Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin

Let's take a break from the world of stouts and try something very appropriate for the first day of Fall.  Pumpkin beers are about as Autumn as you can get.  Many people, as far as I can tell, look forward to the pumpkin beers as much as they do the colorful leaves and crisp, comfortable evenings.  The problem is, I've never really been one of those people.  While I'll have a pumpkin beer here or there, I've never been one to seek them out.  They've never particularly stuck with me.  I tend to partake of my pumpkins in pie form.  So, I'll say right now that I don't have too much of a frame of reference for this particular beer.

You'll remember the review I did of Shipyard's Smashed Blueberry awhile back.  Smashed Pumpkin is another in Shipyard Brewing's Pugsley's Signature Series, their line of big beers.  Did I like their take on pumpkins as much as I liked their take on blueberries?  Let's find out, shall we?

The beer pours a "light coppery orange" according to the bottle.  You know they wanted to say that it poured a light pumpkiny color.  A tall, pale orange-ish head sits atop the beer, just begging to be smelled.  To me, so much of this time of year is connected with smells.  Smashed Pumpkin is no exception.  Getting my nose right into the glass, while carefully avoiding actually inhaling foam, I immediately smell spices...nutmeg for sure and perhaps cinnamon?  The rest of the smell is, well, I don't know how to describe it, but all I can guess is that it is the pumpkin.  I think pumpkin is so intrinsically linked with nutmeg and cinnamon that I can't quite recall what it smells like on it's own.

The taste is where I start to be a little out of my element.  Don't get me wrong, the taste is great.  The pumpkin and nutmeg stand front and center.  A nice hoppy crispness is present, but graciously takes a secondary role.  The 9% alcohol doesn't hit you over the head.  This really is a very tasty beer.  Where I have a problem is...I don't know if this is better or worse than some of the other good pumpkin beers out there.  I have absolutely had worse.  There are beers out there that just taste like the spices or they're sickly sweet.  Smashed Pumpkin is quite nicely balanced.  Not too sweet, not too spicy, seemingly just right.  But, I just can't say it's the best out there.

Let's see if I can wrap this all up.  Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin really is a tasty pumpkin ale.  Is it the best out there?  I have no idea.  Is it the best I've had in my very limited pumpkin beer career?  I'd say it certainly is.  If you're a fan of this style of beer, I think it's certainly worth a try if you can find it.  If you're much more of a pumpkin beer connoisseur than I am, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.  How does it compare to others you've had?  Are there others I absolutely have to try?  I'm giving Smashed Pumpkin an A-.  While I'm not normally a pumpkin beer guy, I will certainly get this one again!