Pumking - Southern Tier Brewing Company

    The Fall season is upon us, and you know what that means! It won't be too long until we start seeing pumpkin flavored everything. Every year adding pumpkin flavoring to things seems to get more and more out of control, and for the most part, it's not even real pumpkin. To me, that's the worst part of the pumpkin craze; that so much of it is just adding chemicals which taste similar to pumpkin pie spice, not like the fruit itself! Beer also suffers from the "pumpkin season", but it's not always a bad thing!

    Pumking is, as you may have guessed, a pumpkin ale. This festive brew is created by the Southern Tier Brewing Company that is located in Lakewood, New York. While I lump Pumking in with the myriad of other pumpkin flavored items, it's actually released in mid-August and is usually out of stock by the time November, and a lot of the other pumpkin items come around. Honestly though, I can't think of a better way to kick off the season!

    Pumking pours a light amber color with an orange tint. A small one-inch head forms at pouring but quickly subsides into nothing.

    Right away the smell of sweet pumpkin pie hits your nose, and I mean real pumpkin pie, not that artificial chemically smelling/tasting stuff used in other seasonal items. The ale also gives off scents of vanilla and toasted sugars.

    The beer is pleasant on the tongue with a medium body and a low carbonation level. There is a nice creaminess to this ale that makes it a pleasure to drink. I really don't get any alcohol warmth, which is surprising to me as the beer has an alcohol content of 8.6%!

Bow before your king!

    Pumking features flavors such as caramel malts, nutmeg, a hint of vanilla, and, oh yeah, PUMPKIN! I cannot express how happy I am that Southern Tier uses actual pureed pumpkin in this beer, rather than something artificial. And, honestly, this choice is what makes Pumking one of the absolute best pumpkin ales I have ever tried! Southern Tier manages to blend that pumpkin pie flavor perfectly with ale flavors so that you don't just feel like you're drinking a dessert, but rather enjoying something completely different while still reminding you of comfort food.

    The only bad thing I can say about Pumking is that, in both scent and flavor, the ale has a slight...candle-ness to it. By that I mean that the beer smells and tastes kind of how a Fall-themed, super-expensive jar candle would smell, the idea of which isn't exactly pleasant. This is easily overcome thanks to the balance of flavors in the brew. Plus, if you let this beer age for a few months, the unpleasant flavor diminishes and the nice, sweet flavors become more intense.

    Obviously if you're not a fan of pumpkin flavor, you most likely won't enjoy this beer. Pumpkin pie happens to be my favorite pie, so I love pumpkin flavor when it is done well. Pumking blew me away the first time I tried it and I had to track down another bottle to review. Definitely seek this one out, especially since it's one of the earliest (and best) pumpkin flavored foods of the season!

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