Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale - Great Lakes Brewing Company

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Great Lakes on 12/1/08. Served in a 12-oz. glass.

A - Poured a hazy pumpkin orange-tinted color with almost a finger of creamy froth on top. Lacing slide down the sides of the glass. Nice head that retained well and flared up with each swish of the glass.

S - Lots of pumpkin spice up front with a heaping amount of nutmeg and brown sugar. There is also hints of cinnamon and pumpkin meat with a touch of sweet cream.

T - Mix of pumpkin meat, nutmeg and sweet cream in the initial flavor, followed by brown sugar and cinnamon sweetness and a crackery/crusty maltiness in the finish.

M - Medium body with a pretty smooth, creamy texture. Spicy finish with minimal bitterness on the palate.

D - Definitely one of the better pumpkin ales I've had on tap. This one blends the spices and the authentic pumpkin flavor quite well, and throws in ample maltiness and sweetness for good measure.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2008 01:46:57 | More by ffejherb

neenerzig

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had this on tap recently at the brewery as this is another one of their on-tap only "pub exclusives." This beer is a nice orange.golden color. Mine didn't have much of a head when it was drawn from the tap, just a fairly thin surface layer and not to much lace either. Aroma wise this beer is chock full of pumpkin, spice and is rounded out by hints of hops. Tastewise it is malty sweet and spicy with flavors of nutmeg and obviously pumpkin. Perhaps a hint of cinnamon as well. The taste is rounded out by a hint of hop bitterness. Not very complex flavorwise, but quite enjoyable. Has a crisp, medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Very easy to drink. Another tasty treat from Great Lakes.

Eric

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2007 18:36:59 | More by neenerzig

bruachan

Rhode Island

3.88/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

this one isn't as pumkpin-y as others. i had southampton's version the night before, and that was basically liquid pie. this is a little drier

the hops involved are strictly utilitarian, as the flavors are fairly subtle to begin with. the aroma has a clean pumpkin to it and the taste features the same, plus some spice at the finish

it's a hazy orange color with no lacing

good pumpkin beer if you're looking for something understated and not like a dessert

Serving type: on-tap

11-20-2006 00:30:38 | More by bruachan

Bones54

Ohio

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Finally- a pumpkin brew that can live up to its name!! Disregard this review if you don't want a pumkin ale that is loaded with spices and pumpkin flavor. However, if thats what your looking for than this is a brew for you. The people in the next table can smell this beer! And no, it's not pumpkin pie! Sure, you're not going to sit down and drink 10 of these in a setting, but this brew is not meant for that. Have one or two. Enjoy the boatload of pumpkin flavor that this brew provides. Cheers to you GLB!

Serving type: on-tap

11-16-2006 05:15:39 | More by Bones54

amstelcat

Ohio

3.33/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Had this one on tap for lunch today at GLBC. Nice bright orange hue int the glass. The bartender kept having to wait for the foam to dissipate enough so he could fill my glass but once served, the head disappeared fairly quickly. Nice aroma of nutmeg and other spices with, of course, baked pumpkin. I always like the aroma of pumpkin beers more than I like the flavor (same way with bacon). Spiciness up front on the tongue with no discernable amount of bitterness. Mouthfeel seems a little thin, which always bothers me with pumpkin beers because the pies are so heavy. Not bad for the style... but more than one of these may be a little cloying.

Serving type: on-tap

11-30-2005 02:35:15 | More by amstelcat

WVbeergeek

Ohio

2.95/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance: Orange copper amber hue forms a tiny layer of foam leaves behind spots of thin cream colored lacing. Aroma: Spiced up nutmeg, all spice insert other pumpkin pie like tones here, evident malty sweetness really heavy own spice and light on pumpkin tones very mild hop character pretty much overshadowed by the spicing only 15 IBU anyway. Taste: Spices and pumpkin dessert style beer pretty sweet and somewhat sickeningly spiced with a touch of pumpkin gourdiness and lightly toasted mild ale malts no hop character can I detect. Mouthfeel: Medium to light on the body even carbonation just gets a bit cloying toward the end of a pint I would suggest a half pint serving or at least a twelve ounce. Drinkability: Not the best of all pumpkin ales I tried seems like this is only the second year brewing this one and still working out the recipe. Not a session brew that is for sure I wanted to cut it with some Burning River Pale ale just to mellow out the pumpkin pie spices. I appreciate the attempt but I know somebody out there other than Dogfishead can revolutionize this style that seems like you have to offer it between Halloween and Thanksgiving, not true.

Serving type: on-tap

11-29-2005 22:48:54 | More by WVbeergeek