The Spooky Tooth

To some, Spooky Tooth is an English rock band that played in the 1970s and 1980s.  A version of the band is still around, singing songs like "Don't Keep Shouting at Me" and "Straight Down to the Bottom."  However, for people who love craft beer, the name "Spooky Tooth" means something completely different ... it's Fat Head's Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

I had the opportunity to sample this beer when I was back in the Cleveland, Ohio area.  Fat Head's Brewery and Saloon is on my very short list of places that I have to visit whenever I am back in Cleveland.  The reason is simple ... Fat Head's Head Brewmaster, Matt Cole, makes some very great beers.

Most craft brewers now brew a pumpkin ale or imperial pumpkin ale.  The style is somewhat of an afterthought, with the Beer Judge Certification Program lumping it in the rather broad category of "spice, herb or vegetable beer." However, as with most of Matt's beers, the Spooky Tooth transcends broad categories and stands out as a really good pumpkin beer.  (This coming from someone who, until recently, never really cared for that style of beer.)

The Spooky Tooth pours a rich dark orange or amber color.  Fat Head's describes the aroma as being "sweet pumpkin pie and savory spices with hints of sweet malt."  To be sure, there is a lot of sweetness in the aroma, which is balanced with some of those pie spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice.  Many of those aromas carry into the taste of the beer.  Fat Head's describes those flavors as "pumpkin up front then sweet malt, pie crust, spice, hints of brown sugar and a clean finish."  To be sure, there was the flavor of pumpkin, sweet malt, spice and brown sugar.  I did not have as much of a sense of the pie crust, but that did not matter.  Overall, the Spooky Tooth was one of the better, if not the best pumpkin ales that I have ever tasted.

To be sure, both my beautiful Angel, Clare, and I were comparing the Spooky Tooth to other pumpkin beers.  To date, none of them have matched up to this beer.

Given the beer is a seasonal, it is probably no longer in production.  If bottles are still available, they can be purchased at Fat Head's in North Olmsted, Ohio or at their new production brewery in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.  The beer costs about $10.99 for a four pack.

ENJOY!

The Great'er Pumpkin

One of my favorite comics and cartoons growing up was Peanuts and Charlie Brown.  I especially remember It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which introduced everyone to the Great Pumpkin.  Well, not formally, anyways.  Every Halloween, Linus van Pelt would wait in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin.  The problem was that the Great Pumpkin never materialized and, in the end, Linus was ridiculed by all of his friends for standing in the pumpkin patch all night while they were trick-or-treating and celebrating the holiday at parties.

Linus is confined to realm of non-fiction, which is unfortunate given the Great Pumpkin exists in reality.  The brewers at Heavy Seas have produced The Great Pumpkin, which is brewed in the style of an imperial pumpkin ale.  They have also produced the Greater'er Pumpkin, which is the imperial pumpkin ale aged in barrels from Virginia's A. Smith Bowman Distillery. I found a bottle of the Great'er Pumpkin and saved it for Halloween.

The Great'er Pumpkin pours a nice orange in color, with a thin level of foam.  The aromatic elements of suggest pumpkin puree, cinnamon and a little clove.  The aging of the beer for three weeks in bourbon barrels also contributes to the aroma of the beer, with hints of the bourbon itself.  

When it comes to the flavor of the beer, the Great'er Pumpkin is like a liquid pumpkin pie that has been made with bourbon.  There are flavors of nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and allspice.  The brewers also note these flavors, along with their use of dark brown sugar, which added color and some dryness to their spicy, malt-forward ale.  All of these flavors are wrapped in a boozy cover, which is clearly drawn from the A. Smith Bowman Distillery barrels.  The aging of this beer in the bourbon barrels definitely sets this beer apart from other Imperial Pumpkin Ales that I have tried in the past. 

The Great'er Pumpkin is best enjoyed alone, sipping the beer as a digestif.  You could also enjoy the beer like I did, waiting to give away our candy to the trick-or-treaters  before I break down and eat that candy myself.

I found this beer at State Line Liquors in Elkton, Maryland.  It sold for about $6.29 or $6.99 a bottle.  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

Southern Tier Brewing Company Imperial Pumking

Every fall, the pumpkin ales emerge.  According to the Oxford Companion to Beer (at pages 680-681), which was edited by Brooklyn Brewing's Garrett Oliver, the pumpkin ale is "an American original" that English colonists invented in the 18th century.  The Oxford Companion to Beer also notes that "[t]he brewing methods for pumpkin ale are about as varied as the breweries that are making it."  I've learned this first hand after having recently tried and reviewed a couple of pumpkin beers, namely Uinta Brewing's Punk'n Ale and Elysian Brewing's Night Owl. 

Perhaps the "king" of the pumpkin beers would be an "imperial" pumpkin ale, such as Southern Tier's Pumking.  The brewer says that the beer is an "ode" to Púca (which is Irish for "goblin"), a feared creature of Celtic folklore.  According to legends in Ireland, Western Scotland and Wales, the púca could take the form of any animal, including a horse, mule, or even a rabbit.  The púca would entice travelers to get on its back.  This was a trick, for the púca would take the travelers off-course by giving them with rides that they would never forget.  The journey was said to change the lives of the hijacked travelers. 

Southern Tier's Pumking is perhaps the craft beer movement's version of a púca.  When reading the list of ingredients, one expects a typical pumpkin ale.  The beer is brewed with 2 row pale malt, caramel malt, and pureed pumpkin.   The brewer also uses magnum hops in the kettle and sterling hops for aroma.  All of these ingredients are fairly typical for a pumpkin ale. 

However, both the aromatic and taste elements of the beer take the drinker for an unexpected ride.  The beer pours a bright orange color, which is more vibrant than other pumpkin beers.  The vibrant color is complemented by the vivid aromas of this ale.  The principal elements are the range of pumpkin pie spices.  In fact, the beer smells like a piece of pumpkin pie, with allspice, cloves and cinnamon.  As for the taste of the beer, it actually tastes like pumpkin cheesecake up front, with some of the caramel and 2-row malts, along with the magnum and sterling hops becoming more apparent in the finish of the beer.

The Imperial Pumking has an ABV of 8.6%, which is not as high as imperial versions of other beers, such as an India pale ale or a stout.  This beer is available at beer stores with a wide selection of craft beers, like Gilly's in Rockville, MD.

ENJOY!