Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale - Carolina Beer Company

Jason

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12 oz brown twist off bottle with no bottling date on the label.

Appearance: Hazed orangey brown with a decent thin lacing.

Smell: Spices and some cooked pumpkin in the nose, slight fermented twang and toasted malt in the aroma.

Taste & Mouth Feel: Ample crispness with a wet malty palate, most of the balancing flavor comes from the spices with a faint backup of hops. Ghost like pumpkin flavor becomes hidden by the toasted malt character throughout. Light twang in the dry finish.

Drinkability & Notes: Most spiced beers have that quality of only being able to drink one, this one actually is good enough to where I wanted more. Excellent balance between the spices and malt.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2004 21:07:45 | More by Jason

Boto

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draught @ the Brewery: The beer pours a rich coppery color that was somewhat clear. There was a bit of head on it. The aroma was completely that of pumpkin pie spices. The taste was really good. There was a fairly full malt body behind the spices. The spices could have been a hair less. Overall this was a good pumpkin beer!

Serving type: on-tap

09-18-2004 21:54:31 | More by Boto

Backer2004

North Carolina

4.22/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bartender suggested I taste the Pumpkin Ale before ordering a glass but I boldly declined and went straight for the pint. Surprisingly impressed. The smell, of course, was like cinnamon pumpkin pie with the taste to match (although at first the after taste is what impressed me the most). Enjoyed the flavor and aroma the entire time and so did my wife. However, this is not a beer I could enjoy all evening.

Serving type: on-tap

09-13-2004 04:12:31 | More by Backer2004

Shiloh

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This beer is a very deep dark orange in colour and a little cloudy
accompanied by a very short tan crown leading to a tiny lace and thin ring.
The body is full and the carbonation is very lively.The aroma is very fragrant of a multitude of spices and pumpkin.
The taste is very rich and seems a minced pumpkin.
One of these beers will stay with you for a long time. Not a session beer but may be okay for fall dinning.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2004 20:07:09 | More by Shiloh

finepaws

North Carolina

4.68/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

This is one of my favorite beers. Had it at a fall rennaisaunce festival locally. 2 years running now. Couldn't get enough of it last year. Cleared the shelves at the grocery stores. Hate that it's seasonal. Even my "No Thank you, I don't like beer" friends loved this one! The color was a nice reddish/brownish/and yes, orange. Frothing with a pumpkin smell, my friends were a bit offended by the odor, til they tasted it too. You just don't expect pumpkin pie in a beer, yet there it is. We all just kept saying, wow! It was light, and very refreshing on a hot autumn day in the south, and yet warm and comforting on the cool ones. I can't wait for the fall, to get my paws on it again!

Had this again in '05, what a let down. '04 has been the best so far, sad that it hasn't been matched since. Maybe '06 will make a difference.

Serving type: on-tap

05-22-2004 04:57:37 | More by finepaws

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Wow! Stunning! This beer actually smells and tastes like pumpkin pie. I've never had a pumpkin beer that could actually do that. It pours a clear, crimson-tinted mahogany with orange and ruby highlights beneath a creamy head of light-tan foam. The head retention is fair, and it holds a short while before dropping to an average collar (no lacing). The nose is exactly like pumpkin pie with notes of sweet brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all-spice. The body is medium-full; and it's lightly zesty on the tongue with a fine-bubbled, median carbonation. The flavor, of course, is not nearly as sweet as real pumpkin pie, but the spices are present in just the right proportions. The maltiness beneath is sweet, and a touch caramelish; and its sublime bitterness acts only as a secondary to the spice in balancing the malt. It finishes with some residual sweetness that lingers stronger than the spice does; although the spice outlasts the malty sweetness. Still, it's not overpowering at all, and would make a satisfying addition to many dishes. A Thanksgiving dinner seems the most appropriate (whether with the meal or at dessert), but I think this could actually serve quite well in several other situations (Indian cuisine, for example). Really interesting, quite enjoyable, and surprisingly drinkable given the style!

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2004 22:43:42 | More by NeroFiddled

Indybeer

Indiana

3.33/5  rDev -14%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle. Poured a cloudy brown with very little head, that didn't last. No visible lacing to be seen. Aroma is nutmeg, and pumpkin spice. Taste is sweet, and full of pumpkin pie flavor. More so than any other pumpkin ale I've tried. But on the downside it is weakly carbonated, and doesn't have much other than the pumpkin flavor going for it.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2004 05:01:10 | More by Indybeer

PhantomVodoo

Ohio

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark tan head. Amber to mahogany in color.
Bold aroma of nutmeg, pumpkin, and spice.

Taste shows a good dose of nutmeg and other spices. Seems to have the most pumpkin flavor of any of the pumpkin beers I've had. Solid malt backbone. Nice balance, but the spices really own the beer. Finishes pretty well, although the spice flavors linger a bit.

Good body to the mouthfeel.
Good drinkability as far as spiced ales go, but I don't think I would want to knock back more than a couple of these in one sitting.

Overall, a good pumpkin ale. Heavily spiced, but you really can taste the pumpkin.
Big thanks to AKSmokedporter for the bottle!

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2004 06:21:25 | More by PhantomVodoo

mntlover

Tennessee

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours hazy amber brown head small and falls quickly smells like pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon thanksgiving all over again. Taste is pumkin flavored malt with a touch of spice and hops thrown in for good measure. Nice medium bodied spiced beer glad I found some only have had three pumpkin beers this one probably the most enjoyable and drinkable good taste with out going overboard on the pumpkin.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2003 22:10:00 | More by mntlover

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The beer poured hazy amber-brown and the bottle had quite a layer of sediment in it for this beer to not be bottle conditioned. The head fell back quickly. The aroma is spice and malt, actually lots of malt aroma and a good spice balance. Also in the aroma is caramel, and ginger. The flavor is well done with clove and cinnamon spice, probably alspice all well balanced. The malt flavors accompanying the spice are well done also. The body works well and gives the beer a good drinkability.

This is a very well done Pumpkin Ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2003 00:22:24 | More by GCBrewingCo

Loki

North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sampled from a 12oz bottle.

Appearance: Deep amber/copper/auburn color with a big off-white head and great lacing.

Smell: Fresh baked pumpking pie with roasted malt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and herbal scents. The aroma screems fall and begs to be paired with Thanksgiving dinner.

Taste: Starts with nicely roasted malt that smoothly slides to nutmeg and pumpkin with hints of cinnamon and hops. The pumpkin flavor holds the middle together and makes the transition from the sweet malt to the hops very pleasant. And I don't like pumpkin. Very solid body and smooth, clean finish. Very drinkable and begs to be paired with food. One of, if not the best Pumpkin Ale I've had this season. A solid return to a line that lost a step or two in the years past during the transition.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2003 15:11:19 | More by Loki

Stubbie1

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A nice deep blood orange is the color of this brew. It is topped of with an off white head. Decent retention, fading to a thin but sticky lace.

Aroma is malt and spices. Nutmeg and cinnamon come to mind. Not overpowering but, more complementing the brew. It is not a slap in the face type of aroma. Ah yes, there is a hint of pumpkin in the middle of the malt and spices.

The flavor starts with a nice malt flavor. It is not to sweet from the spices but rather nicely balanced between the malt and spices. As this goes across the tongue, hints of the pumpkin come into play. What I thought was nice about this beer was the flavor after the swallow. It seems to me that is where a nice balance of spices are. There is no watery after taste like in some brews.

Drinkablilty is very good. There is enough going on in this beer not to get an overload of the senesces but enough to enjoy. Mouthfeel is smooth and not sticky.

Nicely done!

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2003 02:39:02 | More by Stubbie1

JISurfer

South Carolina

4.65/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This is hands down THE best pumpkin ale I've ever had. I had it on tap at the brewery, which was almost heavenly. So much, that I sampled it like 3 times and got 2 pints of it(all for only $5 for the tour charge, drinks were free)! The color was a dark orangey color and had a creamy head to it that frothed very well, as well as lasted a while. The smell was oh so delicious, just like the taste was. It had elements of all spice and cinnamon. They said that they brew it with actual pumpkin, all spice, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, all of which are all natural. I was very suprised by their rigidness for the whole all natural thing. Anyways, I couldn't really think of any way that they could have improved on making the smell any better. The taste was similar to the smell, but was more complex. You could taste the all spice at first, but then the pumpkin, cloves, and ginger took over. It settled so nicely on the tounge. It was well balanced, so that it wasn;t too sweet or too malty. That in itself was very impressive, I thought. I honestly could sit at home, or anywhere esle, and drink this stuff forever. After having this, it makes me wanna go out and spread the word of the Carolina Pumpkin Ale. If you ever have the chance, go taste it. You will die a happy person.

Serving type: on-tap

10-19-2003 04:53:22 | More by JISurfer

homersimpson

North Carolina

3.15/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Deep hazy brown with a pert beige head. Smells like thanksgiving day. Lots of nutmeg and spice. The taste is over the top though. Almost lambic-like, it is a wee bit on the sweet side. The pumpkin pie flavors override everything else and linger in the finish. Girls love it.

Serving type: on-tap

10-11-2003 23:07:58 | More by homersimpson

oberon

North Carolina

4.3/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Great color,looked unfiltered,smelled like a nice spiced pumpkin pie or bread(coul smell it all day without even takin a sip.)Pumpkin pie spice came through on palate very well,cardimum,cinnamon?Had nice malty texture and didnt fill me up after 4 of them.Cottonwood for me is the best bottled ales to get here in this area.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2003 07:27:54 | More by oberon

RBorsato

Virginia

4.9/5  rDev +26.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

2002 version
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Hazy unfiltered orangish brown with a low light tan head and good carbonation. Perfect blend of pumpkin and spices in both aroma and taste. Medium bodied and smooth.

Blows Post Road away and is also better than Buffalo Bill's. I was pleasantly suprised !!

2003 version
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Hazy amber color (near dark brown). Huge pumpkin spice aroma and taste ! An unreal job with the spices - Excellent !


Bronze - 1999 GABF - Herb and Spice Beers

DOB (on neck): 10/01/02
Tasted: & 01/24/03

2003 version
Tasted: 12/16/03

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2002 10:59:45 | More by RBorsato

aracauna

Georgia

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I wasn't expecting good, but I was impressed. Great balance of pumpkin, spice and the malt. Came across tasting a lot like a good pumpkin pie without getting too heavy, sweet or thick.

Serving type: on-tap

09-18-2002 00:10:10 | More by aracauna