Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin Ale

The third stop on my tour of this years pumpkin beers, this is another brew that I've been waiting for, the Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin Ale.  When I was introduced to this one last year, the representative explained to me about the creation of the Smashed Pumpkin.  From what I understood, the Pumpkinhead has become so popular, that altering the recipe would be impossible.  But, they wanted to kick the pumpkin up a notch, and what was born was the "Smashed Pumpkin."

The Smashed Pumpkin pours out a darker shade of burnt orange, to almost a tawny or rust color. The foam is lighter in color than the Weyerbacher, more of an old lace hue.  The foam is much more lively though, a full two-fingers, with plenty of carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass.  There's actually so much carbonation that I'm surprised a screw-cap holds this beer back properly.

I take a wiff, and oh yes, that's nice.  Lots of sweet pumpkin aromas on the nose, but fairly mild on the spice side of things.  For a 9% abv, I can't smell the alcohol at all; it's completely over-powered by the pumpkin.  I can get some hints of typical pumpkie pie spices, but they are very subtle.

And after taking a sip, I'm still enjoying this experience thoroughly.  Following suit with the aromas, there's quite a bit of sweet pumpkin on my palate, but very little spices. The pumpkin is not intense though, it's a very soft, smooth, sweeter style of pumpkin flavor.  There is still a touch of spices there, but hard to pick out.  Like the smell of the Smashed Pumpkin, it's as if someone was just cutting into a fresh pumpkin pie.  You know, for that minute or two before you bite into it, when you can smell the pumpkin, but barely detect the spices.  As the beer warms up to room temperature, the spices are a bit more evident, but still hidden behind the pumpkin itself.

In conclusion, by third stop on the Pumpkin Brew trail has been a very nice stop.  The Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin is a pumpkin-dominated big-boy beer for the folks that really love pumpkin beer (like me).  It's a little sweet, relatively easy drinking, and a pretty good representation of pumpkin beer.  If you see one on the shelf, give it a try!

Shipyard Brewing Company
Smashed Pumpkin Ale
TCSH Rating - 8.5/10
Aka - Very good brew, what's next?

Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum