Stingy Jack Pumpkin Ale - Lavery Brewing Company

brentk56

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a murky tea color with a very modest head; very little retention and almost no lacing

Smell: Real pumpkin aromatics, with a bready character, as well; subtle hint of nuts and pie spices

Taste: Real pumpkin flavor dominates, up front, with the breadiness and subtle pie spicing adding a nice dimension in the middle; very nicely balanced, with a minimum of brown sugar and molasses sweetness; the spices come on a bit stronger, after the swallow, with clove being dominant

Mouthfeel: Rather flabby, with a medium to full body and low carbonation

Overall: There is a lot to like in this year's Stingy Jack; a lot of natural pumpkin and nut flavor and a deft hand with the spices; I have had mouthfeel problems with some of the other Lavery beers (more as a result of overcarbonation, ironically) so if this one were just a bit crisper, it would really be in the top echelon for the style

Thanks, kbuzz, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 01:17:00 | More by brentk56

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +1.6%

05-08-2013 04:01:58 | More by tommyguz

ujsplace

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a chalice (goblet) as suggested on the bottle.

The initial pour has absolutely no head. The brew is a deep, hazy burnt orange caramel color. This is a 750ml bottle, so I will let it warm a bit and rouse the sediment at the bottom a bit on my next pour. The second pour yielded a much dirtier brew, but again with virtually no head. The brew is now loaded with yeast sediment.

Smells of pumpkin, bread and caramel malts and spices.

Tastes predominantly of pumpkin and caramel malt with a dose of cinnamon, nutmeg and some clove.

Medium bodied brew, little carbonation.

The lack of any head on this brew made me wonder about the age of this one. Nevertheless, it was a pretty tasty pumpkin ale. Not overly spicy and highly sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 02:05:13 | More by ujsplace

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a clear copper, with ½ fingers of fizzy off-white head. This maintains some foamy edges, leaving back a cascade of spotty lacing. The aroma has a twang to it, with notes of pumpkin, citrus, toffee and light spices. This is very ripe and earthy feeling overall in the nose.

The taste is raw, vegetal pumpkin flavor, earthy bitter hops and then a malty backbone of sweet grains and some tangier caramel character. The finish is lingering ripe earth and some scattered spices. I’m actually getting a bit of pepper on the backend of this. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with firmness on the tongue that turns into more of a smooth creaminess that spreads out.

This was just OK. The combination of pumpkin and hops put off a bit too much of a raw and earthy vibe that was brought out even more by the malts. I split this bottle and that was still too much for me.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 16:07:48 | More by Kegatron

angrybabboon

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Cheers to Goblinmunkey7 for sharing this beer

Appearance: A light brown with some orange highlights - pours with a very small, off-white head - cloudy, with some clarity around the edges that I typically associate with barrel-aged sour fruit beers... odd

Smell: Fleshy, cooked pumpkin flesh - like canned pumpkin pie filling - very mild on the spices, but the usual suspects are still here - nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, ginger - bready malts with some caramel

Taste: Cooked pumpkin flesh and pumpkin seeds - not remarkably fresh tasting or potent, but the sheer quantity of pumpkin is notable - lightly spicy with the aforementioned pumpkin pie spices - some hints of hops - light bready malts - very minimal sweetness - a little watery

Mouthfeel: Medium body, minimal carbonation, oddly watery

Overall: Some good aspects, not great overall

This has a nice amount of real, fleshy pumpkin. Unfortunately, there is not much else remarkable here. Overall, it could use some balance and some more interesting malts. Not bad, maybe worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 03:38:02 | More by angrybabboon

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Beergod1 for the bottle. Split with angrybabboon.

Appearance: Rusty orange brown. Minimal head. What does remain is a tiny white collar. More brown than orange. Unique.

Smell: Squashy pumpkin and spice potion. Nice balance of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove, and hints of vanilla. Dry caramel malts. Slight biscuity undertones. Nice underlying caramel sweetness. Nicely balanced. Great use of pumpkin. Fleshy vegetable. Mild earthiness.

Taste: dry pumpkin on a graham cracker. Snappy cracker sweetness from the malts. Light caramel sweetness. Nutmeg blends through the background. Some cinnamon spiciness on the back of the swallow. Nice big hit of real pumpkin. Squashy, real pumpkin flesh. Light roasted edge coupled with toasted malts. Pulls pumpkin seeds. Spices never become aggressive, but the nutmeg is dominant. Mild maltiness. Some lingering herbal hop notes. Mild earthiness.

Mouthfeel: Crisp and dry, but incredibly clean. Light carbonation. Moderately light body. Refreshingly dry.

Overall: One of the more unique takes on the pumpkin ale.

Incredibly dry for the style. Nice use of pumpkin. Falls a little short overall as the malts are so dry and offer little complimenting sweetness. Ends up drinking like pie crust with some pumpkin remainder.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 03:25:00 | More by Goblinmunkey7

Desi

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

10-12-2012 16:13:24 | More by Desi

rfgetz

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a copper tinted orange, muted head with little retention. Scent is all about the pumpkin with some notes of pumpkin seed, biscuity malt and a muted spice profile (mostly cinnamon). Taste is pumpkin forward, moderate notes of cinnamon and biscuity malt backbone, a hint at the ABVs towards the end. A bit light on carbonation, medium bodied. A decent brew, unique in its makeup, still some things could be adjusted.

Serving type: on-tap

10-08-2012 19:10:52 | More by rfgetz

srw

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +1.6%

10-08-2012 18:14:33 | More by srw

IPAFrankieH

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +8.4%

09-21-2012 10:27:36 | More by IPAFrankieH

skaboom420

Pennsylvania

1.75/5  rDev -52.6%

09-20-2012 23:27:35 | More by skaboom420

Fordiesel69

4.5/5  rDev +22%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I mostly use a 12oz frosted pilsner glass. I prefer mine between 36 to 38 with an ice cold glass.

A- Pours much darker and more amber colored then other pumpkin beers. Typically right out of tap head is 1" and dissapates fairly quick. Appears unfiltered.

S- Smells very stong of awsome spices, a hint of grahm crackers, nutmeg, cloves, possibly allspice, and some ginger. I honestly do not smell much pumpkin but afterall, people relate pumpkin smell with that of pie. Which contains all the spices...

T- Tastes more like a spiced beer. Is not overly sweet or fake. Has all the flavors of the commonly used spices with a perfect finish of hops that are not overly bitter. Very easy to drink a lot of.

M- Feels medium bodied, at a temp of 36-38 degrees F the carbonation is about medium and matches the style of beer quite well. I am quite surprized to find the carbonation fade quite quick after it approached 45 degrees & bitterness seems to increase. Alcohol content is well matched for the style.

Overall a top 10 favorite of mine. I have it on tap as we speak and it is great. Lavery's products are always affordable and easy to find locally. Hopefully they don't tweak the receipe too much for 2013 as this year in my opinion is the best so far. If you cannot find Pumking or think it is just too overpriced, you will not be regret trying this.

Serving type: on-tap

09-18-2012 01:42:54 | More by Fordiesel69

justintcoons

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a tulip.

Appearance
Murky mahogany with caramel colored highlights. Half a finger of tan head is produced and rapidly dissipates. Much darker than your typical Pumpkin Ale.

Nose
Toasted pie crust, caramel, graham crackers and brown sugar. Light whiffs of pumpkin meat, nutmeg and allspice.

Taste
A whole lot of pie crust, graham cracker, caramel and pumpkin meat. Brown sugar and light nuances of nutmeg throughout. A touch of allspice, clove and cinnamon as well as an earthy presence.

Mouthfeel
Medium bodied, slightly crisp and smooth.

Overall
Boasts large amounts of bread and toasted pie crust. Excellent notes of pumpkin meat with artfully blended spices. A worthy adversary to Southern Tier’s Pumpking. Incredibly easy drinking. I am quite impressed!

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2012 12:54:12 | More by justintcoons

ItsBeer4Me

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +8.4%

09-07-2012 22:31:12 | More by ItsBeer4Me

brez8791

Pennsylvania

2/5  rDev -45.8%

08-26-2012 15:15:57 | More by brez8791

chim52chim

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -11.9%

08-24-2012 23:18:40 | More by chim52chim

TallNerdGuy

4.5/5  rDev +22%

02-26-2012 05:43:30 | More by TallNerdGuy

beergod1

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy burnt orange, with a quickly disappearing tan head.
Smells of Strong pumpkin with typical pumpkin pie type spices. But the real Strength of this brew is the Taste. Full bodied with good sweet smooth finish. Like pumpkin pie, a good dessert beer with a creamy body.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2012 21:05:06 | More by beergod1

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I've had the Lavery beers at the Penn Fest this past summer, but this is my first purchased offering I'm always stuck at sticker shock. If they were available on draft for 4 to 5 bucks a pint I would have tried them all, but starting at 8 bucks for even their standard offerings seems weird to me. This was marked down to 6 so I could justify the dive into their bottled offerings. A really nice pumpkin ale, and I'm not a big fan of the style in general. This one comes off balanced with a nice amount of pumpkin gourdiness and spice offerings, with a warming alcohol level that fits for the beer. Appears a clouded orange tinted amber glow with a faint cream head, forms uneven scattered lacing on the sides of my nonic pint. Aroma warming pumpkin spiced tea, hints of cinnamon clove and pumpkin gourds leaving a vegetable imprint on the whole beer. Creamy pumpkin pie notes, with warming spice and festive holiday notes. Earthy vegetable pumpkin with a sweet biscuit malt tone. Not overly done in anyway this quite the excellent spiced pumpkin beer with real pumpkin and it makes it. Mouthfeel is medium bodied some might say the spices are too much but I feel it finishes balanced between sugary malts, dry spices, and vegetable earthy notes of pumpkin. Overall easy as hell to drink this beer when normally I can't finish a 12 ounce bottle of the standard pumpkin ale out there.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 05:22:46 | More by WVbeergeek

AWS2111

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -18.7%

01-03-2012 02:43:16 | More by AWS2111

HumphreyLee

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -18.7%

12-14-2011 06:57:48 | More by HumphreyLee

dtx00

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +35.5%

11-24-2011 05:59:00 | More by dtx00

mgbickel

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +8.4%

11-18-2011 19:08:19 | More by mgbickel

thebouch01

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +8.4%

11-14-2011 18:32:12 | More by thebouch01

Cylinsier

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22.

Pours a hazy brownish color with a slight orange tint. Small head is off-white and retains as a lacing.

Smells of brown sugar, coppery malts, pumpkin and cinnamon.

Tastes of spices like cinnamon and pepper followed with some pumpkin pie sweetness and a hint of vegetable bitterness.

Body is medium to thick with very mild carbonation.

Overall not a bad brew, but I've had a few other pumpkin ales I would take before this one. Still, nothing to turn your nose up at. If you have a craving for a pumpkin brew and can't get some of the premier offerings, this will hit the spot. Just a bit too coppery and bitter to be top tier.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2011 02:28:49 | More by Cylinsier