Pumpkin Ale - Rivertown Brewing Co.

Groomsy

Kentucky

3.68/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Alright, so this is slightly out of season. I admit it. Buuut, it came in the most recent "Variety Crate" from Rivertown that I picked up. It's still a solid pumpkin ale. 12 oz. bottle poured into a mug.

A dark copper/amber body is topped by a thick head of foam which quickly dwindles to a cap and leaves soapy lacing down the glass. Healthy carbonation bubbles jet from the bottom of the glass. A nice-looking beer.

On the nose, I can tell that is definitely more of a "pumpkin pie" beer rather than a straight pumpkin ale. Spices like cinnamon and nutmeg dominate, backed by brown sugar, molasses, and some caramel/bread scents from the malt. No detectable hop presence in the nose. Some fruity esters emerge as the beer warms. A nice smell; about what I would expect for this kind of ale.

The taste of this of this brew is what some would call "safe" - while I'm inclined to agree with it, this is not by any means a BAD pumpkin ale. It feels the style criteria accurately. On the front of the palate is a big burst of dry spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe some clove and allspice if you search hard enough) followed by a flash of genuine, earthy pumpkin flavor and sweetness. There's a small flash of earthy bitterness on the back of the palate to wash down the sweetness of this beer. There is some bread and caramel-flavored flavors in the finish to complement the pumpkin and the spices. While a little too spice-heavy for my tastes, this is an overall balanced example of the style. I enjoy it more than some commercial breweries' examples of this style.

As far as weight goes, this beer is medium-heavy in body but retains a smooth characteristic. The spices provide a dry finish and leave lingering hints of earthy pumpkin. The finish fades quickly and is actually quite refreshing for the style.

Overall, a solid interpretation and representation of the style. Rivertown seems to have played it safe with this one, but in a world in which brewers are pushing extremes for the sake of being extreme, it's good to come back to basics. A solid pumpkin ale with good flavor; I would certainly drink a few of these as an after-dinner treat.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 23:16:27 | More by Groomsy

BB1313

Ohio

3.1/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Pours a hazy burnt orange, nice color. Off-white head fades very quickly and doesn't leave much lacing or retention, but there are a ton of legs. The aromas are nice. It has your typical pumpkin ale aroma with cinnamon leading the way. There's also a vanilla cream aroma floating around which is nice. Finally a nice caramel aroma from the malts. The flavors hit you with a sharp cinnamon spice blast, but quickly fades leaving a juicy bitterness. I'm also picking up some ginger and nutmeg along with a touch of brown sugar. Mouthfeel is fizzy, but smooth. It's pretty light, but has a nice body to it. Alcohol goes unnoticed.

This is a pretty average/middle of the road pumpkin ale. It's pretty nice, but very safe.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2012 01:05:22 | More by BB1313

wingman14

Ohio

4.45/5  rDev +22.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a nice orangish amber with a frothy tan head that fades after awhile. Smell has some spice with the cinnamon being the most prominent, some malty goodness, and some sweetness probably due to the molasses. The taste follows suit, the molasses and cinnamon come through with a healthy dose of pumpkin, the aftertaste finishes with the molasses and pumpkin. The flavors are over the top or annoying, but still packed in there. The flavor definitely improve as the beer warms, the cinnamon, molasses, and spices come through and the beer sweetens up a bit. This one has a medium mouthfeel with a nice balance of flavor and somewhat smooth. Overall a good pumpkin ale, and a great fall beer. One of my favorite pumpkins I have had.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2012 21:45:41 | More by wingman14

BeerBuckeye

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a darker amber color with small, 1 finger, off-white head.

S - Bready with caramel malt, there's a hint of allspice and cinnamon, but it's very faint.

T - Actually a pretty tasty pumpkin pie blend of spices. Cinnamon and nutmeg are prominent. Touch of clove. Taste is a little metallic at the end. And the spices fade quickly.

M - Pretty big carbonation, but overall, fairly crisp.

Overall - A decent pumpkin ale here. Not blow-me-away good, but it does the trick.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2012 00:13:22 | More by BeerBuckeye

stewart124

Ohio

3.18/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Amber to light brown with a very nice head. Almost nitrous-like in appearance.

Nose has just a slight character of "home brew" dare I say. Spices abound and a nice caramel character.

Lighter body and more carbonation than I anticipated with less mouthfeel. Muted spices come through the mellow malt character. More nutmeg and allspice hit the palate at the end. More spices and malt character come through as this warms a bit. Some tobacco and slight roasted notes make their way through this pumpkin ale.

Nothing really wrong with this pumpkin ale but it doesn't shine. The best part was honestly the appearance.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 02:18:39 | More by stewart124

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.08/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Where pumpkin ales are all the rage during the fall season, there seem to be no shortage of supply as every brewery that gains access to the gourd feels compelled to partake in this highly competitive market. Rivertown takes a stab at it with a lighter body and spice-heavy attitude.

The Pumpkin Ale pours with a copper-auburn color that makes me want to read actual pumpkin hues in its aesthetics. Sternly carbonated, the beer seems to sparkle as the bubbles rise through the coppery liquid. Fueling a head partly of creamy foam and partly fizzy, the carbonation isn't enough to keep the foam character or lacing throughout, leaving the beer lacking a bit of beauty later in the session.

Spicy aromas, lead by cinnamon, also rein in complementary notes of nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar. Layered on a pillow of caramel and molasses, the beer begins to resemble pumpkin pie. Even the starchy twinge of tartness that actual pie pumpkin displays is alive and well in the nose.

The flavors tell a taste of two beers. There's a caramel-laden base flavor with molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, but without the underlying associated sweetness of caramel. Lighter in taste from a malt standpoint, the spices abound and seem to have little grounding. This is a cause for sharp spiciness that supplants hop bitterness in balance. The persistent tartness keeps the beer tasting alkaline and somewhat battery-like.

Light in body, the beer's spicy additions have timid support from mid palate onward. But the early taste is subdued from the creaminess of carbonation and fresh malt texture. But after the beer falls thin, its the astringencies of boiled spice that finishes the beer with an unsettled mouthfeel.

Rivertown Pumpkin Ale captures a very true essence of pumpkin and spice in authentic and common taste. But recent pumpkin ales are doing a better job of capturing the taste of pumpkin pie in the glass rather than trying actual pumpkins. Let's face it, we don't even eat pumpkin pie for the pumpkin taste; it's all the other sugars, spices, and praline flavors that keep us going back to the Thanksgiving dessert table.

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2012 17:45:05 | More by BEERchitect

stewarbd

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Very nice copper color, nothing unusually amazing or horrible about it.

S: Very subtle hints of nutmeg and cinnamon, not much else at first pour, but after warming up, sweet molasses dominates the nose with a nice backing of cinnamon and nutmeg.

T: Similar to the aroma, the spices came through almost exclusively until it warmed up, when that great molasses flavor revealed itself and the spices once again took a backseat. Never did get much malt or hops, which doesn't disappoint me too much.

M: Isn't a heavy beer, but by no means is it watery. The carbonation was a bit much for me, although it didn't take away much from the experience. I just noticed once the beer warmed a bit and lost some of the carbonation, I enjoyed it slightly more, as nothing then detracted from the flavors.

O: I really wasn't expecting much, but this beer may be the best Pumpkin Ale I've had, save Pumpking. I would definitely serve it cellar temp if it was my call, as the beer seems to reveal more at a slightly warmer temp. That molasses driven, spice supported idea worked for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2012 22:32:34 | More by stewarbd

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle, the new batch just showed up at the store recently. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a clear orange/copper color with an inch off-white head. Head retention and lacing are both decent enough. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices. It also tastes like pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and some molasses. It's a nice sweet and spicy brew. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit slick with good carbonation. I think it's a solid pumpkin ale, it's worth trying. $8.99 a 6 pack.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 23:20:08 | More by bluejacket74

rogueleonardi

Ohio

4.88/5  rDev +34.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Bottle poured slowly into a plain pint glass.

A - Gorgeous dark amber color, nice off white head, half a finger thick. Nice rings of lacing down the glass.

S - I'm immediately reminded of pumpkin pie when I first poured this beer. Lots of cinnamon and nutmeg spice, with a sweet molasses aroma as well.

T - This is pumpkin pie in liquid form. So much spice and molasses flavor, there is no hint of alcohol, hops, yeast, or malt. The molasses balances the spices very well.

M - Low viscosity, very drinkable with a nice crisp carbonation. Not rough at all.

O - This was delicious, the spices and molasses blend perfectly together, creating a full flavor, gorgeous color, and overwhelming aroma. The carbonation and flavor make this one of the easiest drinking beers I've had.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2012 21:38:14 | More by rogueleonardi

tfratzke

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Appearance is copper orange. Little off white head that disappears almost immediately. Zero lacing. Aroma of pumpkin, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon. Fairly subdued, and that's not necessarily bad. Taste is pumpkin which is predominant, then i also get nutmeg that lingers into the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is a bit thin. Overall, this is an easy drinking pumpkin ale, which is the kind i personally enjoy the most.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2011 00:30:45 | More by tfratzke

brown2cu

Ohio

3.68/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Came out copper with a half finger head of white foam. The head dies down relatively quick and leaves only a patchy hint that it was ever there at all. No lacing was observed.

S: Predomininatly pumpkin the spice, unlike a lot of other beers of this style, is relatively low key.

T:A rather mild but good pumpkin ale. The pumpkin is at the forefront and the spices are just right; not overbearing just present enough to add complexity.

M: A bit too thin and watery.

O: A good effort from a local brewery I definitely would try this again or more appropriately try this again annualy to see if the brewery makes changes to the recipe.

Serving type: on-tap

10-30-2011 06:44:29 | More by brown2cu

zimm421

Ohio

2.95/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served on-tap in a standard pint glass. Appears a dark brown to copper color with a thin off-white head. No lacing to speak of.

Nose is all cinnamon. Overall the aroma its pretty muted. Some sweet malts but that's about it. Taste is very similar. Up front it's all sweet and then turns into cinnamon spiciness. Almost no pumpkin flavor to speak of. Definitely disappointed with the lack of pumpkin since it is a pumpkin ale.

Mouthfeel is pretty standard. Medium bodied, average carbonation. Goes down really easy. Overall, a disappointment. Lack of nose and flavor in general and the lack of pumpkin is a downer.

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2011 00:00:17 | More by zimm421

nlmartin

Ohio

2.08/5  rDev -42.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

This beer was served in a pint glass.

A- The body of the beer is a clear orange coloration. The head thin white and doesnt last very long.

S- The aroma of cinnamon and possibly nutmeg dominate a very subdued pumpkin aroma.

T- The flavor of the beer is just kind of muted for me. A shake or so from the spice rack of cinnamon and other spices. Caramel and something vaguely vegetable.

M- Lightly carbonated light bodied beer hits a sweet spot and goes dry.

O- This beer wasnt a drain pour and wasnt a chore to finish. It simply wasnt satisfying. I am passing this one up and moving onto something else.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2011 21:14:00 | More by nlmartin

Ryan011235

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into an E&J Cask & Cream glass on 10/16/11

Clear, browned amber color. One finger head doesn't last long, becoming a bubbly skim after but a few minutes. A few blobs of lace for with each sip, but they don't hold.

The aroma is almost entirely cinnamon; dry and dusty... cinnamon sticks. There doesn't appear to be much that gets past the cinnamon. There is a faint grain notion and swirling brings out sporadic subtleties of buttered pumpkin. Hints of fruit ester as it warms.

Cinnamon isn't "quite" as outrageous to taste, but there no doubt that this is a spice rack creation. Perhaps some nutmeg. Pumpkin notes are comparably tame, but the flavor profile is more fleshed out than the aroma. The latter half is toasty. I'm not picking out the molasses mentioned on the bottle; ah well, surely it's buried in there somewhere.

Medium body. The feel is very dry; prickly carbonation further agitates the spices. Dry, dusty, cinnamon and spice finish.

Dang, I tore through this bottle in no time. As far as spiced beers go, it's tasty. As with their Winter Warmer, I like the way Rivertown manages an incredibly dry spice note. There's little wrong with this beer, in my opinion. As far as "pumpkin ales" go, I'd go for this again.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2011 03:12:49 | More by Ryan011235

CruisaC

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked this up because I can't resist a local pumpkin beer

Pours an orange-ish copper amber color with a head that quickly fades

smells typical pumpkin-y, nice nutmeg, pretty sweet

Tastes more like pumpkin pie than most. Nice combination of the spice flavors. Finishes a bit bitter but this is beer, not an actual pie so I'm ok with it.

average carbonation, could stand to be a bit thicker on the feel.

Not bad, I'd have to say it tastes more like pumpkin pie than other, more prominent Pumpkin beers. I'm overall not blown away by the style which limits my score just a bit.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 00:59:23 | More by CruisaC

Jesse13713

Ohio

4.78/5  rDev +31.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Picked up a sixer at 101 bottles in Kent. It's always good to try out local brews.

Appearance - Poured into an Arrogant Bastard pint glass. A half-finger of head that disappeared very quickly. Nothing is left at the surface. This beer has just an absolutely phenomenal color. A beautiful crimson red with subtle hints of orange and a brown base. This beer definitely reminds me of halloween.

Smell - Woah. I smelled this as soon as the cap popped off of the bottle. Amazing smell. This is the MOST pumpkin smelling beer I have ever experienced. This smells like a pumpkin-spice latte from Starbucks. Heavy notes of spice and subtle hints of cinnamon. A syrup-like scent as well. Again, this is outstanding in pumpkin notes.

Taste - This is a great pumpkin ale. Going along with the smell, the taste has phenomenal notes of pumpkin. Bravo. Spicy in all the right ways. Elegant cinnamon and nutmeg. A bit of a red ale taste as well. The molasses can be tasted at certain points and adds to this beer complexity.

Mouthfeel and Drinkability - A bit fizzy on the tongue despite low carbonation. Medium-bodied and just absolutely delicious. This is really a great beer and most definitely worth picking up. This competes with Southern Tier Pumking in my opinion. This is a VERY solid effort and you'd be sad to miss out on this.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2011 01:35:43 | More by Jesse13713

beerguy105

Ohio

4.63/5  rDev +27.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Had it On tap at Arnolds downtown, amazing pumpkin seasonal offering from the Cincy boys. Fresh pumpkin aroma, a little thin bodied, but amazing flavor lots of nutmeg and cinnamon. Give this one a try for sure, havent seen it in bottle yet! Best pumpkin beer i have ever had.

Serving type: on-tap

09-22-2011 03:55:32 | More by beerguy105

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - a definite deep orange hue to the caramel color. A thin whitish head fades back to a scant cover and holds pretty well.

Aroma - good balance of pumpkin and the typical pie spices. Not overly sugary but there is no mistaking them either.

Taste - the malts are sweetened by the pumpkin and spice flavors. There is a sourish tang in there, I think it might be the molasses. It's an interesting twist that fits in nicely. Light on the hops, allowing the fall flavors to come through fully, though it does have a drying finish that keeps me coming back.

Mouthfeel - nicely carbonated, the body is average to a touch watery.

Drinkability - an excellent version of the style. If you're doing pumpkin ale tastings, this is a keeper as it provides a counter to some of the sweeter, more syrupy stuff out there.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 01:29:08 | More by brewdlyhooked13

agleas1

Ohio

4.88/5  rDev +34.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

What a great beer! So often a pumpkin beer misses the mark. This beer pours great (when poured correctly). Nice head that faded a bit... I liked the beer so much, it didn't have to hang on that long ;).
The spices are very well balanced. I get cinnamon & allspice. These guys never cease to wow me! I found my Thanksgiving beverage!

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2010 14:26:37 | More by agleas1

mwa423

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours a slightly cloudy orange color (about the color of a pumpkin left outside). Head was weak but did leave a light lacing

S - Aroma is light, mostly cinnamon and spice with some pumpkin aromas and a hint of malt.

T - Very well balanced pumpkin ale. The main flavors are cinnamon spice, but it isn't so heavy that there is no beer flavor. There is a nice malty smoothness to remind you that it's a beer.

M/D - Mouthfeel is smooth and on the light side for the style. Very easy drinking and a great balance between pumpkin and beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2010 00:15:33 | More by mwa423

Bierguy5

Ohio

2.53/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 oz bottle. Pours a cloudy orange, amber color. Head disappears immediately. Really lacking in the visual department here.

Very pale malt, almost a grainy adjunct smell. Some very faint spices. Maybe some cinnamon. Not much here either.

A hint of caramel. The label says molasses, but there doesn't seem to be any. A slight vegetable flavor. Some drying, earthy spices.

Light body, very thin. Carbonation seems to be lacking. This is very disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2010 00:45:47 | More by Bierguy5

bamadog

Kentucky

1.95/5  rDev -46.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

I wish I could be excited about Rivertown Brewing as they're really the only "local" brewery in the immediate area. However, they're pretty pedantic thus far. Review is from notes taken on 10/13/2010.

Appearance: Pour is a murky, coppery/orange color; starts with a 1/2 finger off-white head that fades immediately to absolutely nothing; body is cloudy and shows uneven, but fairly strong carbonation; no lacing is left behind at all.

Smell: Quite weak; smells of old pumpkin, faint cinnamon and nutmeg; bit of an earthy bitter hoppiness... just smells stale...

Taste: Really matches the nose to a "t" -- not good at all; weak, old pumpkin and really faint spices and a bit of a bitter/earthy/metallic hoppiness... tastes just as stale as it smells.

Mouthfeel: Pretty bad -- feels like it's 1/2 beer and 1/2 water; carbonation is weak considering how it appears; a faint moist stickiness is left behind.

Drinkability: One of the few beers I've ever drain poured, not worth picking up.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 00:34:12 | More by bamadog

rcwhiteky

Ohio

3.98/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Most pumpkin ales try to hard with one flavor or another this brew is very balenced you can pick out the spices if you really try but otherwise the flavor blends well I liked this beer it wasn't the greatest but a solid effot that I enjoyed. Support one of the little guys and try out a six pack

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2010 02:37:15 | More by rcwhiteky