Uinta Crooked Line Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin

As it is Halloween, i feel compelled to rave about yet another pumpkin beer, this time hailing from the great state of Utah and the Uinta Brewing Company.  The Crooked Line Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin is a mouthful, both linguistically and in flavor.  The beer pours a dark brown with a nice tan head, and immediately, the aromas of pumpkin, clove, chocolate, and bourbon are evident.  As far as taste goes, this brew is a knockout with a fine mix of fall spices, pumpkin, caramel, and that ever present bourbon again.  Weighing in at 10.31% ABV, this beer does not mess around.  I wish i could drink it everyday.  If you only drink one pumpkin themed beverage this week, make it this one.

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Elliott's Phoned Home Pale Ale

As craft breweries continue to pop up all over Texas (and the country) like weeds, procuring new brews to imbibe becomes a much easier prospect week by week.  It's a good time to be a beer drinker.  Cedar Creek Brewery out in Seven Points, TX has offered up their take on an American pale ale.  Elliot's Phoned Home Pale pours a cloudy, orange and smells of citrus, fruit, and hops.  As far as flavor goes, there's a light breadiness to the beer, the prevailing citrus and fruit, and above all else, grapefruit.  And it comes in a tall boy can.  I'm not saying you should drink beer with breakfast...but if you were going to, this would probably be the direction to move in.  Easy to drink, refreshing, and coming in at 5.1% ABV, it's no slouch either.

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Alaskan Pumpkin Porter

The average temperature around here has finally dropped about 20 degrees over the last week, so i feel comfortable and compelled to proclaim that i love, love, love the Alaskan Brewing Company's Pumpkin Porter.  It's like dessert.  Or candy.  I can't stop drinking it.  The brew pours a dark brownish black with a nice tan head.  The aromas of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, smoked malts, and chocolate are immediately evident...and that's the flavors you get too.  There may be a little clove in the mix as well.  This beer will probably go best as a post meal option, but i'd probably drink it any time.  I'm going to be a sad panda when pumpkin ale season comes to a close.  I give this beer my highest possible recommendation.

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King Street Brown Ale

And...i finally come to the last of my Pacific Northwest beers delivered to me by me friend and former roommate back in August.  It's been a fun run, and i end it all with a smooth and tasty brown ale from Schooner Exact Brewing Co.  The King Street Brown pours dark and amber with a light, quickly dissipating head.  The aroma is one of toffee, chocolate, malts, and syrup, all of which are represented in the flavor, but with an added hint of hazelnut and molasses.  It's sweet and tasty and only 5.5% ABV, so go nuts.  Hooray!

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Silver City Fat Scotch Ale

As i'm still in the process of giving up entirely on my Texas Longhorns (we're currently tied with Iowa St.), here's another delicious beer out of Washington state that my good friend hand delivered to me back in August.  Silver City Brewery's Fat Scotch Ale pours a dark brownish, copper, the aroma sweet and smokey.  Plenty of carbonation adds a bite and tickle to the smoke and caramel flavors that prevail in the brew.  Add in some good malts and a little bitterness on the back end that flows pretty smoothly with acidity of the alcohol.  Perfect for a pre or post meal libation.  Good beer.  It weighs in at 9% ABV, so watch yourself.

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Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale

It's almost October, so it's high time i post about one of my favorite kinds of beverages ever concocted by mad scientists and beer brewers, the mighty pumpkin ale.  Southern Tier's Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale pours a lovely, orange-ish copper, with little head, but a lot of aroma.  There is an overarching floral smell that combines with pumpkin, vanilla, and hints of alcohol.  The flavor is heavy on the aforementioned florals and pumpkin, but there are also aspects of yam and an almost cream-like feel (the vanilla maybe?), and the finish is sharp and spicy.  The ABV comes in at a respectable 8.6%, so this brew does not mess around.  Enjoy it.

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Black Wit-O

No Label Brewing Company continue to support my belief that they are the only good thing to ever come out of the city of Katy, Texas (for any of you non-Texans out there, Katy is a suburb of Houston).  The latest concoction of theirs that i've been lucky enough to enjoy is the Black Wit-O, a dark wheat ale.  The beer is very dark with a light, quickly dissipating head.  The aroma is light, malty, and vaguely toffee-ish.  As for the taste, the beer is a smooth mix of the aforementioned toffee, caramel, coffee, chocolate, and malts, with a slight hoppy kick to remind you that you're drinking a beer after all.  It would go great with steak, and porter fans will enjoy.

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