UFO Pumpkin - Harpoon Brewery

barczar

Kentucky

2.95/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy golden apricot color with a one inch cream head that dissipates moderately, leaving sheets of lacing.

Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pumpkin form the aroma, along with sweet malt and hints of floral hops.

Flavor is very cola-like, with ginger and clove dominating, and a bit of fruitiness emerging. It then becomes more pumpkiny, with a cinnamon finish. Bready, earthy malt surfaces late.

Body is moderate, with fairly high carbonation and slight alcohol warmth.

Overall, the cola and fruity flavor is offputting. Definitely more dominated by spices than pumpkin. There are many better examples

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2012 06:13:27 | More by barczar

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

3.05/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Hazy, copper/orange. Head is white, slightly fluffy, with negligible lacing.

Smell: Real pumpkin? This is unexpected. The usual spice suspects are present as well. Allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and that distinct aroma of pumpkin pie filling. Sweet, but a touch of wheat tang sneaks in the back. Faint malt in the back.

Taste: Sweet like pie filling. In fact, it's a spot on replica of canned pie filling. Nutmeg and cinnamon dominate, but it's a clean level of sweet as well. A little malt flavor sneaks through in the back. Grassy hop notes on the back as well. A solid presentation, but the sweetness is a little distracting. Warms too grassy.

Mouthfeel: Slightly creamy with some rough edges. Carbonation is spot on. A little dry from the wheat. Easily drinkable.

Overall: Don't let this warm up. Cold, it's an easy drinking take on the pumpkin ale, with only a few off flavors, but once it warms, it falls apart and turns in to a discordant mess. Decent,

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2011 03:33:43 | More by Goblinmunkey7

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.05/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a tumbler pint, the beer is a bright, hazy, orange-copper coloring that is opaque, with a thin, filmy partial coating of bubbles on the surface. Aromas of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pastry crust. Smells are well blended and rich, but refrain from being overpowering. Very inviting. The flavors are light, with a touch of booze character escorting a subtle pumpkin and spice blending. Not nearly as flavorful as the nose alludes to. Overall, it comes off a bit watered down. The spices are barely discernable at all, and the pumpkin transitions into a sharp, quickly fading character of the aftertaste. Crisp, sharp, slightly overcarbonated finish cleans the palate, but does not really inspire a rush to drink more. I have to admit, this had me excited to try, but a bit confused at the end.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2012 02:07:24 | More by GarthDanielson

DrinkingDrake

Massachusetts

3.08/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Orange/red, pretty much burnt pumpkin. Small amount of head with a thick ring around the glass afterwards. Only an extremely small amount of haze. F.O Pumpkin. Nose is spicy nutmeg, pumpkin and sourdough. Light body with a crisp tingle on the tongue. Light bready malt body with nutmeg and pumpkin spices. Finish is almost nothing, watery, a bland dryness, and only a carbonation tingle.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2011 23:06:08 | More by DrinkingDrake

mostpoetsdo

Rhode Island

3.15/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

New product purchased from the Harpoon Brewery in Vermont. It's July and there is already pumpkin beer.

A: Cloudy brownish gold, puffy white head, dissipates quickly. Minimal streaks of lacing.

S: Clove, nutmeg, usual pumpkin pie notes, but a nice Belgian spice aroma. Smells a bit yeasty.

T: Reminds me of UFO (assuming they use the same yeast), but with some definite pumpkin pie characteristics. It's not overly sweet, has some bitter hop notes at time. Tastes a touch sour.

M: Pretty smooth, but rather lacking in body. Carbonation on the lower end.

O/D: It's a solid harpoon addition, good for summer right now, I can see it being very enjoyable in the fall. It's an easy drinker, but with all the other pumpkin beers out there, I don't see myself picking much of this up.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2011 20:51:35 | More by mostpoetsdo

riversider76

New York

3.15/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy amber orange with a thin head. Not much retention, but did have some laceing. Aroma is of pumpkin and spices. This beer is medium bodied and carbonated quite a bit. Taste is mostly pumpkin. Some spice there, but not a great balance. Very geniric.Not one of my favorites.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2011 00:13:41 | More by riversider76

curasowa

New York

3.15/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance: Hazy orange color with 1 finger of head that fades to a ring with chunky lacing.

Aroma: Mostly nutmeg with just of hint of lemon in the background.

Taste: Sweet and malty initially, then a heaping dose of nutmeg washes everything else out. A touch of bitterness and some metallic-ness creeps in on the back end, but the finish is otherwise fairly fast.

The Rest: A decent pumpkin beer; it's a bit heavy on the nutmeg, but it is otherwise fairly crisp and not as heavy as some others I've had.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2011 23:09:43 | More by curasowa

jpro

South Carolina

3.18/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle from Total Wine. Drink by date: 12/19/12

A: Cloudy copper / orange; fizzy white head dies down leaving no retention or lace. I'm giving this one an extra .5 for the "drink by" date.

S: Notes of allspice; clove; pumpkin (not pie - actual pumpkin); a bit toasty with a touch of cinnamon, too.

T: Definitely big on the cloves; some pumpkin and sweet spice are there; fills a bit incomplete, though... not much malt - which I guess makes sense - this is a wheat beer after all.

M: Light mouthfeel; high, zingy carbonation; a bit watery - this lends to the incomplete feeling of this beer.

O: Not bad - but definitely nothing stellar; a pretty easy drinking pumpkin beer - that's really about it. Lack of complexity and mouthfeel leave something to be desired, but it still has some decent pumpkin character.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2012 23:25:17 | More by jpro

cbutova

Massachusetts

3.2/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pumpkin beer in summer, eh...

A- Dark orange body into my pint glass. A foamy off-whitehead forms atop the beer and retains decently. Head eventually dies completely leaving not a ring or lace.

S- General nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin and spice along with other fruit like apple, almost apple pumpkin pie hybrid. Fades out with time.

T- Once again I get a tart apple note long with the usual suspects of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, clove and bread. Also ginger, molasses and some hops, herbal.

MF- Silky light body with a smooth moderate carbonation level. Some residual bitterness in the finish.

Interesting and certainly has the autumn pumpkin feel, along with another tart fruit hint. It is kind of like pumpkin fruit soda. The balance of flavor is lost with time and knocks this one down a level as it didn't start off too badly.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2011 03:01:40 | More by cbutova

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Not bad it had a hefty creamy head with a darkish orange brown colored beer.

S - Smells a little less spicy than I wanted, mostly malts and raw pumpkin/squash like sent.

T - I didn't really like it since it lacked a good cinnamon/nutmeg spice, at least enough to ignore the pumpkin like flavors which were somewhat like biting into a pumpkin.

M - Medium bodied but it was hard for me to finish.

Overall I guess I am on the other side of the fence expecting a nice bit of spice to balance overall pumpkin flavors. Without the spice it's like drinking squash in a blender. Will not buy again.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2011 04:44:13 | More by DrDemento456

SouljaSaia17

Massachusetts

3.23/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours a light orange color, with a very thin bright white head.

S: Aroma consists of pumpkin spice, nutmeg and cinnamon.

T: Flavor starts with a spicy sweetness from the pumpkin peel, and finishes with a peppery spice.

M: Sweet and spicy, light carbonation and quite sessionable.

O: I have only tried a few UFO beers by Harpoon which were acceptable. As relates to pumpkins, this is in the middle of the pack, but quite good overall!

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2012 00:18:29 | More by SouljaSaia17

BigCheese

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Like when seasonals are new to hit shelves because you know they have to be fresh.

A: Pours an Orange/Amber, not as cloudy as most unfiltered beers. Nice White head, leaves significant/suprising ammount of lacing maybe because its fresh.

S: More pumpkin pie than striaght pumkin, seriously doubt this is made with real pumkins. Steriotypical cinnamon and nutmeg as well.

Taste: Nothing crazy complex but a malty sweet pumkin flavor domintates up front. Not a ton of lingering flavor, a touch of bitterness/hops finishes the taste quickly. I've had Brooklyn Post Road this year and I would say this is sweeter/lighter/less flavorful.

Mouthfeel: Thicker/creamer than many cheap pumkins due to the unfiltered aspect. Well carbonated, very light to drink though, I went through this quite quickly.

A pretty decent option from Harpoon, better than their octoberfest. Nothing ground breaking but if your looking for a local pumkin ale check it out. I wouldnt go out of my way or trade for it though.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2011 00:13:59 | More by BigCheese

VoodooBear

Puerto Rico

3.25/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Presentation: 12 oz. brown bottle with "best by" date printed on the neck. Served in a weizen glass.

Appearance: Dark gold, almost orange color, fairly cloudy. Two fingers of head that almost instantly go away. Very little lacing left behind.

Smell: Very subdued, this is not an aromatic beer. Smell is dominated by pumpkin. There's a hint of yeast as well.

Taste: It's quite strong in the spice department. Lots of allspice and ginger with a nice amount of pumpkin in there. It would seem they were aiming for a pumpkin pie kind of taste and they accomplished it. There's yeast and malt in there (albeit very little of them) to remind you that you're drinking a beer.

Mouthfeel: Creamy with almost no carbonation.

Overall: A nice beer but not one I'd drink by itself. It's something nice to have around Thanksgiving. This would go great with some turkey, stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie, and all the "traditional" foods of that holiday.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2012 23:41:19 | More by VoodooBear

pasurfer114

3.25/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Got this when i decided to try a new pumpkin beer. Bought a 6 pack of bottles, poured into a sam adams glass.

A: pours a hazy orange although it is a slightly lighter orange then most pumpkin beers i have tried. A healthy head forms at the top of the glass then quickly fizzles into a very thin lace.

S: the smell is above average, heavier than most on the pumpkin, light on spices. The aroma has notes of allspice, cinnamon,and heavy cloves.

T: the taste is pretty average. lighter than i was expecting though the pumpkin notes do set in pretty well. Light on spices typical of the style.

M: Start is watery and smooth. The spices are light on the tongue but well balanced. Aftertaste is heavier on hops and finishes dry which is a surprise.

O: Overall i would say this is a slightly above average beer. Pretty good but not the kind you run to the store and snag before it runs out. Definitely something i could see myself drinking a few of in a row without being too overwhelming. Not bad for a newcomer to the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 02:43:06 | More by pasurfer114

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a hazy orange/amber pour, finger of head which quickly diminished.
smells of cinnamon, ginger.. bready yeast.
slightly citrusy, bready.. don't get the pumpkin pie spices until the finish.
light-medium body, sweet, yet refreshing. a very nice, sweet ale.. kind of reminds me of a wheat beer in certain aspects.. hmm

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2012 00:44:33 | More by facundoCNB

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - A slight, less than a finger's worth of, crisp off white colored head that displays minimal retention that yields nothing more than a small splotch of lacing and a thin collar... The color is a light to medium orange that displays a certain vibrancy... Some light straw undertones are noticeable when back lit... A limited bit of slightly sluggish carbonation...

S - A very nice balance of sweet pumpkin and autumnal spices... A freshly opened can of pumpkin filling... A light bit of spicing featuring nutmeg with just a touch of cinnamon and clove... Some bready crust like malts lie beneath the surface... Perhaps even some roasted pumpkin seeds...

T - The pumpkin sweetness is surprisingly absent on the palate... Lots of bread and wheat notes... The autumnal spices are present but very muted... Roasted pumpkin seeds...

M -Light to medium bodied... Light prickly carbonation... The finish is a bit gritty and a bit chalky...

D - An average at best Pumpkin Ale... Unfortunately this is neither one I can recommend nor seek out again given the wealth and variety of season offerings available... A very promising aroma is the highlight and is accompanied by sheer mediocrity in all other facets... Not really what I'm looking for in a Pumpkin Ale...

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2012 02:10:15 | More by philbe311

SLeffler27

New York

3.25/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours hazy, rustic orange with a scant, off-white head and no real lacing in a tulip glass.

Nice, sweet pumpkin aroma with less spice than most that warms more akin to sweet potato pie.

Sweet and sharp up front with pumpkin flavors discernible. However, bitterness is at odds with acidity and a long astringent finish. This significantly detracts from the enjoyment.

Medium body with no discernible alcohol. Carbonation is fizzy and there is a sharp astringency.

This is a middle-of-the-road pumpkin ale, worthy of those who enjoy this style.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 12:29:44 | More by SLeffler27

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.28/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

From the 12 fl. oz. bottle stamped BB12/15/11-08:01-175N. Sample on August 18, 2011. It pours amber-orange with a bit of a haze and a thin head. The aroma has a nice combination of pumpkin, nutmeg, and other spices with a whiff of hops at the end. The body was thinner than I might have hoped. The taste had enough pumpkin flavor so that it lives up to its name but it was nothing that was out of the ordinary. It finished clean and crisp but all told, it was really fairly routine.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2011 22:44:28 | More by puboflyons

mdaschaf

Washington

3.28/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Thanks to Jon for this one.

A: Pours a slightly hazy orange color with a small white head. Very little retention with a very small amount of lacing.

S: A nice pumpkin spice going on here, some cloves, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Pretty nice.

T: Much weaker than the aroma, and rather boring in comparison. There is some faint pumpkin pie flavor/spice but a significant amount of boring/bready malt.

M: Medium bodied with low to medium carbonation.

O: Another ho-hum pumpkin beer. The aroma was pretty nice, but the flavor profile left me disappointed, as usual with beers of this style.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2012 01:26:13 | More by mdaschaf

marlinsfan4

Maryland

3.3/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Not as 'in your face' as most pumpkin beers, but still sort of bland overall. Beautiful orange cloudy appearance in the glass, not much in the terms of head. Medium bodied with some slight nutmeg, cinnamon, and fall type spices. Decent finish. Drinkable and alright, but nothing compared to some of the other fall seasonals out there.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2012 20:16:06 | More by marlinsfan4

SteveS1

New York

3.38/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Look: Pours cloudy amber orange, but not completely translucent. Foamy white head with a little retention and some lacing.

Smell: Sour lemon, lemongrass, orange zest, biting spices (cinnamon)

Taste: A tangy citrus shock to the tongue gives way to mellow gingerbread, followed by bitter hops straight down. Finish is bitter hops (slightly metallic), and a hint of ginger.

Feel: Light-to-medium bodied, noticeable carbonation, but not overwhelming

Drink: Interesting, but average overall. Relative lightness makes it an easy drink, but the bitterness cuts into the spices and other interesting flavors a bit too much. Points for giving me nostalgia of gingerbread houses.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2011 02:47:56 | More by SteveS1

BarryMFBurton

Indiana

3.38/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I haven’t had a Harpoon beer in a long while, but this year, I got the urge to grab up every different pumpkin ale within my reach. Cheers to unfiltered beer!

This beer is good for a couple months more (“BEST BY 12/15/12”).

A: As always for an unfiltered ale, it’s hazy, this time with a fitting burnt-orange hue. And at first pour, it seems like there’s going to be that typical unfiltered head, too – thick, billowing quickly from the bottom of the glass – but not such luck. What’s there is a short head of tan bubbles that fizzle quickly to nothing more than a barely-there layer on top of the body. Minimal lacing.

S: Wow, that’s a lot of real pumpkin aroma; and, when that earthy, fleshy character is melded with a healthy dose of allspice, cinnamon, clove, and cookie dough, it gives off a palpable tone of pumpkin pie. I’ll admit, it is more of an artificial pumpkin-pie-in-a-can character, but it’s pleasing nonetheless.

T: In most ways, it’s average: moderate spice, moderate breads, moderate pumpkin. It all blends in a pale-tasting manner, a little watery and with a taste of artificial sweetener, but with a good base of allspice, pumpkin pie filling, nutmeg, and brown sugar. With that, there are also underlying malts – bready with graham cracker flavors – that hold up the otherwise shallow palate. Aftertaste actually shows some hop flavors, drying out the tongue on top of lingering tastes of light sugar-syrup.

M: Mildly and a tad thin – not too satisfying, but an easy drinker from the bottle. If you plan on kicking one of these back, though, I’d recommend letting it warm. It’s too industrial lager-like when it’s at all cold.

O:Another average pumpkin beer; in fact, this one sits right in the middle of the road for what I’ve had so far this season. I don’t think I’d try it again, though it certainly put me in the autumn spirit for the moment.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 02:00:43 | More by BarryMFBurton

silentjay

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

pours a hazy tarnished copper color with a fluffy eggshell colored head that sticks around a while and laces well.

aroma is of squash at first, yeah they used real pumpkin in this one! spices are evident as well, as it was "brewed with spices and with spices added" so it was double spiced, if you will. but still, the spices don't seem to be overdone.

flavor is very sweet. molasses, brown sugar, caramel, with some pumpkin, lots of nutmeg, more than a touch of cinnamon. sweet and with lots of spice, the real pumpkin flavor falls to the background, unfortunately.

thin medium body with subtle carbonation and a lingering sweetness and spices that don't let go for a while.

started promising, but ended disappointing. Those that like the overly spiced pumpkin beers (shipyard, anyone?) may like this as it adds a touch of real pumpkin to it, but I don't overly enjoy it. I may recommend it to some gateway beer lovers, though.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2011 01:50:32 | More by silentjay

taez555

Massachusetts

3.43/5  rDev -5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a mostly clear, mildy hazy, orange tan body with a white head.

Nose has a very potpouri and pumpkin smell.

Taste is light to medium bodied with a chewy grain flavor. Very defined pumpkin pie spice flavor, but not in your face. Very bitter actually with quite a strong hop profile for the style. Ends with a lingering pumpkin flavor.

It sounds boring, but this is a fabulous beer. A perfect session pumpkin. Not over the top, not that mild, just right to drink a case or two.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2011 21:15:23 | More by taez555

Bendurgin

Maine

3.43/5  rDev -5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass. Pours a burnt orange color with just a fizzy layer of head that resides quickly. Lots of visable carbonation and a bit of a hazy body.

The aroma gives of your run of the mill autumn aromas. A but of nutmeg and allspice is detectable with a decent pumpkin aroma in the background. Not bad, but a little bit sweet for my liking. This gives of a sweet pumpkin pie flavor to it. Nutmeg and cinnamon on the pallet with a bit of a creamy pumpkin taste.

The body is light and the carbonation is a bit full. Overall a tasty fall seasonal, but I would prefer a little bit of a drier pumpkin beer myself. This one is just a touch sweet.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2011 02:30:31 | More by Bendurgin