Southampton Pumpkin Ale
Served from a 22oz. bomber in a pint glass at just below cellar temperature. A - Poured with a bit of intentional glug to excite the nose and head, this clear amber-brown beer pushes up a nice two inch, fluffy crown of medium sizes bubbles. Lacing is minimal, but head retention is decent. S - A very nice array of the usual pumpkin pie spice suspects with a sprinkling of liberal hoppiness that brightens up the mix and makes it quite forward. Definite honey. Unfortunately, there is also something about the nose that makes the cinnamon notes smell awfully artificial... T - A bit light in the malt department, but not necessarily to detriment. The easy-bodied only semi-sweet start is soon overshadowed by a big swath of cinnamon and allspice that brings this beer dangerously close to the "spicy" arena. The finish brings about a decent hop bitter-dryness along with a leveling dose of nutmeg, but given the fact that there isn't a whole lot of malty sweetness to this beer, where is that cloying coming from? The aftertaste is stale and surprisingly tart. Hmm... Balance issues? M - Slightly aggressive in the tongue-tingle and voluminous as it rises in the mouth. Definitely wouldn't describe it as "creamy". D - This is one of my favorite styles, so when it comes to Pumpkin Ales, I'm quite "well read (drunk?)"... While the spice mix is spot on for this style, and the hopping is just right, most everything else about it seems to be just a half-step off balance. To boot, there is absolutely no squashy or pumpkiny anything about this beer other than the fact that it employs Pumpkin Pie spices. I was really crossing my fingers hoping that this beer would be as delicious as Southampton's other offerings but alas, this is not the case. But look at the scores! Hmm... seems like another case of star-struck fans of the brand (can someone say Stone? Westvletern? Rochefort? Three Floyd's?) hoisting a mediocre beer to stardom based on it's name, not it's quality.