Garrison Brewing Company _Double Jack Imperial Pumpkin_ Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 8% ABV | 30 IBU _(C$6.27 at NLC Stavanger, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 21-Oct-2016, reviewed 21-Oct-2016)_
Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of creamy ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pumpkin, spices, sweet malt, boozy fruitcake. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter, mild spice. (6/10) Medium-full body, moderate carbonation, sweet and mildly spicy finish. (3/5)
I know I sometimes get a bit harsh with Garrison – but to be fair, they usually deserve it. (To my mind, at their worst they can come across as a slightly less objectionable version of Alexander Keith’s.) So, when I say this isn’t terrible, I don’t mean to damn them with faint praise – the fact that I’m not slamming them (and hard, about a pumpkin beer, of all things) means just that: it’s not terrible, and I’m slightly… well, maybe not “surprised” by that, but at the very least “glad that my innate cynicism didn’t win out this time”. It smells like a not-entirely-fake pumpkin pie crossed with a boozy fruitcake (and I have boozy fruitcakes marinating in my cellar right now, so I know that of which I speak), and tastes much the same, complete with a not-insignificant alcoholic kick. So… win-win? (Or at the very least, not a loss.) (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
