Happy Halloween and Beer # 288

#288 Collective Project Sour Pumpkin Saison

Collective Arts Brewing

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Independent Microbrewery
Farmhouse Ale 
5.0 % ABV 8 IBU
473 ml Aluminium Can
$3.45 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @Collectivebrew

Steve from Minecraft

Well Halloween is drawing to a close the kids are on their way to bed and their candy is definitely in danger. But before I go and start thinning out the coffee crisps and rockets (so they don't eat too much junk...) I wanted to post a pumpkin beer for this special night. Halloween is one of my favourite holidays, it gives me an excuse to do some of the things I do best I.E.... eat too much candy and put strange things on my head. In fact most of my costumes revolve around putting something on my head and going from there. A few years ago I was Steve from Minecraft. Tonight I plonked a plastic Knight's helmet on my head that I found in the boy's bedroom.... and I thought... okay, we are doing this. and out the door I went helmet on head matching plastic sword and my pockets stuffed full of extra bags for my ... I mean... the boys' candy. Aside from that, Halloween is also the birthday of my Favourite Furball. Perriwinkle or "Perry" has been my constant writing companion and guest typo inserter in the blog since day one ( Perry, keyboards are not for kittens...) This year she turned 13 years old. And as you can see she is not opposed to putting strange things on her head either.

I thought there was one more coffee crisp in here...

So if you ever notice a typo on one of my posts keep in mind... it's probably because i was trying to type it with Perry in my lap and her tail up my nose or she decided to tap dance across the keyboard, yet again. I hope she will be here for many, many more typos. Happy Birthday Kitten.

I can't believe we ate the whole bag of candy...

 Which brings us to tonight's beer. This time of year the shelves get flooded with pumpkin beers. Pumpkin porters, ales, what have you. This is the first time I've seen a sour saison, done with a pumpkin flavour. I've consciously avoided pumpkin beers for a year or two because I am very tired of them and after a while they end up just running together and tasting muddy.

So I was intrigued when I saw this can. and I have been liking what has been happening in the sour beer scene lately. What the hell, let's give this one a shot. So we threw on a copy of "Sleepy Hollow" and tasted the sour pumpkin.


Enter the great pumpkin...

Pours a dirty gold with a short white head made up of small bubbles. Nose is sweet filled with light hints of pumpkin and spices and just a touch of sour. First sip is a fruity with good hits of cinnamon and clove. Touches of ginger and allspice bring up the rear. Pumpkin is evident but not overpowering, or sickly like many other pumpkin beers. The beer is very light and well balanced between the sweet, sour and spice. Very easy drinking aeration brings out some caramel notes and hints of vanilla, and a little of the malt that hides so well in the background.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6  PASS
Re-Order:  5/6  PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

Well quite frankly I am surprised. Not just a good pumpkin beer but one I would look forward to drinking again. Nothing is overpowering, or in your face about it. It is not just a mish-mash of over-sweet pumpkin and way too much baking spice. The sour counteracts the sweetness and the spice is balanced just right. You get a little malt at the end to remind you this is a beer and all is well. Get this one while you can. However, I imagine this one will make a return visit next year.... Hmmm, I wonder if it pairs well with stolen candy...


Happy Halloween &

Cheers

CJT

Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online

And don't forget to "Friend" me on Untappd.