Ichabod Ale 2012 - Alpine Beer Company

ehammond1

California

3.98/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle (2012)

Alpine Beer Company
Alpine, CA

(Aged for 6 months)

Very dark brown, and nearly black in color. Small dark brown head. This leaves the glass messy with one continual sheet of lace. Very pretty porter.

Miscellaneous roast aromas along with a touch of spice and some mild pumpkin character, though the known ingredients may be leading me to that conclusion.

Roast flavors, a very mild chocolate character, mild to moderate bitterness, and a touch of spice and pumpkin. It all comes together very nicely. I'm enjoy this quite a bit.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. Appropriate, though not spectacular.

I'm really enjoying this, after having forgot I had it after buying it fresh 6 months ago.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 01:17:15 | More by ehammond1

kojevergas

California

3.18/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Ichabod Pumpkin Spice Porter. Served on-draught into a pilsner glass at Alpine's brewpub in Alpine. Reviewed from notes taken in October 2012.

A: Pours a half finger khaki colour head of nice cream, good thickness, and average retention. Body colour is a solid black. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Nontransparent. Opaque.

Sm: Pumpkin, spice, dark malts, some chocolate, cream, and hints of roast. Pumpkin and spice is dominant - as it should be. A moderate strength aroma.

T: Pumpkin, spice, and some clean dark malts. Clean and nicely put together. Balanced and flavorful. Cream is quite light. Little of the chocolate I detected in the aroma comes through at all. It's one of the better pumpkin brews I've tried, but it is quite simple. No yeast or alcohol comes through. I like it.

Mf: smooth and wet - too much so on each count. Middling thinness. It's not watery. Suits the flavours only decently.

Dr: Drinkable but too simple. I like it, but I wouldn't get it again. A decent seasonal, though I expect better from a brewery as good as Alpine. Well priced.

C+

Serving type: on-tap

11-13-2012 21:34:50 | More by kojevergas

pmarlowe

California

3.73/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Tulip glass.

A: Pours a deep, clear, almost reddish amber color. A little fine, tan head which recedes pretty quickly to a ring. A little smattering of lace.

S: Cinnamon, dark molasses, a little smoky malt, a little pumpkin filling and dark chocolate. Nice stuff.

T: Winter spices, some dry pumpkin and molasses, finishing bone dry with a kind of smokey flavor. Very subtle flavors. I think the finish is too dry, a little sweetness would really round this out.

M: Medium-full body, nice and round, with medium carbonation.

O: Pretty good, but dryness limits the drinkability. Maybe I should be pairing this with something?

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 06:20:31 | More by pmarlowe

DocJitsu

California

3.3/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cola brown color with a root beer colored head. In Alpine fashion, the head doesn't stick around long. Nutty, woody, and coffee aromas. Mouthfeel is full and wet with a bit of a carbonation burn at the finish. Raw pumpkin, smoke, and some plastic flavors. Not my favorite. I'm 0-2 with pumpkin ales the Fall.

Serving type: on-tap

11-04-2012 02:36:56 | More by DocJitsu

kawilliams81

Illinois

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

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a Half Acre tulip.

A- pours near black with a 1 finger tan head. Big trails and waves of lacing remain on the glass.

S- some roast but mainly cinnamon and nutmeg.

T- similar to nose, lots of nutmeg and cinnamon. Slight pumpkin and chocolate as well.

M- medium body and carbonation. Very easy drinking but actually feels a little thicker than a 6% beer.

O- nice pumpkin porter. I don't get a ton of pumpkin though, more the illusion of it from the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2012 02:36:40 | More by kawilliams81

Vonerichs

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark brown body but looks a little flat. Barely any head or carbonation activity.

Smells of chocolate, roasted malt, and nutmeg.

I like the interaction between the nutmeg and cinnamon with the porter. The spices are more present than the pumpkin. It has heavy chocolate, too. Desert in a glass.

Mouthfeel had good body but it is low on carbonation.

I really liked the taste but it fell a little short on the mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 00:29:51 | More by Vonerichs

match1112

Illinois

3.68/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Praise be to BdubleEdubleRUN for sending this!

a: dark brown body with the slightest amber hues when held to the light. a fingers worth of mocha colored head fades to a thin ring around the mug, very little lacing is left behind.

s: roasted coffee and dark chocolate with a hint of pumpkin and spice.

t: big roasted coffee flavor with dark bitter chocolate and some spice, not much pumpkin is in there.

m: medium body with good carbonation. creamy feel with a bitterness from the coffee and dark chocolate..

o: pretty good for a coffee porter, not good for a pumpkin beer. would of scored higher but i didn't think the small dose of pumpkin spices helped the coffee aspect of this beer. still a very easy drinkin good tastin porter and would drink more if i had access to it.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 02:34:14 | More by match1112

srandycarter

California

3.6/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Touted as a chocolately porter with pumpkin, was looking forward to this release.

A - Pretty impenetrable dark beer, light head, some lace.

S - Winter cooking spices. Like this aspect. Maybe my favorite part.

T - It's a porter. Not a bad porter, but does not express the pumpkin in any meaningful way.

M - Medium body, good carb, fair balance.

D - Disappointing for me. I was hoping for a lot more, especially for the availability and price. I still have a Pumking from ST from last year and I will be opening that for halloween.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2012 05:38:24 | More by srandycarter