204. New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red

This is another beer from my Wisconsin trade and the first bottle that was dipped in wax to seal the cap. Makes for a very interesting bottle. New Glarus is a very well established craft brewer in Wisconsin. They started brewing in 1993 and still distribute only in Wisconsin so if you want to try their beer you will have to take a road trip or find a trading partner. 
The Wisconsin Belgian Red is one of 6 year round beers made by New Glarus. The beer pours a very deep red with nice white head. Aroma is amazing, full on cherry, no beer or alcohol smell, just a sweet tart cherry smell. Taste follows the nose, very sweet cherry flavors almost candy like at the beginning and turning slightly tart at the end. Nothing but cherry and with the low alcohol content, higher than normal carbonation you could almost pass this off as a cherry soda. Generally I am not a big fruit beer drinker but if you like cherries you would like this beer.

124. Sea Dog Raspberry Wheat Ale

I had a very bad Monday night for beer with 2 beers that have been added to my least favorite list. This one probably is not as bad as I think it was but I do not like raspberries and this seems to be an average beer with artificial raspberry flavoring added after. The head was very large and stuck around. Color was very clear but the taste was average with an extended aftertaste.
Pros: 

Cons: Aftertaste lingers for a long time and taste seems artificial

Alcohol Content: 4.5% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 

Brewers Website: Sea Dog Brewery

Brewers Description: Sea Dog Raspberry Wheat Ale is a dry, crisp refreshing ale with the added essence of raspberries.

100. Dogfish Head Faithful Ale

For my 100th review I thought I would choose something special and since I love Pearl Jam and Dogfish Head I thought this would be the perfect choice. Overall this is a quality beer as most Dogfish Head varieties are but I had hoped for more from Faithful Ale. Color is fairly light with almost no lacing, aroma is minimal with some slight wheat/yeast notes in there but not much. Taste is fairly simple and about what you would expect from a beer of this color. Lots of currant and minimal hops. Overall not a bad choice and I know Eddie Vedder prefers wine to beer to so was not expecting anything too complex with this variety from Dogfish Head. 
Pros: Pearl Jam label

Cons: Simple

Alcohol Content: 7.0% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): 20
Rating: 

Brewers Website: Dogfish Head

Brewers Description: Faithfull Ale is a celebration of Pearl Jam's 20th anniversary as a band and its extraordinary debut album, "Ten." In recognition of these milestones, this Belgian-style golden ale is delicately hopped to 20 IBUs and fruit-forward from 10 incremental additions of black currants over a one-hour boil. Faithfull clocks in at 7% ABV. "To me, 'Ten' is the perfect example of a record-lover's-record. The whole thing rocks," says Dogfish Head President & Founder Sam Calagione. "As an off-centered brewery, we believe in celebrating the breadth of our whole portfolio and we feel an affinity for Pearl Jam a long-player band in a singles-obsessed world."

Faithfull Ale is the third beer in our Music Series, following our Miles Davis-inspired Bitches Brew and our beer tribute to blues man Robert Johnson, Hellhound On My Ale. For more on the band and their 20th anniversary celebration, visit www.pearljam.com and www.pj20.com. For more on the story behind Faithfull Ale, here's Sam with our Quick Sip Clip: Faithfull Ale:

75. Fisherman's Imperial Pumpkin Stout

Was not sure what to expect from this one as you usually see pumpkin with ales and not stouts. Being an imperial this has a little extra kick - 11% ABV but the taste is not overpowering. Pours a very dark brown almost black with a nice tan head. Aroma is of cinnamon, nutmeg and spice. Taste has a fair amount of spice and just a bit of pumpkin. This is a very good fall stout and if you are able to find this one locally I would certainly recommend picking it up. 

Pros: Color, taste

Cons:  

Alcohol Content: 11% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): 30
Rating: 

Brewers Website: Cape Ann Brewing

Brewers Description: A dark stout accentuated by flavors of the Autumn season. Using real Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Allspice, the Cape Ann Brewing Company took a fresh take at the common fall seasonal. This rich dark stout offers an inviting pumpkin spice aroma that gives way to the potent roasted chocolate flavors of a stout and finishes with the delicate essence of real pumpkin.

72. Sea Dog Wild Blueberry

Blueberries are far from my favorite fruit so this review may be a little harsh. Pours a great golden color with a nice head but that disappeared within seconds leaving a very flat look in the glass. I thought maybe the beer had expired as I purchased at a local convenience store but in checking the label it was best before February 2012. Minimal carbonation and aroma was that of a blueberry bagel. Taste was not much better, I felt like I was drinking beer while eating a blueberry bagel and that just seems wrong. If you like blueberries your experience with this beer may be entirely different. 

Pros: Color

Cons: Flat, too sweet 

Alcohol Content: 4.6% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 

Brewers Website: Sea Dog Brewery
Brewers Description: Our unique contribution to the fruit ale category features the nutty quench of wheat ale combined with the delightful aromatics and subtle fruit flavor contributed by Maine wild blueberries.

60. Post Road Pumpkin Ale

This will almost certainly be my last pumpkin/fall beer of the season as the Winter brews are starting to be released. This one tastes very similar to Shipyard's Pumpkinhead ale which I enjoy. Maybe slightly less spice than Pumpkinhead but has similar  aroma and finish. Pours with a nice head and leaves lacing on the glass. This beer has just the right amount of carbonation and finished smooth. I find it hard to drink more than one pumpkin beer in a sitting but might have been able to do more of this one if I had not purchased just a single. 

Pros: Taste, color, aroma

Cons:  

Alcohol Content: 5% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 

Brewers Website: Brooklyn Brewery

Brewers Description: Early American Colonialists, seeking natural ingredients for brewing ales, turned to pumpkins, which were plentiful, flavorful and nutritious. Blended with barley malt, pumpkins became a commonly used beer ingredient. Post Road Pumpkin Ale brings back this tasty tradition. Hundreds of pounds of pumpkins are blended into the mash of each batch, creating a beer with an orange amber color, warm pumpkin aroma, biscuity malt center, and crisp finish. 

48. Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale

This may be the final Pumpkin/Fall beer of the year. Overall not a bad a beer but not a lot of flavor here. Nice color, slight pumpkin aroma but very little pumpkin or spice flavor. When I buy a pumpkin beer I expect to have lots of flavor and this was a bit disappointing in that regard. Not a bad beer but if you are looking for a fall or pumpkin beer there are a number of better choices available. 

Pros: Smooth, decent alcohol content

Cons: Very little flavor - pumpkin or otherwise 

Alcohol Content: 5.7% ABV
Calories: 185
IBU (Bitterness): 20??

Rating: 
Brewers Website: Blue Moon Brewing Company
Brewers Description: Harvest Pumpkin Ale - Available September - November - Amber Colored Ale - Brewed with a bounty of fall flavors like vine-ripened pumpkin, allspice, cloves and nutmeg - Together with a touch of wheat, Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale has a smooth, lightly spiced finish. Pairs well with beef dishes and seasonal soups. 

45. Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin

This is Shipyard's "other" pumpkin beer as most everyone has tried Pumpkinhead but few people have tried their Smashed Pumpkin. Probably partially due to the fact it is only available in the 22 oz bomber not in your typical 12 oz bottle 6-packs. It is really too bad as I prefer this over Pumpkinhead. Not nearly as much spice, but still has great color, aroma and a much higher alcohol content. One has to be a bit careful when opening a 22 oz bottle with 9% ABV especially when it is as smooth as this beer is. Pumpkin flavor is there but not overwhelming, if you open this beer right out of the fridge it may be too cold as the taste was a bit milder as the beer warmed slightly. My suggestion would be to open the bottle, pour your first glass and let it sit for a 3-4 minutes before drinking, leave the bottle open and not refrigerated so the second glass is as good as the first. Very good and worth trying to find this at your local convenience or grocery store. 

Pros: Nice pumpkin flavor - great color and aroma

Cons: Only available in 22 oz bottles 

Alcohol Content: 9.0% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 

Brewers Website: Shipyard
Brewers Description: Smashed Pumpkin is a big-bodied beer with a light coppery orange color and pleasing aromas of pumpkin and nutmeg. The Pale Ale, Wheat and Light Munich malts combine with the natural tannin in pumpkin and the delicate spiciness of hops to balance the sweetness of fruit. 

39. Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

This one is like many of the other beers I have reviewed. A quality beer, something you will enjoy, would not refuse if offered, but not sure it would make you want to run out and buy more. Not nearly as good as the Smuttynose (review #38). Dogfish's website describes this as a full-bodied brown ale but it certainly does not have the color of the previous brown ales, here. The first drink you can certainly taste the pumpkin but after that it gets lost in the other flavors. Color is what you would expect but nothing spectacular. It does have a good head when poured which lasts and leaves a nice lace on the glass. I like Dogfish Head and this  lives up to their usual standards.

Pros: Ample flavor, good flavor

Cons: Very similar to other pumpkin ales

Alcohol Content: 7.0% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): 28

Rating: 
Brewers Website: Dogfish Head
Brewers Description: A full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar. We brew our Punkin Ale with pumpkin meat, organic brown sugar and spices. This is the perfect beer to warm-up with, as the season cools.

Punkin Ale is named after a locally-famous and seriously off-centered event here in southern Delaware - Punkin Chunkin (check out some of these Discovery Channel videos of Punkin Chunkin, you gotta see it to believe it!). In fact, Punkin Ale made it's debut as it claimed First Prize in the 1994 Punkin Chunkin Recipe Conest - yes, that was a full 6 months before we even opened our doors for business. Punkin Chunkin has grown in size and scale with pumpkins now being hurled more than 4,000 feet through the air! If you come down to see if for yourself - come by and visit us.

Since then, we've brewed Punkin Ale each and every fall. It is released right around September first each year. When you find it, grab some extra because it's usually gone by Thanksgiving.

Food Pairing Recommendations: 

Turkey, roasted duck, lamb, stuffing, dessert dumplings

Tasting Notes: 

Malty, pumpkin, caramel, brown sugar

38. Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale

This is definitely the best pumpkin ale I have tried and probably the best color beer. It truly is the color in the photo, a nice bright orange. Has a light spice and pumpkin smell but not overpowering, excellent flavor with a fair amount of hops. Even if you usually do not like pumpkin beer you may want to give this one a try. Smuttynose usually does a nice job with their beer and you will be seeing more from them in the coming months. 

Pros: Great color, perfect amount of hops and pumpkin

Cons: Bad picture on their site. Check it out - guess that is not too bad if that is the only bad thing I can say about this beer. 

Alcohol Content: 5.6% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ???
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Smuttynose Brewing
Brewers Description: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale is our homage to the craft and heritage of America’s brewers. Recipes calling for the use of pumpkins in beer date back to early colonial times, when brewers sought to extend their supply of costly imported malt with locally grown ingredients, such as squash and “pompions.”

In that spirit, we brew our ale with the addition of pumpkin to the mash, along with traditional spices to create a delicious American original.

Available in sixpacks and on draft from mid-August through October.