Another pumpkin ale! That’s always a good thing. Seems like every brewer and his mother has one these days, doesn’t it? Pumpkin beers are all the rage, though, and with good reason. Chances are if you like pumpkin pie, you’ll like pumpkin beer. Pumpkin beer is probably the most American of beer styles, too, since the versatile gourd they are made form is native to the Americas.

So, another pumpkin ale! Thomas Creek Pumpkin Ale to be precise, from the Thomas Creek brewing company of Greenville, South Carolina. Thing is, I’m not really sure that Thomas Creek Pumpkin Ale is really brewed with pumpkins. Here’s what the brewery says about it:

Brewed with natural spices, our fall seasonal offers flavors reminiscent of brick oven-baked pumpkin pie.

That’s from the website, while on the bottle we have this description:

Malt beverage brewed with spices and natural flavors.

Ingredients from the website:

Malts: Pale, Biscuit, Bonlander Munich, Crystal, Honey, Breiss Cherry Wood Smoked

Hops: Hallertau, Cascade

Thomas Creek Pumpkin Ale has an alcohol content of 7.3% by volume and 26 IBUs. It runs $9.49 a six-pack in these parts, in the average range.

Thomas Creek Pumpkin Ale pours to a hazy orange color with a light and short-lived head forming on a vigorous pour. The nose is very enticing indeed and really smells like a pumpkin pie with lots of spice and subtle booziness. Taking a sip, the beer has a bit of caramel up front followed by drying spice notes of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. There’s even a bit of buttery character that reminds me of a crust around this liquid slice of pie. I am getting suggestions of squashy pumpkin, too, and at the last the beer is dried nicely by the spices and some alcohol warmth. So perhaps that is the natural flavoring.

What I didn’t really get was anything from the smoked malt. Be that as it may, I enjoyed this beer. Hey, you can never have too many pumpkin beers……

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box . *Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer. (B)=Bottled (D)=Draft

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