Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela No.1 Pumpkin Ale

I picked up a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela No. 1 Pumpkin Ale from Al's of Hampden. This is Jolly Pumpkin's first pumpkin beer, despite their name, and they added a new twist by making it a sour beer. The beer pours a golden-orange color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of sour pumpkin and a soft wheat background. The taste is sour at first before a sweeter pumpkin flavor comes through with spiced finish and a hint of chocolate in the after taste. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. I really enjoyed this fresh approach to a pumpkin beer. It really mixes up the somewhat tired offering from every brewing company that has pumpkin and spices. The sour beer may not be or everyone, but I really enjoyed this offering.

Long Trail Ale

As part of the sampler pack that my girlfriend picked up, I tried the Long Trail Ale. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of caramel with soft fresh hops underneath the sweetness. The taste has sour hops hit on the front end with a smooth caramel finish that dries out the tongue a bit. The aftertaste leaves a bit of earthy hops. The alcohol content is 4.6% ABV. There is nothing too intense in this beer, but it was an easy drinking and smooth beer.

Stone 10-10-10 Vertical Epic

As soon as it was available, I stopped into Westy's in Camp Hill and picked up a case of Stone Vertical Epic 10-10-10. The beer pours a vibrant golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of grapes, sweet Belgian yeast, and a hint of pepper and Belgian spices. The taste is sweet and smooth with a sour grape bite on the side of the mouth with a great Belgian yeast flavor profile. The finish is smooth, with some grassy and earthy hints. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. I really enjoyed how this year's Vertical Epic really took on the profile of a sweet white wine while maintaining a solid Belgian beer base. The sweetness wasn't too overpowering, and a slight sourness balanced everything out.

Founders Backwoods Bastard

Al's of Hampden tweeted that they had four-packs of Founders Backwoods Bastard in stock, so I made the trip to get some. I previously have reviewed the Dirty Bastard, and this is the same beer aged in bourbon barrels. The beer pours a brown color with a foamy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of sweet caramel malts with raisin and oak accents. The alcohol also tingles the nostrils. The taste is sweet and smooth with a big bourbon and oak bite on the tongue. On the finish, some raisin and caramel peek through and the after taste is dry and tastes just like bourbon. The alcohol content is 10.2% ABV. The Dirty Bastard was a very enjoyable beer, but the Backwoods Bastard even topped that. I really enjoyed how the bourbon really played with the caramel and toffee in the beer without overpowering the flavor.

Long Trail IPA

My girlfriend picked up the Long Trail sampler pack for a tailgate, and I set aside one of each of the bottles to review. The first beer I tried was the IPA. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon and pine hops with a light malty backbone. The taste has a nice caramel malt base with a good lemon accent and a pine hop finish. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. Nothing in this beer attacks the tongue, so it will not go over well with hop heads, but could be used as a transition beer for those that fear hops.

Mikkeller Barrel-Aged Black Hole Series

My roommate and I decided to go in on all four Mikkeller Barrel-Aged Black Hole beers, especially since Al's of Hampden was running a special on all four for $30.

The first beer sampled was the Black Hole aged in rum barrels. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, and honey flavors with a great rum accent. The taste is a dry, biting flavor with oak and rum hitting on the sides of the mouth. As a spoiler, this was the best one of the four in my opinion, but really close to the Bourbon. I personally like rum better as a spirit, and I thought that it was really complimentary to the beer.

Of the four beers, the Whiskey barrel aged beer had least head. Most noticeably, the beer had a potent whisky and oak aroma that really covers the chocolate, vanilla, and honey present in other versions of the beer. Furthermore, the dry, smokey flavor overpowers the flavors in the beer and even has a dry and smokey finish. Of the four, this was the least favorite as the whisky and smoke took over the beer and made it really difficult to drink a whole (or half) glass.

The bourbon barrel aged Black Hole had a similar aroma to the rum, but I thought it was a little sweeter. There was a a little bit of smoke and oak in the taste with a good sweetness added, all while maintaining the dry chocolate finish. I would say the bourbon barrel aged Black Hole was just as good as the rum barrel aged beer, but I voted the rum aged beer slightly higher.

The final beer was the Black Hole aged in wine barrels. Most noticeably, this version sticks the most to the glass. I thought it has somewhat of a subdued aroma but the chocolate seeps through with a hint of grapes. The taste starts with chocolate and leaves a sour bite in the back of the mouth. Overall, the chocolate and grapes work well together, and leaves a nice dry finish similar to red wine.

Troegs Scratch 34- Tim's Belgian Brown

I stopped in to the Troegs tasting room to sample a glass of Scratch 34- Tim's Belgian Brown. The beer ran in to some issues with carbonation prior to bottling, so as of now it was only available on draft in the tasting room. The beer pours a brown amber color with a thin filmy off white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts and raisins. The taste is big and malty with chocolate and caramel flavors coming through. There is a good lemon and pine bite with some Belgian spices sneaking in there on the finish and a slightly bitter finish. The alcohol content is 7.8% ABV. Overall, the beer was a little heavy for those of you that really enjoy Belgian style beers, as this is a partial brown ale. However, it was a great mash between two styles.

Bullfrog Busted Lawnmower

A beer I noticed on the menu at Al's of Hampden was Bullfrog Busted Lawnmower, a saison, and I decided to order a glass. The beer pours a pale golden color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of lemon with rosemary. The taste is lemon, cream, rosemary, and pepper. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. I thought the Busted Lawnmower had a similar profile to Saison du Buff from Stone, Victory, and Dogfish Head, just not quite as intense. This beer was very delicious and a good substitute if you cannot find the Saison du Buff collaboration.

Pretty Things November 15, 1901 KK

I ordered a glass of Pretty Things November 15, 1901 KK at Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a black color with a tan frothy head. The aroma consists of chocolate and licorice. The taste starts with chocolate but quickly transitions to a potent tobacco flavor, which was surprising and not very enjoyable. There is a light hop bite on the finish, but again the tobacco and ashtray flavor hit the mouth again. The mouth feel is bubbly on the tongue with the finish. The alcohol content is 7.8% ABV. I would not rank the November 15, 1901 KK as my favorite or anywhere near it. I thought the beer was bearable, but the tobacco and ashtray flavors were not very enjoyable.

Widmer Brothers Brrrbon

On a recent visit to Al's of Hampden, I ordered a glass of Widmer Brothers Brrrbon, which is barrel aged in bourbon barrels. The beer pours a copper color with a bubbly off white head. The aroma is malty with caramel and hints of bourbon. The taste is big and bold with lots of malts and caramel. The beer hits hard with bourbon and then the finish has a good helping of pine. The alcohol content is 9.4% ABV. I thought that the Brrrbon had a really good transition between malts and the bourbon accents, amounting to an overall delicious brew.

Southern Tier Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale

I picked up a bottle of Southern Tier Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that sticks to the glass nicely. The aroma consists of caramel and toffee with lemon and pine accents. The taste is smooth and sweet with lots of caramel and toffee hanging on the tongue, a bit of toasted caramel, and a fresh lemon finish. There is a faint pale ale malt flavor, but it hides in the background behind the flowery accents that come along for the ride. The after taste is piney and lightly dry. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. The Hoppe is a very smooth drinking and sweet beer that is enjoyable through and through. It has a warming effect for the cooler fall days, while hanging on to the warmer summer months with the lemon and pine end to the beer.

Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA

I stopped in to The Claddagh in Pittsburgh to meet up with a few friends visiting from Philadelphia. While there, I ordered a Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA on draft. The beer pours a pale golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma is malty with a nice balance of sweet caramel and bitter hops. The taste has a big caramel backbone and a soft fresh hop bite, and the carbonation is just enough to tickle the tongue. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. Overall, the Twisted Thistle IPA was an amazing beer and it has a very delicate balance between caramel and hops.

East End Big Hop IPA

I stopped in to Buffalo Blues in Pittsburgh to help patronize their local food and beer initiative. At Buffalo Blues, they feature $3 East End Brewing Company drafts, making a visit completely worthwhile. I ordered a Big Hop IPA to go with my wings. The beer pours an orange color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of caramel malts with fresh lemon and pine hops. The taste is bitter and piney with good lemon accents and a caramel backbone that waits to reveal itself. The beer finishes with a pine dryness. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. The Big Hop is a very delicious brew and a great IPA, especially at $3 a pint.

Weyerbacher Harvest Ale

While stopping in to Buffalo Blues in Pittsburgh for some East End beers, I also ordered a glass of Weyerbacher Harvest Ale. The beer pours an amber color with thin filmy white head. The aroma is faint but consists of light malts and fresh hops. The taste is malty with a good caramel and toffee base. Fresh earthy hops kick in but are complimentary and not overpowering. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. I really enjoyed the sweet backbone that comes with this beer and it was easy to tell that the goal of Weyerbacher was to balance that sweetness with the fresh hops, a task that they succeeded in completing.

Fat Head's Phantom Pumpkin

I made a special trip to Fat Head's in Pittsburgh on my last visit to the city for the Phantom Pumpkin, The beer pours an orange amber color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of pumpkin and cinnamon with hints of nutmeg. The taste is light and malty with a surprising caramel base and a healthy helping of pumpkin. The beer dries a bit on the finish with cinnamon and an after taste of nutmeg. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. Fatheads has provided a very solid pumpkin beer without over-experimenting on it and it makes you think of Thanksgivings past when drinking it.