Harvest Pumpkin vs. Pumpkineater

October 21, 2014 by Andrea

Week Two: Prohibition vs. Howe Sound

This October Bad Rider’s beer section is pitting gourd against gourd in a battle to determine which B.C. beer is king of the pumpkin patch. Welcome to Pumpkindrome, Week Two.

The Challengers: Prohibition Brewing Co.’s Harvest Pumpkin Spiced Ale (5.5 per cent ABV, 650mL) versus Howe Sound Brewing Co.’s Pumpkineater (8 per cent ABV, 1L)

I took my first sip of Prohibition’s Harvest Pumpkin and went into a panic that the beer had somehow spoiled in my refrigerator. That about set the tone for this round.

Compared to our last pumpkindrome outing, today’s beers appeared a little more in line with each other — both different degrees of the same orange-amber colour, both bubbly. But, one has a business being in this competition and one made me kinda sad.

If someone served me a glass of Prohibition blind, with no up-front info, I might have guessed it was a pilsner having a very bad day. It’s got those sweet, corny notes and the mouthfeel I associate with pilsners but holy cats is it ever sharp. My first couple sips were overwhelmingly citric acid, and that never much died down. If there was either pumpkin or spice to be tasted under all that, I never managed it.

Howe Sound, meanwhile, makes some interesting choices with their pumpkin offering. Specifically, I’m talking about the cloves and star anise in their brew — two unusual spices choices that come through fairly strongly in the beer. I also caught notes of the other usual pie spices, ginger in particular, but it’s that very subtle, fresh hint of liquorice and clove that I’ve always noticed most in Pumpkineater.

With a number of unusual flavours and about a medium sweetness (not to mention that 8 per cent ABV), it’s the kind of beer the benefits from a slow drink to suss out all the complex flavours.

However,

while it’s a great spiced beer, I’m not sure it seems that pumpkin-like. While I got a whiff of pumpkin on the nose, there’s not much of it in the glass, and the spice mix doesn’t immediately make me think pie the way some of the others in Pumpkindrome have. It moves on to round two, but I’ll be curious to see how it stacks up to some of our other challengers in the days ahead.

2 Towns Ciderhouse – ‘Cot in the Act

October 18, 2014 by Phoebe

2 Towns Ciderhouse “Cot in the Act”

I’ve been on a bit of a pumpkin spice mean streak so I wanted to mix things up and review something that’s not at all autumn-themed. My local Bartell’s was happy to oblige with some limited-release 2 Towns ciders such as this “‘Cot in the Act” apricot cider.

True to the name, it has a light apricot aroma; it’s a light, clear yellow with medium fizz and 6% ABV.

Though the apricot also comes out in the taste, it’s not terribly sweet overall and has some nice tartness backing it up. A bit sharp and acidic, but not too much.

As we already know, I’m not the world’s best guesser, but this definitely tastes to me like it’s got a definite portion of bittersweet and/or cider apples rather than just a straight dessert apple blend.

I wasn’t able to find info about this limited release on 2 Towns’ website, but the bottle copy does say it’s “just for the dog days of summer,” so you may be out of luck finding it locally yourself now that we’re well into October.

Best of luck, though — I feel like I’m starting to recognize the general taste profile of 2 Towns, and I enjoy it.

Beer Back Soon

October 18, 2014 by Andrea

Hey Bad Riders!

So, in celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving, your faithful beer reviewer has come down with the kind of gross and disgusting cold that makes it difficult to discern any and all tastes. So as not to break the sanctity of Pumpkindrome, I’ve held off on continuing our pumpkin beer showdown until I can, you know, actually tell the difference between beers.

Sorry for the extended disruption! Regular service will resume Tuesday.

In the meantime, have a picture of Bad Rider Reviews’ Canadian mascot dressed as a unicorn.

again, real sorry

Angry Orchard – Strawman

October 16, 2014 by Phoebe

Angry Orchard Strawman

Neither pumpkin-flavored nor seasonal, Strawman is one of Angry Orchard’s trio of “Cider House Collection” ciders, meant to be “rare and innovative.” It’s made from “traditional culinary and bittersweet apples” then aged in oak.

It’s a cloudy orange, with low fizz, and a bitter, slightly spicy and funky aroma. Tart acid and bitterness dominate the taste, underlaid with a bit of wood and enough sweetness to keep it from being dry.

I thought Strawman seemed an overly brash, sharply boozy-tasting cider until I saw that it’s got an ABV of 10%; that explains the alcoholic bite to an extent, though I’d still place it closer to the 12% Prohibition than the comparable 10% Bad Apple.

All in all it’s an interesting cider, very aggressive, definitely not something you’d want to drink with sweet or mild foods.

While I’m happy Angry Orchard is trying out higher-end, more interesting and complex ciders than their regular lines (though really, all I want from them is Elderflower all year round), I’m gonna have to be That Cider Snob for a moment:

At the price point of Strawman (and the rest of the Cider House Collection), you can do better.

Instead of buying 750ml of Strawman, you could buy as much or more actual small-batch craft cider that’s just as creative and interesting, from small operations that are probably local to you (wherever you are) and probably could use your business and support more.

If you respect the Angry Orchard name and want to drinking something from them that’s a little more interesting than usual, by all means try the Cider House Collection. But folks, I encourage you to check out the smaller outfits in your area and give them a chance.

Tieton Cider Works – Smoked Pumpkin Cider

October 11, 2014 by Phoebe

Tieton Smoked Pumpkin Cider

For those of you overwhelmed by pumpkin spice everything, you may be in luck on the cider front, as I’ve only been able to get my hands on three pumpkin/pumpkin spice ciders so far. Even at only one per week, I might be done with pumpkin ciders by Halloween.

Tieton’s Smoked Pumpkin cider smells kind of funky, like the jack-o-lantern you left out on your porch for a few days too long.

I do get some squash flavor in this one, unlike Seattle Cider’s spice domination; overall it has a dark, somewhat funky taste. It’s similar to, but distinct from, other bittersweet craft ciders I’ve had.

Tieton’s bottle copy talks about it starting with smoke, following with pumpkin, and finishing with apple — I don’t agree that it’s as neat a progression as they’re claiming, and the smoke doesn’t identify itself particularly strongly, but in general they’re not wrong about the profile.

It’s very still, a cloudy amber-gold, and 6.9% ABV. Founded in 2008, Tieton has been around a while in comparison to much of the recent cider boom — their locator page shows a presence in 13 states as well as British Columbia.

Almanac Beer Co – Dogpatch Strawberry

October 11, 2014 by Phoebe

Almanac Beer’s Dogpatch Strawberry

In Canada, it’s Thanksgiving, so in lieu of the next Pumpkindrome entry from Andrea, I’m debuting a brand new occasional segment where I review beers that have been recommended to me when I explain that I don’t like beer.

One of the more promising-sounding recommendations I’ve gotten is to try “sour fruit beers,” so we’ll kick things off with Almanac Beer Company’s Dogpatch Strawberry, which comes in at 7.5% ABV. It’s a cloudy, ruddy orange, and more, uh, chunky than I’m used to with ciders. I left it alone while I was finishing up today’s later entry and a good amount of pale sediment settled to the bottom of the glass.

The aroma is yeasty but not overpowering, and I also definitely get notes of the strawberry, so it gets off to a good start.

As for the taste: dang, they’re really not kidding about it being sour.

It’s interesting and actually not terrible, speaking as someone who prefers cider. I do get some fruit along with the sour pucker, and underneath, the bready flavor I associate with beers in general which lingers in the aftertaste.

All in all, I’m not a convert, nor am I even inclined to run out and try other sour fruit beers, but I’ve certainly had worse — as we’ll probably discover in the next episode of “beers recommended to someone who doesn’t like beer” (some recommendations I’ve known right away would be a terrible idea).

Almanac’s locator page only lists places in California, but a good PNW bottle shop or large liquor store may have one or more of Almanac’s several fruit beers to try for yourself.

Domaine Dupont – Dupont Reserve

October 9, 2014 by Phoebe

Dupont Reserve Cider

We try to stick mostly to local stuff here at Bad Rider, but someone recently gifted me a bottle of Dupont Reserve as thanks for helping them out with some stuff, and since I’m drinking it anyway, why not review it as well?

Domaine Dupont is a maker of French cider and calvados (which for the record is my favorite of what I think of as the “classy”or “serious” hard liquors — brandy, scotch, etc). This Dupont Reserve cider is aged in calvados casks for six months, and comes in a thick, heavy, champagne-style bottle.

It’s SUPER fizzy, with a giant head as it pours, 7.5% ABV, and a semi-cloudy light golden color. The aroma is a bit musty, and kind of dry, but not in the usual sense of sweet vs dry; it smells like a sun-baked dusty dirt yard.

The taste is bright and acidic at first, following up with smooth sweetness and a mild bitter undertone. I definitely get an impression of the calvados casks working on this cider, casting shades of age and depth over it.

Domaine Dupont seems like hardly the kind of outfit that would need any endorsing from me, but for the record I do quite like this cider. You can get your hands on some from their online store — unless you’re in the US, in which case I’d say that this is more likely to be found in your local specialized liquor store than a grocery store or corner shop.

Pumpkin Head vs. Crooked Tooth

October 7, 2014 by Andrea

Week One: Fernie versus Phillips

This October Bad Rider’s beer section is pitting gourd against gourd in a battle to determine which B.C. beer is king of the pumpkin patch. Welcome to Pumpkindrome, Week One.

The Challengers: Fernie Brewing Co. Pumpkin Head Brown Ale (5 per cent ABV, 650mL) versus Phillips Brewing Co. Crooked Tooth (5 per cent ABV, 650mL)

We begin our epic showdown with a battle of light and dark, sweet and more-sweet, pumpkin and …wait, where’s the pumpkin?

If Pumpkindrome were a battle of smell, Fernie would have the match after one whiff of the pint glass. With a moist pumpkin and spice aroma, Pumpkin Head smells like a slice of pie that’s been lingering on in the fridge a couple days past Canadian Thanksgiving. Crooked tooth, meanwhile, offers a light nutmeggy scent, but none of the pumpkin funk.

But, when it comes to flavour, Fernie’s offering can’t make up to its pre-sip hype.

Where I was hoping for notes of cinnamon, allspice and sweet, cooked pumpkin, all this dark beer had to offer me was sugar. To its credit, it was a rich, brown-sugar, fall-style sweetness — seasonally appropriate, at least. And as far as brown ales go, if you like your brew mid- to very-sweet, you’ll find nothing to complain about here.

You just won’t find any pumpkin.

Phillips, on the flip side, offered me a taste quite like what I would have expected from Fernie, based on smell. Crooked tooth is a pure slice of pumpkin pie, with a slightly sweet pumpkin custard flavour and mellow spicing.

While the Phillips website claims ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in the brew, it’s the latter I noticed most, which actually seemed to work quite well. While your standard pumpkin spice fare can get abrasive and heavy from cloves and cinnamon, a light touch of nutmeg adds some depth to the sweetness without overwhelming the pumpkin.

This time around, it’s no trouble to pick a winner. After all, if your pumpkin beer doesn’t taste of pumpkins, what’s the point?

Phillips moves to round 2.

Seattle Cider – Pumpkin Spice

October 4, 2014 by Phoebe

Seattle Cider Pumpkin Spice

For better or for worse, cider has become popular enough over the past few years that some cider makers are starting to hop on board the Pumpkin Spice bandwagon in fall.

While I won’t be running an actual bracket like Andrea, I will of course round up all the pumpkin and pumpkin spice ciders I can get my hands on and review them for you, in addition to any other autumn seasonals I find. And anything else that’s generally thematic, while we’re at it (Angry Orchard Straw Man, I’m looking at you).

We start today with Seattle Cider’s Pumpkin Spice Cider.

This is definitely more of a spice cider than a pumpkin cider — the bottle claims cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves followed by “just a touch of pumpkin,” but if the pumpkin’s there at all it’s extremely understated.

Cinnamon and cloves dominate the aroma; the other spices come forward in the flavor to mingle with the apple.

If this were an actual pumpkin pie, or even an apple pie, I would sigh and make adjustments to my recipe, because the proportion of spice to fruit/squash filling is way out of whack.

As a cider, it’s fine — just as long as you’re aware you’re on the express train to Spiceville and that’s where you want to be. I bet it would actually be pretty good mulled with an orange (NON clove-studded, plenty of clove in there already, thanks) and maybe some rum.

It’s medium/heavy fizz, golden in color, and 6.9% ABV. If you’re in WA, OR, MI, or AK, you can find some for yourself here.

Welcome to the Pumpkindrome

October 4, 2014 by Andrea

The muesli will not be competing in pumpkindrome.

A year ago, around Thanksgiving, I got it in my head I wanted to try as many of the pumpkin beers at the BC Liquor Store as I could. After scouring the aisles, I took about five bottles up to the counter, feeling both pleased and a little over indulgent with so many beers on the counter before me.

What a difference about 346 days makes.

Have you been in a government liquor store lately? It’s like the Great Pumpkin went on some sort of bender. Orange everywhere. From Seattle to St-Ambroise, every craft brewery worth its stock is getting into the gourd game. Even Anheuser-Busch’s craft beer knockoff brand Shock Top had its own pumpkin wheat offering. I bet we’re two years away at most from Bud Light Pumpkin.

So far this year, even though I’m only buying B.C. beers, I’ve amassed a collection of nine different brews, and been promised still more to come. With so many bottles and so little time before winter sets in, what’s a humble beer reviewer to do but make them fight to the death?

Thus, I present Bad Rider’s first ever Pumpkin Madness Bracket. Every week, we’ll be pitting two brews against each other to see what combination of spice, squash and hops you should be cuddling up to during your annual leaf peeping trek.

Each brew will get a couple rankings: Spiciness, actual pumpkin flavour (potentially a dicey category, given how many pumpkin spice products contain no pumpkin at all, but we’ll give it a go) and overall performance. Based on past experience, the best pumpkin beers balance both spice and gourd, but with some dark horses in this year’s line up who knows what we’ll find.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, your first round matchups (so far):

Fernie Brewing Co.’s Pumpkin Head Brown Ale versus Phillips Brewing Co.’s Crooked Tooth

Prohibition Brewing Co.’s Harvet Pumpkin Spiced Ale versus Howe Sound Brewing Co.’s Pumpkineater

Parallel 49’s Lost Souls Chocolate Pumpkin Porter versus Nelson Brewing Co.’s Organic Pumpkin Ale

Tree Brewing Co.’s Jumpin’ Jack India Pumpkin Ale versus Red Racer Pumpkin Ale

and

Steamworks Pumpkin Ale versus ????*

Who will emerge victorious? Who will be crushed like a rotten Jack o’lantern on November 1st?

The challenge begins next week..

*So far Kamloops only seems to have 9 B.C. pumpkin beers stocked in the entire city. While Bad Rider has several plans in the works, for now challenger 10 must remain a mystery of its own.