Beer Tasting, Volume V

Beer: Southern Tier Pumking

Style: Something called "Imperial Pumpkin Ale"

Bottle: 22 oz. bottle. I think it's worth nothing that Southern Tier doesn't use traditional adhesive labels. They print all of the graphics and bottle information right onto the bottle. So, while this doesn't necessarily allow me to reuse the bottle for my own brewing endeavors, I respect the extra cost spent to do this and I think it adds a touch of differentiating class.

Alkyhol Content: 9.0%. I absolutely did not look at this before purchasing the bottle or cracking it open. I would have guessed 6.0%, 6.5 tops. The alcohol is very subdued. Thankfully (or not, depending on your drinking goals) this beer tastes too much like pie to get really schnockered off of. I imagine finishing the entire bottle sort of feels similar to polishing off an entire pie.

Label: While this label does not achieve levels of badassery like the current Supreme Dictator of Badass Beer Labels, I really like Southern Tier's use of bottle space and originality. There is a lot of information on this bottle. For example, Pumking is 19° plato, it uses puréed pumpkin for flavoring, and magnum hops for bittering. There is also an old Celtic folk tale about a creature that acted as some sort of pagan taxi. Seriously.

Why Did I Buy This Beer? My new favorite beer store has a marquee outside that was scrolling a message about pumpkin beers having arrived recently. I don’t really like pumpkin beers, but I do like big, bright, blinking signs telling me to do things, so I stopped in. I asked the friendly employee which pumpkin beer was not flavored with extract and I was directed to Pumking. I will probably ask for this guy’s recommendation again.

Okay, is this beer any good? A resounding yes. I expected to hate this beer. I actually wanted to hate this beer so I could further fuel my fruit and vegetable beer ignorance, but I just can’t. Pumking tastes like Grandma’s Thanksgiving Day pumpkin pie…if Grandma were drunk on spiced rum and spilled a little in the filling. You could easily mistake this beer for a pumpkin cocktail, if such a thing exists. It’s not super alcoholic tasting, but it has a subtle potent undertone, like a rum drink might.

This Beer Would Pair Well With: The easy answer would be any food you’d find in a Thanksgiving Day dinner. But screw that- I’m not taking the easy way out. I’d like to try this beer with Christmas Day dinner.

Initial Taste Note: Wow, this beer tastes like pumpkins! Would would have thought?

Secondary Taste Note: Pumpkins! Alcohol!

Tertiary Taste Note: I rather have this than pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie makes me feel gluttonous. Pumking makes me feel warm, tingly, and philosophical.

The Only Educational Piece in this Blog: I have always wanted to know the history of imperial beers and how they came to be. Thankfully somebody else did too and did the work for me. So I will link to the awesome Airdale Brewing Blog (please visit) and let them tell you far more eloquently than my Pumking-addled mind can: http://airdalebrewing.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/“imperial”-beers-both-past-and-present/

Who would have thought that Imperial beers were created for Russian royalty? Unfathomable!

Fun Fact About This Beer That I Learned Via a Simple Google Search: Apparently “pumking” seeds are some sort of Cameroonian scam. I have no idea what it’s about, but it sounds like the e-mails I get from my British friends who suddenly came into a large fortune and want to funnel it to my bank account: http://www.forfarmers.com/organic/p/Pumking-Seed-Manufacturer.htm

The "Experts" Speak: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/38394. Homeboy at the beer store was right. I will give him a tip next time.

More on Southern Tier: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/

Rating/Conclusion: I have little to compare this beer to, but it passed all of my completely subjective tests. I'd buy it again. In fact, if I end up having Thanksgiving dinner by myself, I know what I’m getting lit on.