Sam Adams Fat Jack Pumpkin Ale and Oktoberfest

Sam Adams is one of the largest craft brewers in the country. Some might argue that definition but Sam Adams does in many way fit the profile of a craft beer maker rather than a large scale macrobrewery.

The best thing about Sam Adams is that their beer is pretty good, sometimes even great, and you can get it almost anywhere. While I tend to frequent establishments that specialize in small craft beer every once in a while I find myself at a bar where they have only Bud, Bud Light, and Sam Adams Lager. I go with the Sam Adams.

The brewery also produces a few great seasonal beers. Their Winter Lager is decadent and delicious, but I'll save that review for another time.

I want to focus on two of their Autumn seasonal beers today: the Pumpkin Ale and the Oktoberfest.

I enjoyed the Fat Jack Pumpkin ale over a dinner of chicken tikka masala while sitting outside on our mountain next to a camp fire. It didn't hurt that the setting was wonderful to begin with. For fun we split the beer by pouring it into our 4 ounce beer tasters. It was delicious. It had all the spices that I love along with a sweet pumpkin flavor which complimented each other well. It was very satisfying and the pumpkin, spices, and maltiness went extremely well with the spicy cream sauce of the tikka masala.

If you aren't sure whether or not you would like a pumpkin ale, this would be a pretty good one to try out. It is rich and decadent and should give you a good profile of a well made pumpkin beer.

Along with the Fat Jack Pumpkin ale, Sam Adams also produces an easy to find Octoberfest lager.

Lagers are the most common type of beers produced by the macrobrew companies. Budweiser, Miller, and Coors are all lagers, but most craft beer enthusiasts will agree that they lack any depth or real flavor. Most are made using adjust ingredients such as rice or corn. The Germans, who kind of perfected beer centuries ago, created a beer purity law which insisted beer be made with only four things: water, hops, malt, and yeast. I do like beer with added flavors - such as pumpkin spices - but I am not too keen on rice or corn in my beer. The reason I am going into this kind of detail is because I think Sam Adams Octobefest is a good "Introduction to Craft Beer" for someone who has otherwise only experienced offerings by the major macrobreweries. It is light, crisp, and refreshing with all the richness that a traditional marzen beer should have.

I am a fan of Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. I love a lot of their seasonal beers, including their Fat Jack Pumpkin and the Octoberfest. Check them out for yourself before it is too late. 

The Most Astoundingly Mediochre Pumpkin Beer of the Season

When I am out with friends they often ask me what kind of beer I like.

Or they ask me what kind of beer they should like.

The divisiveness of Pumpkin Ale always stirs up an interesting conversation. Do I like this one? Do I like that one? What makes a good pumpkin ale?

Really, if you like a pumpkin ale - drink it. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks.

I like many pumpkin ales. My favorite of the season so far has been the Boxcar Pumpkin Porter.

My least favorite was this one:

The New Belgium PumpKick.

I like New Belgium beers just fine. Some are better than others. Because it is widely distributed I can usually get one even in a place that only serves the macrobrewed giants and that makes them worth their weight in gold.

What I will say about the Pumpkick is that it was all around average.

Of course, one of the reasons that this pumpkin beer is not among my favorites is because it has a fruitier flavor rather than a spicy one. Give me those pie spices and that is how I know it is fall! 

If you, on the other hand, are a bigger fan of actual pumpkin flavor then this might be a reasonable choice for you.

This one should be available in bottles at most grocery stores through the fall, and New Belgium is pretty spread out these days, so if you want to give a pumpkin beer a try check this one out. See what you think.

Catawba Valley King Don Pumpkin: Not as Bad as I remembered It

Brewed in Morganton, NC, not far from Asheville is Catawba Valley's annual pumpkin ale, King Don's Original Pumpkin Ale.

Shortly after I began to enjoy beer I decided to give this one a try. We we were at Barley's, a popular taproom downtown, and I spotted it on the wall.

If you're not a craft beer drinker I am here to tell you that beer is, in fact, and acquired taste. It took me forever to like any beer and when I did it was a progression from one style to the next. For example, I use to hate the taste of hops but now Pale Ales ad IPAs are some of my go-to beers. Your tastes really do change.

This first time trying Catawba Valley's King Don's Original Pumpkin Ale was...well...traumatizing. I did not like it! However, at the time I found it hard to express what I didn't like about it. It took me a while to develop the "Pumpkin vs. Pumpkin Spice" flavor profile comparison chart (patent pending!). All I knew is that whatever I just put in my mouth was revolting.

There is one other important truth to know about beer. It is subjective. While beer snobs can say that the big name macrobrews are "disgusting," clearly their sales indicate that someone likes the taste of their beers. Not all palates are created equal. For example, there are two beer trends that I am not particularly fond of: smoked beers and sour beers. But both of these are popular for a reason - because someone likes them. The same is clearly true about Catawba's pumpkin ale.

So, to make a long story short, I did not like Catawba Valley's King Don Pumpkin.

Recently, as people are learning that I am attempting to DRINK ALL THE BEER! this fall, they began to ask me about this particular, and popular, pumpkin ale.

When I saw it on tap at our regular Monday night bar, I figured it was a reasonably safe environment to give it a try. The bartender, also a friend, would gladly make fun of me for it but I knew the pain would only be temporary. I asked her for only a half pour so I didn't have to commit to a full pint.

Tenatively, I took a sip.

And it really wasn't as bad as I remembered it.

Here is the third truth of beer drinking: Go ahead and try things you though you didn't like before. If enough time goes by you may find your tastes have changed just enough to let you appreciate this beer.

I certainly wouldn't put the King Don Pumpkin at the top of my list of favorite Pumpkin beers, but it wasn't awful. There was more pumpkin spice flavor than I remembered. It was entirely drinkable. If you really love the pumpkin beers this time of year and are in the Catawba Valley Brewery distribution area, it is worth a try.

The Good Luck Trolley that Never Was

Here we are not getting on the trolley.

On Friday, September 13th, Matt and I headed downtown to join the Asheville Blogger Society on a special Friday The 13th trolley tour to the Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard. As we neared the corner where the bloggers waited to board the big red trolley we knew there had to be a problem.

The trolley wasn't running.

Before our Friday the 13th adventure even started it was struck by bad luck.

We chalked it up to the ominous date and set about to have fun anyway.

The bloggers and our guests wandered over to Barley's Tap Room and took over the upstairs bar. There, along with some fantastic discussions, I was also able to try a few seasonal beers.

My black cat and the Oktoberfest.

• Foothills Oktoberfest. I thought this was a beautiful example of an Oktoberfest lager. It was rich and delicious with beautiful fall color. 
• Big Boss Harvest Time Pumpkin. As I have mentioned before, there are pumpkin beers I like and pumpkin beers that I don't like. Unfortunately, the Big Boss pumpkin feel into the "eh, not so much," category. While it had hints of pumpkin spice it lacked the body that I look for in a pumpkin ale. Your mileage may vary. 
• Laganitas Lucky 13. Much like Sierra Nevada Flipside, this isn't a "traditional" autumn beer, based on my own completely arbitrary criteria. However, after the ill-fated Friday the 13th Beer Trolley I thought that enjoying a Lucky 13 beer would be an excellent idea. I am a huge fan of this California brewery and love most of the beers that they offer. Lucky 13 was no exception. As an imperial red it is high in alcohol and heavy to drink. The flavors are complex and there are plenty of hops and plenty of malts to please just about anyone.

Your humble narrator and the Lucky 13.

Wicked Weed Off With Their Gourds! PumpkAnne Ale

I have loved Wicked Weed since it opened early this year. I was excited to read that they were doing not just one but a series of pumpkin ales this Fall.

The series is called "The Gourds are Coming" an they will be releasing each pumpkin beer throughout the season. We found ourselves at Wicked Weed and I couldn't wait to try the first installment: The PumpkAnne Ale. 

This 7.3% alcohol beer may be a perfect examples of the kind of pumpkin ale that I prefer. The taste of those pumpkin pie spices were all over the rich malty beer base in the most perfect way.

Wicked Weed specializes in relative small batches and constantly rotating taps of their own brews. I have tried many beer styles and flavors there that I would probably not try anywhere else. I am always amazed at the new selections of both hoppy and Belgian style beers available every time I go into the bar. If you never thought you would like a Pumpkin beer check out the PumpkAnne ale before it is gone. I understand the next Pumpkin installments are a smoked pumpkin beer and a sour pumpkin beer. I admit that those two particular flavors are not among my favorites but I may give those a try just to see what they are all about.

Autumn Seasonal Beer Time!

Highland Clawhammer Oktoberfest 2012

Hello very neglected beer blog. I attempted to make an effort to post here more during Asheville Beer Week and only managed one post. I am a bad beer writer.

But I like to think of myself as a good beer drinker.

Beer drinking is very much a pastime that exists in the now. By that I mean while I am out enjoying the beer I think of all the wonderful things I would like to share about it but then I get back to my regularly scheduled programming and I don't think about it again. I want to share my love of beer with you, I really do.

Now that summertime is coming to an end all the craft brewers are coming out with their Fall seasonals. I love Fall seasonals. The Browns! The Pumpkins! The Oktoberfests! As the weather begins to cool down and the leaves begin to fall I want nothing more than to put on a sweater and drink these rich delicious beers.

So, readers - I would like to make a commitment to you. As I experience the Fall seasonal beers here in Asheville, NC and sold here from around the country I will share my experience with you. That is a promise! 

So stick around for an exploration of Autumn, beer style! 

If you know of any Fall seasonal releases from Asheville brewers or companies that distribute to my area, please let me know! I would love to seek them out! 

Great Beer Night

It has been a while since I've paid much attention to this blog. With my other projects, sometimes this one gets a little neglected.  Making beer is very much a repetitive process, so sometimes I don't feel the motivation to write about it after I've done it.

However, there has been another aspect to Beer and Now that I have been neglecting. The beer experience. I have certainly had some great ones this summer.  Last month, we spent an afternoon at Highland Brewery in Asheville.  We've also been spending some times at local Atlanta bars enjoying new brews. But last night was one of the best beer nights I have had in a while.  

After work, I picked Matt up at our apartment and we drove up to our favorite beer bar, and one of Atlanta's best kept secrets.  We had a mission, so we decided that while we were enjoying some tasty craft brews, we would also work on a budget for our project in South Africa.  We ordered our first beer, the Southern Tier Harvest, and some food. This past week in Atlanta had cooled down significantly after Hurricane Lee swept through and yesterday really felt more like a gorgeous Autumn day. The Harvest Ale felt like a great kick off to an early fall.  I don't usually associate ESBs, which is one of my favorite styles, with Autumn beers, but it was a really well done brew.  The color evoked the season perfectly with the orange-amber lights and the flavors were earthy and malty with just a hint of caramel.  We got some food too and chowed down before the table was cleared and we set up our laptops to work on the budget for the shelter project.

While we researched and set up our spread sheet, we were ready for our second brew of the night.  Matt had the Rogue Love and Hoppiness. He wasn't as impressed as he was hoping to be, but he said it was all right.  I, on the other hand, tried the Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. Here is the thing about pumpkin beers.  They are either hit or miss - either they blow your mind or they taste like pumpkin flavored water. I asked our waitress her opinion before ordering and she said that this was the good kind of pumpkin ale - full of spicy flavors. I went with it and seriously did not regret the decision. She was right about the spices. The flavors of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg were prominent and a fresh pumpkin taste. 

Nearing the end of our research, it was time to try our third beer of the night.  Matt got the Stone 15th Anniversary Black IPA, which our waitress said was super hoppy and really good. He agreed and my sip did confirm it as well.  But since I had been enjoying Fall Seasonals all night, I really wanted to keep it going.  So, I did the unthinkable... I ordered a beer I have already had before!  The Sierra Nevada Tumbler has long been one of my favorites. Since I do love a good brown beer, this one is a great Autumn offering and it was exactly what I was looking for.  It is just a solid brown beer with some nutty flavors.

We had already packed up our laptops and were finishing our beers when we asked for the check.  While that is normally the end of a great evening out, that was actually when the fun began.  Two guys who had been standing at the bar came over and said "Hey, we saw you were paying and we wanted to know if we could be vultures and get your table?" So told them they certainly could and they sat down in the other two chairs. They introduced themselves and we started talking. We started talking about beer, of course, because we were all enjoying fancy beers at a fancy beer bar. Then, it turns out, one of the guys is This Guy. Now, we went from talking about enjoying beer to brewing beer.  Matt and I told him we were home brewers and that we had a pomegranate wheat in the carboy. He told us that he started homebrewing and now he does contract brewing with Thomas Creek in South Carolina.  Then his friend asked us if any of us were musicians and Matt told them he had been a drummer since he was a kid and recently took up the guitar and singing. Both guys were also musicians so then we talked about music for a while.  And finally, somehow, the conversation got around to building and we talked to them about our cabin in North Carolina and about or project in South Africa. 

It was such a great night.  We got a lot of work done, drank some fantastic beers and met some folks who seem pretty cool.  That is one of the things I like about the "Culture of Beer".  There is something about this shared interest that can really open up those spontaneous social situations. Seriously, hanging out at the bar and talking to strangers is truly one of my favorite hobbies.  You just never know who you'll meet.