Well I guess I gave away my answer in the title. 🙂
I’m going to load up on pumpkin beers for the weekend, as I’m doing a roundup of these seasonal delights for that other place I write for. I figure the timing is right, as these beers won’t be on shelves forever, and shouldn’t be missed by those who haven’t had one before (there’s a large mainstream/noob thread to the readership over there, which offers a great opportunity to introduce folks to the varied wonders of the World’s Greatest Beverage). Hopefully Dogfish Head has managed to get Punkin out by now so I can include it – it’s not a pumpkin party with the punk!
It’s also the opening weekend of the NFL season. I’m a Jets fan (save your barbs, it’s its own punishment) so I’ll need a combo of something light and a hammer that I can drop when Tebow finally completes a pass…to Mario Williams. 😦
I think I’ll keep it local and go with some Sweet Action or Diesel from Sixpoint, and maybe pick up some Session Black Lager, which I got as part of a sampler pack and really liked. For the hammer, I’ll keep that bottle of Stranahans Colorado Whiskey that I recently ungifted from my boss.
Anyway, I’m actually excited to see how the Jets perform now that they’re not playing vanilla pre-season offense. I’m sure it will be painful, but at least it’s real live football, and that’s enough for now.
How about you guys and gals? What are you drinking this weekend? Any big football-related plans? Anyone brewing the White House beers? As always, let us know below and HAPPY FRIDAY!
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Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Got some Pumpking in the fridge ready to go!
DRINK IT WARM! That beer is all about the vanilla, which you really can’t taste when the beer is cold. It blossoms like a byootiful flower as it warms, and the vanilla emerges and blends with the spicy pumpkin squash…mmm…now I want a Pumking for breakfast!
Hopefully I can get my hands on some more Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. My team (Da Bears!) is playing on Sunday so I am sure I will be whipping something up in the kitchen.
That’ll be in the mix for my review for sure!
DFH was packaging the Punkin for shipment when I was there back in July.
Ralph, my beer enabler at Piney Run Liquirs, is hosting another tasting this evening, featuring some Rhinelander releases: Mystical Jack Traditional Ale, Thumper American IPA, Chocolate Bunny Stout, & Imperial Jack Double IPA. So I may take home one or two of those. I also hope to pick up some SA Octoberfest and/or DFH Punkin while there.
At his last beer tasting he featured Widmer’s brews. I was very surprised to find I enjoyed their Shaddock Rotator IPA–I was expecting a Shandy but by using the grapefruit zest vice juice it was a completely different experience–very refreshing. They also featured their drifter Pale Ale and their Hefeweizen. The Widmers I want to try is their Oatmeal Porter.
Sounds like a good tasting. I’m curious to know how you like the Double Jack. It’s a resinous hop bomb, but still pretty smooth.
Of the four I liked the Double Jack and (surprise) the Chocolate Bunny (unfortunate choice of name.) best.
I liked the entire taste experience w/ the Jack and thought it was a well-rounded ale. Despite having cocoa added the Bunny was not over the top chocolate. If anything it suggested coffee to me. (I bought a bomber of the Bunny & now, at $399 a bomber, wish I’d gone ahead and gotten one of the Jack.) The other two were ok but not anything to take me to my “Beer Happy Place”. I didn’t find any of them particularly hoppy–guess I’ve been drinking too many IPAs of late. BTW: Have you had their 1845 Pils? That one sounded interesting but they didn’t have it in the store.
Along w/ that bomber of Bunny, I picked up a 4-pack of DFH Punkin (had one warm when I got home & it was tasty, like drinking mulled ale, bet it would be great heated on a cold winter’s night); a sixer of SA Octoberfest; and a bomber of SA’s Fat Jack Double Pumpkin–I’ll let you know what I think of that.
My dad fell in love with a choclate bunny as well. It was 1973 and he was visiting the Playboy Club…
Whoops. I lied…it was the Mystical Jack Traditional Ale and the Bunny that I liked. I didn’t get the hoppiness I expected from the two IPAs. Although the Double IPA had a very hoppy finish, it didn’t come across to me while I was drinking it. Interestingly, the Mystical Jack seems to have a suggestion of chocolate and toffee in it, and its somewhat sweet as well but not like a Belgian .
Rate Beer only gave this one a 44; BA an 80; Tastings.com an 88; and it won a Silver at the WCBAs. Anyway, I liked it, but wasn’t taken w/ the IPAs, and in Wayne’s World that’s what counts– LOL.
We just put in three Pumpkin Beers:
Southern Tier Pumking-liked your earlier comment…
Wild Onion Pumpkin Ale in a can…
New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin
oh, & Sam Adams Pumpkin harvest
Am trying to get the Fat Jack Double Pumpkin from Sam Adams too.
Can’t wait to sink my teeth into these!
Nice lineup! I have a Fat Jack at home, and I’m interested to give it a whirl – almost forgot about that one…
black butte 24, artic panzer wolf, and doris the destroyer.
…and Advil… 🙂
I’m going to start with the Cigar City Guava Grove Farmhouse Ale…It still feels like summer here…so, I’ll have to wait on the Pumking 😦
Well, snap it up now at least, so it’s not gone when you want it!
I just got a bottle of Tart of Darkness from The Bruery. I guess today was the first days it has been available in New Jersey so I am going to give it a try this weekend.
And speaking of DFH Punk, which I had last night and forgot how tasty it is, I am going to try to make pumpkin ice cream out of it this weekend. I am hoping it turns out positive, wouldn’t want to waste the beer.
The transition to fall has not kicked in yet around here, so I’m still favoring the lighter (colored) brews for the hotter temps. I’m a fine tuned machine and require proper fuels in order to function at optimum levels. Lest those flower beds go without weeding, vehicles remain unwashed and bags remain un-carried at the mall….. oh gawd, who am I kidding? It’s what keeps me working Monday through Friday, with some detached sardonic grin, while I do ‘whatever’ to make enough surplus cash to buy a sixer or two.
For there are precisely two things which run through my head while pushing that mower around: One- as long as I’m doing this, I can’t be asked to do anything else, and secondly- what I’ll sneak off to do when the lawn is thoroughly groomed and the gnomes are realigned.
I’m going to grab my Craftsman bottle opener which I can pull out of the toolbox without drawing any unnecessary attention. Then skillfully use it to open a ‘Racer 5 IPA’ and adroitly pour it into a pint glass, then I’ll have a brief tearless cry which will be squelched by that liquid ambrosia. Yeah, I’m that cool.
I am doing a brewery crawl around Charlotte for a friend’s birthday. I’m not exactly sure what stops are on the agenda, so “beer” is as specific is I can get. Somebody is bound to have something special for fall, right?
Timing is, indeed, everything (well, not exactly everything – an autographed high res photo of Giada Delaurentis would have to be part of any everything).
But back to timing….I literally walked into the office an hour ago with my first box of pumpkin beers (including DH Punk’n). I figured it was finally time to give in and haul some away before, as you say, the mad rush wipes the shelves clean of some options. They’re calling for a major cool down later this weekend so I might even crack a couple open late tomorrow night.
As for the games, well, I guess I’m committed to an Exit 4 for kickoff of the Iggles game (truth in advertising and all) but I also have a Stone Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle and a couple Flying Dog Raging Bitches to tame. And then there’s the AleSmith Speedway Stout that’s been patiently resting in the closet……………….
Cheers!
I dunno, Raging Bitches and Mike Vick might still not mix…
Probably nothing unfortunately. If I do open anything it will probably be Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel Calvados Barrel Edition. I have been sitting on it for a few months now.
The weekend might be over before you can say all of that!
Haha well your prediction came true actually. A friend surprised me last night and brought some beer over. We had: Straub Lager, Brooklyn East IPA, Brooklyn Monster, Thirsty Dog Old Leghumper, Samuel Smith Raspberry Ale, Mt. Carmel Winter Ale and Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen.
Thanks for the Pumpkin tip. Trying it for the first time this weekend. Drinking a Sixpoint Crisp now. I’m no lager expert but this is one of the best pilsners I’ve had.
Drinking one warm now and it’s roastier than I remembered, with a hintof toasted pumpkin seed hiding in there, which I love.
I’ve never had a pumpkin-flavored beer of any sort but the comments make me wanna go out and find one. I normally don’t drink ANY fruited beers, and at 67 years of age with 30+ years of drinkin’ craft brews (known as “local beer” back when I broke with the Majors, or “Real Ale” when Uncle Sam’s Air Force sent to me to England back in ’80) I ain’t exactly a noob.
One more thing: Football is only played on SATURDAYS. There will be some Sammy Adams Octoberfest to be had during the games today. 🙂
The daughter and I split a PunKing last nite and while I could taste all sorts of spices, pumpkin wasn’t one of them. Very surprised, given how popular it seems.
Drinking DF’s Punk, of course… In my humble opinion, one of the better pumpkins out there. And, as an ode to summer ending, enjoying both the DF and Victory versions of the Saison Du Buff collaboration… Highly recommended! Suprirpising how similar the two versions taste. I realize the recipe was the same, but I thought that the brewing methods would introduce more differences. As far as I can tell, the only real difference seems to be that the herbs are more pronounced in the DF version, and the bitterness is a little more pronounced in the Victory version. Anyone out there have the Stone version? Cheers!
Had the Fat Jack Double Pumpkin last night: dark, rich, spicy and boozy but not sweet. I liked it.