489. Shipyard Brewing Company (Portland, ME) - Smashed Pumpkin

“A big-bodied beer with a pleasing aroma of pumpkin and nutmeg. Pale Ale, Wheat, and Light Munich malts combine with the natural tannin in pumpkin and the delicate spiciness of Saphir and Hallertau Hops to balance the sweetness of the fruit.”

Yes, and apparently I am more into pumpkin ales this year than I ever have been before. This one is exactly what it claims to be—a bigger and bolder version of its Pumpkinhead cousin. Remember when we were kids back in 1988 and everyone said Pumpkinhead was the scariest horror movie ever? Remember going to Phar-Mor way the hell out almost to fucking Cumberland and getting like three videos for a buck or whatever? And remember how Pumpkinhead wasn’t remotely scary? Yeah…that pissed me off. But you know what? I get to watch The Shining on the big screen, all by myself, after I get off work on Tuesday. I’ll have to kill an hour at, hopefully, Loom before I can come back and start the movie…but that’s one of the few perks of working at a movie theatre: I can come and go as I please, and watch whatever I want whenever I want. Oh…and the beer. It’s big and spicy—no, spiced—but it’s a bit much. Something between the two would be the shit.

484. Shipyard Brewing Company (Portland, ME) - Pumpkinhead Ale

“Pumpkinhead is a crisp, refreshing wheat ale with delightful aromatics and subtle spice flavor. To celebrate the fall season, we enhance the pumpkin flavor with a proprietary blend of spices including cinnamon and nutmeg. A proper pint of Pumpkinhead is served in a pint glass rimmed with sugar and cinnamon and often accompanied by a shot of spiced rum or vanilla vodka.”

This one I tried at American Smokehouse Stadium yesterday evening after Amy and I racked up 16,000 steps hiking in the two state parks near Jeffersonville (Falls of the Ohio and Charlestown), and though they did have it on tap and served it in a pint glass, no other parts of that last sentence were offered—and I’m not sure that they would have added anything to the experience; the beer was just fine on its own. It had a nice balance of light pumpkin flavor up front and nice spice notes on the back end. It also had fairly low carbonation (or just wasn’t pouring very well yesterday). The website advertises versions called Smashed Pumpkin (9.0%) and Smashed Pumpkin Bourbon Barrel Aged (10.5%), both of which sound lovely. The regular Pumpkinhead is delightful, but at 4.5%, it’s just a little too light.