10.23.2012

It's a Tuesday night.. your favorite show is on TV.. what do you do?  Drink beer. Duh.

Blue Hills Brewery - Stingy Jack  A 5.8% ABV Pumpkin Lager - named after the legend of Stingy Jack who coerced the Devil twice, resulting in the Devil sparing him his soul, but upon arriving at Heaven, was not allowed in and doomed to walk the earth with a hollowed turnip and an ember from Hell itself.  There's your history lesson and root of the Jack-o-latern.  Now drink the bloody beer!

I had this at a beer fest a few weeks ago.. was by far the stand out.  The guy at the booth told me it was just released (very tail end of September) because they actually wait for fresh pumpkins unlike many breweries.  Rich copper pour, fairly heady.. a solid, freshly-hollowed pumpkin aroma with a hint of vanilla, nutmeg and sweet malts.  Medium-bodied, full flavor here.  The pumpkin really shines through.  Super-fresh, like carving a pumpkin in your own kitchen, then taking the seeds and roasting them with cinnamon/brown sugar and nutmeg sprinkled all over.  Amazingly fresh.. wow!  The malt backbone is solid and holds up behind the spice.. sweet caramels, toffee and graham cracker crust - the staples of any good fall brew.  Sweet-ish, dry finish with fading pumpkin flesh and the faintest grassy hops to round it out.  Might be the most literal interpretation of 'Pumpkin' beer I've ever had..  fresh and delicious!

Magic Hat - Hex  5.4% ABV and 25 IBUs..  Magic Hat's Octoberfest offering.  I had this two autumn's ago and am revisiting it.  Back then, it was fuller, smokey and malty.. let's see if time holds true.  Drank from the bottle last time..so yeah!...it definitely looks the same!  Supposed to be a Marzen/Red blend, so of course the nose is malt-forward.  Thick caramel, brown bread and toffee.. some faint citrus and floral hops.  Taste is sort of watery.. touches of apple/cider, faint allspice..  this seems more like Pumpkinhead meets Woodchuck.  Little-to-no malts, no smoke..  granted this is billed as a Marzen/RED blend..  RED..  it was definitely more of a true Octoberfest beer with smoke a few years back.  Even tweeted the company to get their opinion...  But take into consideration that NAB purchased Magic Hat in the fall of 2010..after the beer would've been brewed...  now NAB isn't Miller-Coors or In-Bev..  but they may have had an impact on the beers, just sayin...