Beer Profile: Saranac’s Pumpkin Ale

Profiled by Ken Carman

This review is a review of not only the beer, but my health. Let’s just say with gallstones I have had an adverse reaction to beer… still trying to figure it out. So far, so good.

Aroma: moderate pumpkin spices, behind that we have light pale malt-like sense and perhaps some caramel malt: a lighter touch to the last. Mostly allspice? Fruity pumpkin pie aroma.

Appearance: small pillow foam-like head that fades moderately. More in glass? Pours a bigger head. A hazy copper color, so clarity provides the faint image of my hand behind the plastic glass. The glass was clean, however the soft plastic may have provided some of that. The cordon (edge of glass; especially bubbles/head) is all that’s left of the pillow head.

Taste: DRY; kind of like someone poured some sand into a pumpkin beer, thankfully without the texture. The spices dominate with caramel malt-like behind that, pale behind that. Somewhat well balanced, if you prefer the spices. Tries to be sweet, just a tad, but fails. Spices conquer all. Hard to decide which spice dominates, so comes across as all spice. Good balance as far as spice mix because they blend well with each other. As I sit here; a few minutes after the last drop was swallowed, I can still sense the spices.

Mouthfeel: the prickly carbonation is firm yet just below moderate, which one would want with this. Aftertaste is the spices that cling desperately to the roof of the mouth. The malt is silky, smooth, pleasing. Long for more.

Conclusion: an excellent beer is you wish for dry, less sweet and balance to the spices. Personally I would prefer a tad sweeter, less emphasis on spices and more on the malt, but as typed: preferences. Hence a higher score than if it was just my opinion. I do think balance with spice just a hint of an issue no matter what I prefer, so it would have scored higher.

On the Ken side: so far so good. We shall see as I go go forth through the day.

4

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Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

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____________________________Beer HERE

4.4

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Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

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_______________________________Beer HERE

A Beer Judge’s Diary: Moving Sideways


Ken the beer judge moving sideways. Not really crabby at all! Crab Kolsch? Hmmm…

By Ken Carman
By Ken Carman
 When I first became BJCP Certified I decided I wanted to serve the BJCP as best I could. I thought maybe being National might facilitate that. I think I was wrong.
 I admit to taking to retaking the test several times. I didn’t advance but I learned so much doing that! Yet, I also understood tasting tests might be best be reserved more for new judges. Taking a new judge’s seat was something I didn’t want to do. To be fair most of the tests I took might not have happened because they were having trouble filling seats.
 But, at least for now, I’m done with that. I have a new goal and I’m halfway there: moving sideways.

 ”Moving sideways, what’s that?”

 Why thank you for asking! Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: Moving Sideways”

Crux Bucks Up the Late Summer Beer Blues

Written by Steve Body
I have to confess that late Spring/Summer ’21 has not been a great time for stuff that I have tasted. I got samples but the deal has always been the same: if I like it enough to rave about it, I write it up. If not, I just don’t mention it because I don’t – EVER – write negative reviews of any independent producer of adult beverages. Why, in this, the Gold Plated Age of Snark? Because A) I think it’s tasteless and crass, B) I like small businesspeople and have no desire to take shots at ’em, and C) I see no reason to even mention mediocrity. So, if I can assign 90 points or better, I write it…but not always. If I give it 90 and it should be higher, that stays out, too

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

AUGSBURG, HISTORIC BEER TOWN ON MUNICH’S DOORSTEP

Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

So many great beers and breweries, so little time. It’s no wonder cities like Augsburg get overlooked when you could easily spend an entire vacation sampling the liquid delights of Munich or Bamberg. But not only is Augsburg worth visiting for its cathedrals and cobblestoned lanes, it’s also a beer town rich in history. And you can make it there from Munich in as much time as it takes to reach beer pilgrimage sites like Kloster Andechs.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

Female Brewing Pioneers and Innovators Talk Gender Equality in Craft Brewing

Ahead of International Women’s Day, and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, nine pioneering and innovative women in craft beer gathered at a media event in Manhattan Thursday, March 5. During the event, organized by the Brewers Association, publisher of CraftBeer.com, the brewery leaders talked about the beer community, mentoring, and the value of building strong relationships.

From Mari Kemper, who opened Thomas Kemper Brewing in Seattle with her husband in 1984 and now co-owns Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen in Bellingham, to Tamil Maldonado Vega, who launched Raices Brewing in Denver five months ago, nine women reflected on topics ranging from the need for gluten-free beer to the surprising number of women working in Mexico and Turkey’s craft brewing industries. That said, much of the session revolved around ways the women make their US-based businesses more inclusive to females and ways they recommend women get ahead in their careers.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

External Investigation Concludes ‘Bias Does Exist’ at Minneapolis’ Indeed; Search Underway for HR Leader

Minneapolis-headquartered Indeed Brewing has struggled with internal bias against female employees and fostered an “‘us vs. them’ mentality” between leadership and rank-and-file staff, according to the findings of an external HR investigation the company published on its website last week.

To combat this, Indeed said it plans to hire a people and communities leader via a search that has already begun, overhaul its internal operations system, develop a management training program, and realign the internal company vision.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

UnderCurrants series unveiled by Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks

(Buellton, CA) – From the fields of Poland to the coast of California comes UnderCurrants — an inaugural cross-continental wild beer from Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks.

“We have been toying around with the idea of a currant-infused beer for several years now,” said Barrelworks’ Master Blender Jim Crooks. “We finally decided to strike when we were able to score beautiful whole black currants from a farmer in Poland, which is renowned as one of the world’s finest currant-growing regions.”

The result is a wildly flavorful beer that is bursting with rich currant goodness.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

The Best & Worst Beer in America—Ranked!

Though overall sales dropped in 2020, the American beer market was still valued at over $94 billion last year, according to the Brewer’s Association.

Beer has been a ubiquitous part of the American story since the earliest days and continues to be one of our nation’s most popular drinks today. As such, any ranking of the best beers in America is sure to create controversy. So we’re creating this list with taste as only one of many factors taken into account, and with things like sales volume, quality of ingredients, awards won, and other metrics all weighed as well.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

Oxidation

By Dylan Baldwin

Left = Oxidized and flat (cap didn’t seal)
Right = 👍🏼

This was not meant to be a comparison of identical beers, but simply a difference of carbonation in the pour between two hefeweizens from the same brewery (I realize I’m not a photographer).

As can be seen in the image on the left, this beer has no head and tasted of stale cardboard. Upon further inspection, I noticed the date stamp on the bottle said, “030920”.

The image on the right shows a beer with great carb and tasted delicious, as it should.