Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale

It’s fall season again and around this time of here everything is now pumpkin flavored in some way or another, including beer. This isn’t anything new, pumpkin beers have been around for some time now. This is Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale, 5.7% ABV. Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale pours a rich amber color with a one finger off white head that dissipates rather quickly leaving behind a tiny amount of lacing. There is a nice amount of light coming through the glass with generous amounts of carbonation bubbles. The aroma is big cinnamon with hints of nutmeg, faint cloves, and a small dash of allspice. The taste on Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale is huge cinnamon flavor and the smallest amounts of nutmeg. Towards the end it begins to taste a little like candy corn. Not much else is present here, no clove taste. Blue Moon does say that a touch of wheat is used. I found that wheat wasn’t. I guess that is hidden by the huge cinnamon flavor. The mouth feel is medium with a nice crisp sweeter finish. The after taste is big sweet like candy corn, it really stays a while on your tongue. This is not a bad beer, but not the best either. So this is getting a C here from me. I think Blue Moon is on the right track with Harvest Pumpkin Ale, but they need to work on it just a little more to get to be a better beer. The balance of flavors is off with this. Would I have this again, sure but I would rush out and do so. This is average pumpkin beer, not bad not good. So go and try this and see what you think of Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale

In the last few year the farmhouse style beers have grown in popularity. I’ve found that so many breweries are brewing this style. I think that it is a good and interesting style. Farmhouse ales were brewed for the farmhands that had to work them arduous harvest. Here we have Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale, 5.8% ABV. This is beer is in the Flanders farmhouse style. This Blue Moon pours a red like color with a semi white one and a half finger head that stays for a little while. I could see a minimal amount of light coming through the glass and a healthy amount of carbonation.  The aroma is slightly spiced with pepper and a hint of faint lemon. Taste on Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale is first light pepper from the white pepper usage here, the followed by a tart lemon flavor that continues on the to back of your tongue but fades a little in the process. As this beer warms up you get more of a tart cherry/faint raspberry flavor that is stronger and more predominate than the lemon flavor. The mouth feel is medium with a nice tart fruit finish that leads into a nice tart cherry after taste that is slightly sticky in your mouth but stays for a little bit. Overall this is not a bad beer, but this style is a big one with lots of better one out there. So this Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale is barely getting C from me. Not the best or the worst farmhouse red I’ve had. I would say that Blue Moon needs work on this a little, give this more body and balance, but being a MillerCoors product I was going into this not expecting too much. But I will give them credit for the idea behind this.  So if you’d like to try this Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale go for it and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale

Lots of different brewers each have a different interpretation on what fall seasonal beers should be and should taste like. There isn’t one really definitive fall style. This beer is Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale, 5.8% ABV. This Blue Moon is a limited release that comes in the variety twelve packs during the fall season. This Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale pours a copper color with an off white two finger head that dissipates in a somewhat of a quick manner. I found there to be a little light streaming through the glass with a nice amount of carbonation there. The aroma is big with cinnamon spices and a very tiny nutmeg aroma. The taste on Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale is a big cinnamon flavor with a big state fair caramel apple flavor as well. You don’t really get any of the apple juice that is said to be here in this Blue Moon. I couldn’t taste any apple in this beer. I also get a caramel malt flavor in the middle of the mouth. The mouth feel is medium and Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale finishes big with cinnamon flavors with just the smallest bitterness in the end. The aftertaste is more cinnamon and nutmeg flavor. Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale is just a big cinnamon flavor overload. This beer has too much of one flavor and it’s not balanced between the other flavors. So I am giving Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale C-It’s not SO bad, but it has lots of room for improvement. This Blue Moon need to be more balanced with all the flavors and not focus on one or just two. I kind of liked this for a short while. I don’t really thing I would buy this Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale again. It’s one of those beers that sounded interesting, but didn’t as interesting as it sounds. Try and see if you like this Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Saranac Our Pumpkin Ale

Yes it’s another pumpkin beer that you see. As we get closer and closer to October we’re seeing more and more pumpkin beers, and more pumpkin everything for that matter. I think that sometimes the other pumpkin thing gets to be a little too much, but I do like a little of it. This beer here is Saranac Our Pumpkin Ale, 5.40% ABV. Yes this is bigger than a twelve-ounce or a pint; this is 32 ounces (one quart). Some may call this a growlete and/or min growler. Saranac does make this is 12-ounce six packs as well. I picked this up at my local grocery store for two reasons, one cause the bottle was cool looking and number two; it was $3.50 for 32 ounces. This Saranac Pumpkin ale pours a deeper red/dark copper color with a nice two finger off white head that stays nicely for a short while. I could see a little amount of light coming through the glass, but not a lot, and I found some carbonation bubbles. The aroma is of nice pumpkin spice with hints of cinnamon, and I found a light yet faint nutmeg scent. The taste is more cinnamon than the aroma. There is also a nice but very light graham cracker taste that comes in super quick and goes even quicker. I also found a nice underlying nutmeg flavor that sort of fade in and out of your taste buds. You don’t get the pumpkin flavor up front, you get that more towards the back and in the finish and much more in the after taste.  The mouth feel is medium and this is not a heavy beer. Our Pumpkin Ale finishes with a nice sweet malt flavor that leads into a nice cinnamon pumpkin after taste that sick to your taste buds. I really enjoyed the after taste on this. So I am giving this B. Saranac has made nice solid and yet drinkable pumpkin ale that isn’t to in your face with pumpkin or pumpkin pie flavor. It has the right amount of pumpkin, malt and pumpkin spice to this beer. I also like to note that it’s not a heavy drinker either; it leans slightly to the middle of light to heavy. So go out and pick up some Saranac Our Pumpkin Ale and see what you think of it. I recommend that you do! Cheers! Please drink responsibly!

Shiner Premium Beer

Today everything comes and goes, but something’s do come back. Shiner beer has been around 1909. So I am sure that many think have come and gone for Shiner. This here is Shiner Premium Beer, 4.40% ABV. This beer is a Bohemian lager (Bohemian is now the Czech Republic) that Shiner produced way back when, and now they are starting to bring it back, first in the verity dix and twelve packs. Then this beer will be in it’s own packaging. Shiner Premium pours a crisp golden color with a rocky two finger white head that fades somewhat quickly. This beer is crystal clear, you can see right though it, and see lots of carbonation bubbles racing to the top. The aroma on Shiner Premium Beer is bready and light biscuit like, with a very faint hop there. The taste is a little light biscuit flavor with a hint of breaded malt. Not much on the taste for this beer, and not a lot going on here either. This is just a simple beer. The mouth feel is light to medium. Shiner Premium finishes nicely with a slight crispness. The aftertaste is a tiny bit sweet with a biscuit finish that does fade away in a few seconds. This could be an everyday kind of beer. Not overly flavorful or bad tasting. This is getting a B- here. This is not Shiner’s best but it’s not the worst either. This Shiner Premium is better than it sounds. I think it’s slightly above average, good in fact. So go out and give this Shiner Premium and try and see what you think of this comeback. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!