well-conditioned, buttercup-colored body, with light brass tints, is clear, lightly bubbly and sports a medium-sized white head that produces light lacing. Head shows moderate retention.
Malt-forward is the nose (which is great), showing straw, wet hay baking in the sun and light toffee hints. Light minerals, and something producing a slight acidity, is notable on the finish, which seems to have a bit of lemon to it as well. With some warming, it unfortunately gains a bit of cake-icing-like thickness/sweetness, but some earthy and dusty hops help keep things somewhat dry and grainy. Definitely a kolsch, probably not the world’s leading example, but pleasant enough in the nose, with no apparent flaws.
Snappier up front than I expect, as lots of grainy, very fresh cereal-like malts cut through some initial pale malt sugariness. It’s got a surprisingly firm body to it, with lots of roundness and almost a wheat-like chewiness to it (I’m not a big fan of wheat in kolschs though, I think it gives the wrong texture). Not saying there is wheat in it, but it definitely could stand to bit a tad bit lighter bodied and somewhat more crisp. Acidity and kolsch-yeast signature mineral notes are lightly apparent on the finish, with EKG or saaz hoppiness that is very minimal as it should be. Take the attenuation up a notch and give it some more pils malt character and this would be spectacular. It still went down very well, however. Carbonation is moderate, not bubbly or overdone. No flaws or alcohol noted.

Draught snifter at Kinsale Irish Pub on 4/21/07
Small, light-tan head rapidly fades to partial cover, leaving little/no lacing. Clarity is medium to medium-high and the color is a dark mahogany brown with some cola tints.
Breadiness is matched by light caramel and moderate fruitiness (berries, raisins, currants) with a definite note of molasses and or brown sugar. A bit washed-out, it’s not exactly leaping out of the snifter, and is further complicated by some sharp alcohol suggestions that drain the malts of the much-needed fatness that the style calls for. But it remains passable, if not very bock-like. Light yeast tartness is present on the finish, but not in as great a quantity as I would expect from the style. Hops are very reserved, only adding light leafiness/earthiness to the finish. Caramel and breadiness linger on...
Medium-dry caramel, some hard toffee and cola notes and a fair amount of dry, slightly acidic breadiness comprise the flavor. Alcohol cuts through the malts on the finish, along with some spiciness akin to black pepper and clove, though this one is unspiced. Just dosent get very complex and the mouthfeel is too hardened by the filtration and overuse of medium malts. Moderate carbonation is not very tight. Cola and berry-like suggestions sit lightly on the end, further exposing the lack of sweet, supple malts. No diacetyl in my glass, thankfully.

Slightly hazy amber body with a large frothy tan head. Sweet malty and caramel aroma. Sweet caramel flavor with a nice citrus hops ending.

Bottle. Pours hazy amber. Has a nice thick white head. Aroma is sweetish, with a nice citrus and pine hop aroma. The flavor is pretty decent, sharp, full of citrus, and a nice bitter finish.

Tap at barcade - decent, hazy, unfiltered amber/copper body, with a rather fluffy head - quite earthy and yeasty aroma, with a kind of unusual herbal quality for the style - fairly chewy - some toasty, roasted malt quality, with a dash of spicy hops - some caramel flavor makes way for big time diacetyl flavors - I didn’t find this as off-putting as the other raters (though diacetyl tends not to bother me too much), but I still didn’t find the beer very good.

12oz bottle poured into Duvel glass. Poured with a small head that quickly faded into a nice medium lacing. Color is dark amber with some copper tints. Can’t see through the beer and low clarity in the beer. Aroma is very present with lots of sweet medium oily hop aroma. I get Simcoe and Cascade, not abrasive and not bittery. Some grassiness and pine. Also a good malty aroma reminiscent of a barleywine with dark fruits and prunes. Taste sticks to the sweet hop flavor with just a bit of that prune taste. BItterness is medium but rather low from what the aroma gives off.

Tap at Brewtopia beer festival. I was excited to try this beer ever since I heard it was coming out. Not a big fan of pumpkins but this to to be the perfect blend. Well it pours black with a almost gray colored head. Aroma is very present with definite pumpkin spices in conjunction with a sort of flavored down stout. I think the combo is nice because the roasted aspects of the stout don’t contend with the pumpkin. A bit thin on the body and a slightly sweet aftertaste with pumpkin resemblance. Low bitterness. 8/4/8/3/15.

12oz bottle in a Lindener Spezial glass. Small head, still grayish in color. While I mention this in the first rating, the thinness of the beer really gets to me. Also, the there aren’t enough stout characteristics for me anymore. The pumpkin character is too much without being balanced off by something else. So basically, I no longer like the structure of the beer too much. Not sure if it a tap to bottle difference, a time effect, or just my tastes changing. 7/3/7/3/14.