Fernie Brewing Company Pumpkin Head Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 5% ABV (C$6.79 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, best before 1-Mar-2016)
Appearance: clear brown, one finger of fine light tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: vegetal pumpkin, spices, caramel malt, nutty, grassy and earthy. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, very mild tart. (7/10) Medium body tending to watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly spicy finish. (3/5)
Smells reasonably good – vegetal pumpkin leading, backed up by the standard pumpkin spices. It actually tastes a little better than it smells – less pumpkin-y, more brown ale. (It actually tastes not completely dissimilar to their Hot Saw Brown, to my mind.) And no, I don’t mean that the less a pumpkin beer tastes like a pumpkin beer, the better. I just mean I like the tastes a little more than the smell. Ultimately, though, it comes across as a little weak and watery (like so many brown ales do, in my experience) – could do with a little more flavour and a little more body to carry it. Pretty easy-drinking, though. (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
