Piotrek z Bagien - Pumpkin Ale Halloween 2016

PIOTREK Z BAGIEN

Pumpkin Ale Halloween 2016

Jan Olbracht Brewery, Poland

To prolong the spooky atmosphere of Halloween, I was waiting a bit longer with that describing that one. I was really looking forward to get finally get the sweet pumpkin ale I was hoping for. Well, again, I should have been reading the label first (OK, I don’t do it on purpose, I seriously do not like to be influenced by the components before trying). Last year edition was quite decent pumpkin ale, so I have expected this year to follow.

Well, correct me if I am wrong, but last year was made without the smoked chili, wasn’t it? 

We all know that pumpkin beer smells of the spices that are added. Pumpkin by itself is rather neutral, and could be completely omitted in the brewing process (I bet nobody would even notice). Therefore it is clear that by adding smoked chili, we will get smoked beer. It is not that heavy like some other beers of this type, but smoke is dominating aroma and one of the most intensive flavors. Some leftovers of ginger and maybe cardamom. Some of the smoke is compensated by a medium body of the beer and very decent hops aroma. But not enough for my taste. After a second/third sip I have started to detect chili part of the beer (and yes, this was a real chili, it burns twice). Overall – may be interesting to try, but don’t feel forced to do so.