Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Homebrew Pumpkin Ale Part 3 - The Naming

2008 Pumpkin Alley Ale


The pumpkin Ale is complete.  The flavor of the fresh pumpkin is interesting.  On Halloween, when this ale was first tasted, the pumpkin gave way to hints of apple and fresh fruits, but not really muchf pumpkin flavor.  A few weeks later, the pumpkin is beginning to come through but its still not overwhelming.  The pie spices I added are very subtle, actually making this a very drinkable ale, not the Pumpkin Pie flavor bomb of a Buffalo Bills or Shipyard.

Next year I will try to get a deeper roast on the pumpkins and see if I can't get a warmer flavor.  Otherwise the 2008 Pumpkin Alley Ale is a success and I'm looking to making more next year!


Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Palo Santo Marron


For a while, and for whatever reason, it was nearly impossible to find Dogfish Head in Colorado.  A few months back 60 Minutes finally started sneaking back onto the shelves, followed by the 90, India Brown Ale, Raison D-Etre and finally the Punkin brought up the rear in October.  While this is a respectable selection and DFH has clearly gotten through their production/distribution glitches, I still had not been able to find Palo Santo Marron.  I searched and asked every conceivable liquor store to scare some up, even if I had to buy  case...  

Well, yesterday Total Beverage brought the thunder.  From DFH they had Palo Santo, Theobroma!!!, Midas Touch, Pangea along with their standard stock.  They also ran deep in Stone, Port Brewing, Allagash, Lost Abbey, Russian River and tons of fresh fall harvest beers.