REVIEW 129: HIPP-O-LANTERN

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  River Horse Brewing Company

STYLE:  Pumpkin Ale

ABV:  8.1%

PURCHASE:  Draft (13-oz.), $5.50

SERVING:  Tulip glass. From the tap, the usual 3/4"-1" head. Decent retention.

APPEARANCE:  Rusted orange body with a beautiful translucent glow to it. Off-white head bordering upon beige. Not much bubbling action--at least none that's visible. Light, scattery lacing.

BOUQUET:  It's a pumpkin ale; take a guess. Okay, it's also a little malty. And it claims to be brewed with molasses, though I personally found this hard to discern. Great aroma just the same.

PALATE:  Slightly heavy body with run-of-the-mill carbonation. Starts a bit sweet and takes on a somewhat fluffy nature mid-palate, just for a moment. Then it segues into a darker finish; this must be the molasses at work. Pumpkin spices (e.g. nutmeg, allspice) are constant. Somewhat piney finish with an aftertaste characterized by brown sugar and continued pumpkin-pie goodness. Well-balanced mouthfeel.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  I find a lot of pumpkin beers to be fad-like; in other words, they seem to pay lip service to the "pumpkin crowd" (white girls?). Generic flavor. Too thin. Too watery. Not enough actual pumpkin character. Not much depth. Too one-dimensional.

This one was none of those things, and I rank it accordingly.




GRADE:  A-