Pumpkin Beer
We had a pumpkin beer tasting party over the weekend and had a Very good time. Great people, yummy food, good fun carving jack-o-lanterns and tasting a wide variety of pumpkin beers. The winner by far was Matt's homebrew. I think it is by far his best beer ever and the best pumpkin beer I have ever had. All of our friends agree. Also with strong showings were Wolaver's (Organic arm of Otter Creek out of Middlebury, Vermont), Saranac (an upstate New York brewery) and Browns, a local brewpub in Albany. Some people really liked Smuttynose (out of Portsmouth, NH), but I have never been a huge fan of any of their beers, although I really want to like things from the homestate. I did not like Post Road at all, Jack's Pumpkin (brewed by Michalobe) tasted like cheap beer, Dogfishhead I have never been a huge fan of although it's Matt's favorite, Harvest Moon was good for cheap beer and Shipyard's Pumpkinhead is just not as good as remember it.
Then we decided to see if Matt could identify his beer in a blind taste test. He correctly identified 8 out of 10, several merely by smell! It was quite a feat. We're not sure if it's entirely a good thing, but it was very impressive either way.
Then, once we were all good and drunk we decided to take out the sharp knives and carve pumpkins. I planted a naked seeded variety this year, which meant that we didn't have to spit out the hulls after roasting. The variety was called "Triple Treat" since they are good for cooking, carving and seeds. Matt used one of them for his beer, so I must say it is a good variety. I do love roasted pumpkin seeds.
So, for the record, Matt's beer is the best.
Then we decided to see if Matt could identify his beer in a blind taste test. He correctly identified 8 out of 10, several merely by smell! It was quite a feat. We're not sure if it's entirely a good thing, but it was very impressive either way.
Then, once we were all good and drunk we decided to take out the sharp knives and carve pumpkins. I planted a naked seeded variety this year, which meant that we didn't have to spit out the hulls after roasting. The variety was called "Triple Treat" since they are good for cooking, carving and seeds. Matt used one of them for his beer, so I must say it is a good variety. I do love roasted pumpkin seeds.
So, for the record, Matt's beer is the best.