Beerswap 2007: Pumbaa's Beers

My girlfriend and I sampled Pumbaa's beers this weekend. Nice labels, BTW! Here's what we thought of them:

St. Fuad Imperial Hellfire Ale

Pour/Appearance:
Nice pffft sound. Poured a nice head which soon dissipated. Nicely carbonated. Hazy amber color.

Aroma:
Resiny, oak aroma. So far, this version is just like the one I brewed!

Taste:
The first taste is the oak up front, then a heavy malt flavor comes through. Oak taste is less pronounced than my version, which is good. Mine was too overpowering, IMHO. This is closer to the mark! Very robust with a nice, heavy mouthfeel. Warm, slightly buttery finish – not thinking this is diacetyl, but more the mixture of the heavy malt and oak playing off of each other. We both enjoyed the finish, so there ya go!

Overall:
This is a nice ‘sipping ale’. Perfect for watching the sunset on a cool Spring or Autumn evening (which is what we did!). I wished the version I brewed had more of the flavor profile your's had. Well done, indeed.


St. Fuad Flaming Pumpkin Ale

I’ll preface this by saying that I have avoided Pumpkin beers ever since getting a Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale when I subscribed to Beer Across America over ten years ago. Had one and gave the rest away. It was just too overpowering and definitely not my cup of tea. I hadn't had one since. So…

Pour/Appearance:
Nice pffft sound. Poured a nice 1/2” head which eventually dissipated to a thin, off-white profile. Perfectly carbonated. Amber color with very slight haze.

Aroma:
The malt aroma dominates, but there is definitely a spicy aroma coming through in the background – ginger, allspice, pumpkin pie spice?

Taste:
Very low hop flavor, the malt is the predominant flavor. Medium mouthfeel. The bitterness that is there comes through in mid-taste and sort of dances on the tongue nicely. The pumpkin comes in the finish. It doesn’t overpower, but it is there as a background player and that makes for a very satisfying finish.

Overall:
We were both quite impressed and could have easily gone for another of these! You successfully changed my mind about pumpkin beers. I’ll give them another try in the future – and hope they are as good as this one. In fact, I'd like to brew this so that it would be ready this October. Yummy! Very well done. If you could post the recipe, I'd be grateful.

After a very long and fustrating day, I was happy to find Pumbaa's St. Fuad Imperial Helfire Ale in the fridge.

Pour/Appearance: Perfect carbonation level, Carmel/Amber color that leaned towards brown. Fairly hazy, but no floaties. I had very good lacing from this beer.


Aroma: Sweet, caramel smell. I got both raisin and a faint orange smell. There was something I couldn't identify, but after reading Rhoobarb's post, this must have been the oak.

Taste: Very malty. Kind of a winter warmer type of beer. Full bodied beer that finished with a taste that I can only describe as somewhat "scotch like". Not overpowering by any means. Very good.

Overall A great beer, and one that I will try to duplicate. Would be great with a meal of elk stew and a big roaring fire.

Thanks Pumbaa

Got a chance to try the Flaming Pumpkin Ale today. Very cool label

POUR/APPEARANCE: Good carbonation, lots of bubbles in the glass , almost like soda pop. Good initial head that was fairly quick to dissapear. My sample was unbelievably clear.


AROMA: Sweet smell that instantly reminded me of Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg.

TASTE: Not as strong as I would have expected given the aroma. Quite drinkable, but finishes with the pumpkin.

OVERALL: A brew with good body, good flavor, and an aroma that deserves to be consumed during the Thanksgiving holidays.


Thanks for the opportunity to sample your brews Pumbaa.