“Don’t Fruit The Beer!”  But if you Do, Here’s Two Great Pumpkin Options

“Don’t fruit the beer” has been the battle cry of my friend Mark ever since I’ve known him.  He was passionate about his belief.   The closest I ever came to disliking ‘fruiting’  was when a waiter would try to fruit my water with a lemon at a restaurant.  Maybe it’s our shared German heritage and/or our subconscious embracing of the Reinheitsgebot.  At first, I was unable to embrace his disdain of all added flavors to beer (through use of fruits and vegetables). After all, I have had some good beers in my late teens and early 20’s that made decent use of these ingredients.  However, the more I thought about it, many of beers recently that have been using these ingredients were doing kind of a half ass job and not really using the ingredient to their full capacity.  I have come to realize that I don’t dislike all beers that have been “fruited”, just the ones that are “fruited” badly.  

Full disclosure, I love the Fall and everything that comes with it; and pumpkin flavored/ scented stuff is all over our house. This leads me to pumpkin beers, which are everywhere and seem to come out in August (possibly a topic for a different article).   Among all the mediocre pumpkin ales, a couple of the best are actually local ones.  Also, I have to admit that I had to look up whether a pumpkin was a fruit or vegetable before writing this so no one would call me out on the premise or title.  

–Flat 12’s Flat Jack Pumpkin is incredibly easy to drink and smells like pumpkin pie to me as soon as I pour it into a glass.  Unlike other pumpkin beers’ whose flavors open up after it sits for a bit, this one tastes outstanding right away.  It has enough complexity to satisfy the craft beer crowd and it’s accessible enough that my mom even likes it (and she has questionable taste in alcoholic beverages at best).  Overall, it’s an outstanding beer and one I look forward to every year.  I also hear there’s a bourbon barrel variety out there (on tap) that I need to try before the season is over. Challenge accepted.

–Tin Man’s Herald is a beer that I just recently had a chance to get my hands on.  I found I enjoyed this beer a little warmer and it really brought out the strong flavors that one would associate with the Fall.  There is a great deal of nutmeg and a hint of cinnamon in this beer and it tastes like a deconstructed pumpkin pie.  This one takes a different approach to the style, and I really like it.  This is one I will keep in my Fall beer rotation from now on.