Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

Recently, when Connoisseur Tom visited my condo, we brought out the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.  The bottle described the beverage as full-bodied brown ale with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and it boasted a 7% ABV.  Of course, not being the type to judge a book by its cover or a beer by its label, we opened up some Punkin Ale.

The ale poured an orange-amber hue.  It was filtered crystal-clear, and its soapy head dissipated pretty quickly, with little lacing.  You could smell the whole pie in the glass, with malty notes, spices, and smells of the squash itself.  Upon tasting the ale, the full-bodied mouth coating was immediately apparent, but the fullness faded fast.  The liquid was sharp on the uptake, with flavors of spices giving way to alcohol phenols.  A slight metallic taste was noted and the malty body and flavors faded into little, if any, finish.

With all the malty beers, Oktoberfests, and spiced seasonal offerings available in autumn, Punkin Ale did not really pull its weight.  Though its idea was promising, it didn’t really deliver the goods.  First, it wasn’t brown ale, as the bottle indicated, but merely ale.  Secondly, for a beer promising a full body, where was the finish?  A bit more malt and some other considerations could have saved this beer from being a gimmicky autumnal offering, but alas, you’d be better off with an Oktoberfest.  This ale was okay, don’t get me wrong, but I was left hanging on a hook of empty promises.