REVIEW 64: PUNKLESS DUNKEL

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company

STYLE:  Pumpkin Ale

ABV:  8.8%

PURCHASE:  Draught (13-oz.), $7.00

SERVING:  Tulip glass. 3/4-inch head from the tap on the first beer, closer to half an inch on the two subsequent servings. Great retention, in any case.

APPEARANCE:  Ruby-chestnut color with an off-white head. Translucent and gorgeous. Seems to make the tulip glass glow. Very good lacing.

BOUQUET:  Nothing jumps out at you here. And that's a good thing. Everything meshes together effortlessly. So the question is, what is that everything? On the whole, this seems like a fig-infused pumpkin pie, liquefied and in a glass. More specifically, pumpkin spices (e.g. nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, allspice, et al.) are joined by fig and other dark fruit notes, such as plum (seemingly). It's as if this is an abbey ale from Belgium with some pumpkin notes brewed in for good measure. It works very well, though.

PALATE:  Medium body with carbonation held in check, regardless of how long it is held. The aroma seemed to accurately predict the taste profile here: This does have the mouthfeel of a Belgian. But you do indeed notice the pumpkin essences, even if they're more of an undertone than a main attraction. Dark fruit seems more conspicuous, namely fig and plum, but perhaps traces of prune and raisin. The usual array of pumpkin spices emerge more in the back end, but they are expertly distributed. Hints of wheat, banana, brown sugar, ginger, and toasted malt seem to emerge at the finish as well. Slightly sweet and yeasty but also peppery back there, especially in the aftertaste. A mild hop presence is detectable but doesn't stand out. In this case, that's a good thing; too much would have likely thrown everything off.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Now this is a pumpkin ale. 

Or is it? After downing three of these tonight, I can't help but think it's actually more of a hybrid. After all, "dunkel" is in the name. And "wheat" is in the subtitle. So I suppose that makes this a "pumpkin dunkelweizen." No matter. It's a winner, and another score for local Philly-area breweries. 

This is from the folks of Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company from Croydon, PA, just a few miles outside Northeast Philly. They've been in business only a little longer than Crooked Eye in Hatboro, but by the quality and resonance of their Punkless Dunkel, you'd think they've been at it for centuries. 'Nuff said.




GRADE:  A

Here's a better photo of this beer, since mine sucked.