Southern Tier Pumking

[BargainMugs]

Unfortunately I would only be able to check the 3rd bottle date.

 

[scarlessmeanie]

I had it on tap at Blue Tusk in Syracuse, NY. I didn't have it last year, so I've got no real basis for judgement, but I had heard really great things about it. A friend in Brooklyn says it's his favorite beer ever. Or something. It was way nuttier than I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it. I thought it was pretty creamy myself.

 

[BargainMugs]

I had it at Blue Tusk on Saturday as well. The tap was much better than the few bottles I've tried this season.

 

[jonmohno]

I thought it tasted like graham,very grahamy,graham aroma very unique but wasnt into the graham with the pumpkin. Never had pumpkin pie with a graham crust but to me thats what it was like, i liked smashed pumpkin ended up getting 2 more bottles best one ive tried so far out of some other average ones. For a cheaper one shock top pumpkin wasnt that bad really. Just my opinion.
Havnt notice anyone else thinking it taste like graham,although someone pointed out it tasted like gingerbread, but its a pumpkin.

 

[nootay]

this is one of the worst pumpkin beers ive ever had. i was quite excited about it and was even in the process of buying the incredients for a clone just based on the previous reviews i have read. it tasted like some type of nut to me. hazelnut maybe. thats all i could taste. might be ok if you like hazelnut, i definitely do not.

 

[MPOWELLJR]

I've only had 2 bottles (bought the same day) of it this year but it tasted like pumpkin pie in a bottle to me when we had it. It's crazy how much disparity everyone is getting between bottles.

 

[ao125]

ok, I had the 2011 Pumking last night. I was very disappointed. The aroma is close to what I remember from last years. but the taste and mouth feel really fall short. there is no body or creaminess to the beer and almost has a sour character. The color was a lot lighter and more clear from what I remember. It tastes a lot more like other pumpkin beers I have tried and not the stand out it was last year. 2010 Pumking was my favorite beer of the year so I was very excited to get it again. Unfortunately it didnt live up.

I had a 2009 Pumking and a 2011 Pumking last night (yes, I'm one of *those* people that has a beer collection from previous years).

The 2011 tastes a lot like vanilla and cinnamon dirty dishwater, whereas the 2009 tasted a lot cleaner. More refined. Crisper.

 

[InfernoBrews]

Good Beer but 2 cases of 22oz Bottles = $181.97 TOTAL.. Yep If i only kept track on how much i spend on beer in a years time..

 

[CrazedArmadillo]

After hearing rave reviews for this beer in the past, I finally bought a bottle last year. It smelled and tasted like creamed corn (DMS?). Absolutely disgusting and we ended up dumping it...talk about a let-down. The first thing that popped into my mind was that they have some serious quality control issues. Not sure why they would release a beer not up to standards...in my eyes it reflects poorly on the brewery as a whole. Follow DFH's lead and dump it if it's bad.

To be fair, I did buy another bottle this year to give them another shot. Haven't opened it yet, but after reading this thread, my hopes aren't too high...

 

[IrregularPulse]

I drank one of my 2 bottles two nights ago. I couldn't find a bottled date any where on it. It was quite delicious, but I think, thanks to this thread, I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. I kept looking for it to be not as good.

 

[nyer]

I finally had it on tap the other night and I was disappointed. I really loved it the last several years and couldn't wait for it to come out again this year. I thought it was low on flavor and boozie tasting. In the past it was like liquid pumpkin pie. I'm bummed.

 

[lpdean40]

I had gone to a local bottle shop for their tasting of the seasonal pumpkin beers and was not very pleased with any of them. Not that they were bad, but I was expecting pumpkin pie in liquid form and none came close to that. Then I came across the Southern Tier Pumking ale and figured why not give it a try, it couldn't be anyworse than the ones from the bottle shop. The smell alone blew all the others I tried out of the water. Very sweet smelling and the spices were there but not overpowering. Then the taste took it over the edge...It was as close to liquid pumpkin pie as it could get, IMHO. You can definatley tell it is high in alcohol as it does have that faint burn to it but all in all....the best pumkin beer I have tasted. I immediatley started looking for a clone recipe to try. I put a little something together that is bubbling in the fermenter now. Hopefully, I get somewhere close.

 

[governorkc]

I finally had it on tap the other night and I was disappointed. I really loved it the last several years and couldn't wait for it to come out again this year. I thought it was low on flavor and boozie tasting. In the past it was like liquid pumpkin pie. I'm bummed.

I feel the same way.

 

[doc_rob]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. The color and aroma were fantastic, but it tasted like Vodka mixed with a pound of black pepper. I still had nutmeg on my tongue 8 hours later.

 

[BargainMugs]

Had it on tap again at a different bar in Syracuse. It tasted like crap, I'm giving up on this beer this season.

3 - Good (2 Bottles, 1 Tap)
3 - Bad (2 Bottles, 1 Tap)

 

[RiseAgainstMe]

I had a bottle the other night and loved it. I haven't had it before, but to me was amazing. I saw that someone else said it normally tastes like pie crust and I agree. I love pumpkin pie but had not had a pumpkin beer that I even remotely liked until this one. I'm going to pick up another bottle or two and hopefully I don't run into the consistency problems it seems like a lot of you are having. If I do I'll be back to let everyone know.

 

[shroomzofdoom]

FINALLY placed the flavor!!! Had my first Pumking this year (2011) and found it to be quite interesting. Pie Crust? Vanilla? Cinammon? Yeah, a bit. I read the thread here to see if anyone placed it. Yankee Candle was a good one!

That flavor tastes just like Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn flavor. Not sure if they deliberately allowed for some Diacetyl formation, because to me Diacetyl tastes different. But to me the similarity to Jelly Belly is unmistakeable.