Long Trail Pumpkin Ales: a long trip and a short sip later...

Two weeks ago, I visited my beautiful cousin in Rutland, VT for her wedding. Instead of taking the awfully boring ride back on the train, I met up with boyfriend and we made a mini road trip out of the return home.

Our first stop--hardly half an hour from where I had stayed--was Long Trail Brewery.

Similar to Iron Hill Brewery, which is local to me, Long Trail is both a brewing company and a restaurant. So we stayed for lunch--and it was probably the best decision of the whole trip.

The food was OUTSTANDING! I started with their signature Long Trail Cheddar Ale Soup followed by the Long Trail Bratwurst. (No, not everything on the menu starts with "Long Trail.") I've had PA Dutch sleeved meat--I've even had my share in Germany--but this was the best. To be completely fair, my taste palate has greatly expanded since my previous sleeved meat tastings... Nonetheless, the "cooked onions & maple mustard" are surely what set it over the top.

To accompany my meal, I ordered a pint of Long Trail's Imperial Pumpkin from their Brewmaster Series of ales.

Click here to learn more about Imperial Pumpkin

The Imperial Pumpkin is an English Strong Ale with an ABV of 8%. While not strong on pumpkin flavor, I really enjoyed this beer! It had all the right spices and tipped more towards the malty end rather than hoppy. According to Long Trail's site, Imperial Pumpkin was brewed with 2-Row, Wheat, Caramel 80L, and Caramunich malts with Nugget, Mt. Hood and Willamette hops. (I feel like I'm in Pineapple Express...) Their description:

Long Trail Imperial Pumpkin Ale is the latest introduction  to the Long Trail Brewmaster Series. This limited release seasonal treat is small batch brewed with pumpkins, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves with increased malts and a touch of bitterness for the perfect balance.

Well balanced, indeed. Nice job, Long Trail!

After our meal, we wondered around a bit and headed up to the indoor viewing balcony to see the vats. It was nice, but certainly not worthy of the term "tour" they throw around on the website, even if prefaced with "self-guided." They did have a pretty sweet (giant) graphic hanging in the restaurant, though, that talked about their brewing process:

A few days later, while at home, I remembered that I picked up a bottle of Long Trail's Pumpkin Ale prior to my trip and had it sitting in my fridge! Cracked it open. Poured in my branded Long Trail glass that I purchased at the brewery. Took a sip. Took another sip. One more. Dumped it. Maybe it had just been sitting too long... Ultimately, not my thang. It drank more like a light beer, which I am not at all fond of. I decided it wasn't worth the calorie intake. Ah, well. Their Imperial Pumpkin was certainly winner in my book, if that helps.

Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat

I generally prefer my brews to be darker in color and stronger in taste. I'd choose a stout over an ale any day. But as I am the self-proclaimed Halloween Queen, how could my autumn be complete without pushing my pumpkin intake to the max? Pumpkin ales are therefore unavoidable. So here I am, on my quest to taste as many of them as I can!

You'll have to bear with me as I fine tune my tasting-and-telling-about-it skills. Here I go!

Copyright: Jenn D./The Halloween Spot

Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat
"Belgium style wheat ale brewed with pumpkin and spices"

Brewer: Anheuser-Busch | St. Louis, MO

Style: Pumpkin Ale

ABV: 5.20%


When it comes to Shock Top, the only previous run-ins I've had with the brand have been at the ball park. (The Phillies homebase, Citizens Bank Park, carries the beer.)

After cracking open the bottle, I took a few strong sniffs of the beverage. It was a light scent, very fresh with hints of orange citrus and a blend of spices underneath.

I poured the ale into a glass to see the color: vibrantly amber! Not completely transparent, the Pumpkin Wheat was like an opaque field of grains during an autumn sunset... Okay I'm done.

What little head there was disappeared almost immediately, so I jumped into the tasting. First sip didn't impress, but as I continued to drink the ale, the flavors developed across my taste buds and I liked it more and more! My plan to ditch half the bottle to be healthier ultimately failed.

At it's core, the Shock Top Pumpkin Ale remains close to its wheat beer roots. It's the nice, light spices in the beer that really sets it apart.

I gave it 2/5 pumpkins on scent and 3/5 pumpkins on flavor. I'm going to be a hard judge through and through on this ride! The pumpkins will denote how pumpkin-y the brew actually comes off. Overall, though, this was a very enjoyable drink. I wouldn't go and by a case (simply because it's generally not my thang,) but I wouldn't pass on an offer either.

What is wheat beer?
According to my quick search, many wheat beers are actually witbiers. (Other wheat beers include wiessbiers, hefeweizens, lambics and goses.) According to BeerAdvocate, a witbier is:

A Belgian Style ale that's very pale and cloudy in appearance due to it being unfiltered and the high level of wheat, and sometimes oats, that's used in the mash. Always spiced, generally with coriander, orange peel and other oddball spices or herbs in the back ground. The crispness and slight twang comes from the wheat and the lively level of carbonation. This is one style that many brewers in the US have taken a liking to and have done a very good job of staying to style. Sometimes served with a lemon, but if you truly want to enjoy the untainted subtleties of this style you'll ask for yours without one. Often referred to as "white beers" (witbieren) due to the cloudiness / yeast in suspension.

Mmm....

Like Pumpkin Ales? Let me know what you think!

How I spent September 1st: the unofficial start to autumn!

September 1st is normally an exciting day, but this year I did it right! I binged on pumpkin.

I started off my morning the only way a proper Halloween gal should: with a batch of tasty & delicious Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes. Addicting, they're so good.

Filled with energy and excitement, I took a trip to my local Wegmans to check out their stock of pumpkin ales. (If you don't know this, Wegmans has one of the best beer gardens. EVER.) And I wasn't disappointed this time, either!


I took notes of all the pumpkin brews they had available then selected my custom 6-pick to take home to taste. Look for blog posts covering each one!

Next stop? A quick coffee date with the boyfriend. While Sept. 4th is the official release date for the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, many will serve them starting the first of the month.

I was THRILLED to snag one yesterday--my first of the season! Since I'm livin' life a bit healthier these days, I opted for a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino Light. If you want the hot version of the beverage, ask for non-fat, no whip. There is no "skinny" version of the drink.

Very little of this was actually planned yesterday; it all revolved around a day full of errands.  I happened to have left over pumpkin pancake batter. I happened to have needed to make a trip to King of Prussia mall yesterday, which just happens to be near the new Wegmans. We made a coffee run prior to getting me some new running shoes, and that particular Starbucks happened to be serving PSLs already.

To complete my day of errand-running, I had to visit our local supermarket, a GIANT Food Store. As we pulled up in the lot to park, a bright patch of orange caught my eye. Rows and rows of pumpkins for sale! SWEET. Any size, just $5. Obviously I had to buy one.

It's such a gorgeous one, isn't it? I'm so excited to dig into it tomorrow and roast up a batch of seeds. My favorite snack! 

Oh, yeah. The reason I went to GIANT in the first place? To stock up on pumpkin puree, of course ;)