Southern Tier Brewing Company’s Pumking

With the temperature dropping and the leaves turning color, I’ve begrudgingly accepted that summer is now over. Autumn’s coming was hearkened months ago, however, with fall seasonal beers being released towards the end of August (somewhat premature in my opinion, but it makes sense that breweries get them out early). Now that the season is just about in full swing now, I guess I have to start embracing some fall seasonals. And what could be more exemplary of the fall than the pumpkin? We enjoy carving pumpkins for Halloween, eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, delicious roasted pumpkin pie seeds, and waiting in pumpkin patches on Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Brewers celebrate this great gourd as well, releasing pumpkin beers, which seem to be hit or miss with the public. But hey, its craft beer: without experimentation, the industry would be hella boring.

Enter Southern Tier Brewing Company’s Pumking. Part of their Seasonal Imperial series, Pumking is an “Imperial Pumpkin Ale” according to their website, brewed with pumpkin puree. At 8.6% ABV, this beer is pretty boozy, with the warming alcohol notes welcoming in the cooling weather of the fall.

Appearance– The beer pours smooth with little head forming, and there is minimal head retention. It is a deep copper-orange, very clear, with no haze. The head dissipates within a minute of pouring, and with the settling of the carbonation, it takes on the appearance of apple juice. But it’s a pretty beer to look at, with the light hitting it in just the right way to make it look like light reflecting through amber.

Aroma– The aroma is very sweet, with almost no hop aroma being present. Spicy aromas are present, like cinnamon (a ton of cinnamon), nutmeg, and allspice along with vanilla aroma. It smells like a pumpkin pie should, but a little watered down and more reserved.

Taste– After the first sip, my initial reaction was “wow, this is terrible.” I did not know what to expect from a pumpkin beer, since I haven’t really drank many of them (besides a couple of samples at a beerfest, this was my first real pumpkin beer I decided to try. I don’t know why, but they really didn’t appeal to me that much). I was overwhelmed by the pumpkin pie spiciness of the beer. After the first sip, I was able to regroup, and figured that pumpkin pie would be a defining flavor for the pumpkin beer style. As I kept drinking, I got used to the spiciness, and started tasting notes of caramel-y maltiness along with almost buttery flavors, like a pie crust, and some vanilla. The maltiness is definitely a minor factor, with the spiciness driving the flavor profile of the beer, along with a sweetness that is present: trying to balance out the spiciness, but in the end the spiciness prevails. I honestly love pumpkin pie, every Thanksgiving I always have room for more pie after gorging on mashed taters and turkey (“There’s always room for pie” is often quoted in the Gunasinghe household). But the pumpkin pie spiciness is just too much for me to handle in a beer like the Pumking.

Mouthfeel– Super low in carbonation and a highly attenuated finish makes for a beer with great drinkability. The dry finish lacks the cloying sweetness one would expect from a beer that mirrors pumpkin pie in taste, and the spiciness doesn’t linger overly long. Warming alcohol notes are present, which is to be expected from a beer coming in at 8.6% ABV.

Overall Impression– Not for me. I wasn’t really sure what to expect going in to drinking this beer, since I never really felt compelled to try pumpkin beers until recently. I heard a ton of buzz around some new seasonals as autumn rolled around this year, and I figured I’d give Pumking a shot if I stumbled upon it. I was at my Whole Foods grabbing something for dinner today and I had Southern Tier’s Oak Aged Unearthly IPA in my hand when I saw Pumking, so I put back the Unearthly and grabbed the Pumking. I do regret not grabbing the Unearthly, because it would have, in all likelihood, been more enjoyable. But in the end, I am happy that I gave Southern Tier’s Pumking a shot. I found out that I am not a big fan of pumpkin beers, since the other pumpkin beers I had samples of left me underwhelmed. I guess after hearing everyone rave about pumpkin beers, I felt like I was missing out. But I still respect everyone saying that they enjoy Southern Tier’s Pumking, to each their own! In the end, you should be drinking what you like, and to hell with what other people say!