Ep 132 - When rye barrels outshine bourbon and pumpkin learns new tricks

Forget sugar-bomb pumpkin beers—this tasting tour is all about balance, craft, and a few bold surprises. We line up six fall pours that couldn’t be more different: a rare pumpkin lager, a chili-spiced ale that warms on the finish, a silky nitro pumpkin spice latte with coffee, and two barrel-aged heavyweights that turn seasonal flavor into slow-sipping art. The arc builds from approachable to audacious, and it’s capped by a rye barrel–aged Belgian-style quad with figs and molasses that drinks impossibly smooth for its strength.

We start by probing where spice belongs in a lager that keeps things subtle, then flip the script with New Belgium’s Atomic Pumpkin where cinnamon meets habanero heat in a clean, lingering finish. From there, we chase the perfect “pumpkin pie” profile and diagnose what a well-made ale might be missing when the allspice and clove don’t quite pop. Texture takes center stage with Left Hand’s Pumpkin Spice Latte Nitro—the cascading pour, pillowy head, and smartly restrained coffee note create a café-meets-taproom moment that feels tailor-made for sweater weather.

Barrels change the conversation. Lexington Brewing’s Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale layers caramel, vanilla, and bourbon warmth without the burn, showing how oak can elevate rather than overwhelm. And then the showstopper: Three Sheeps’ Pumpkin Spice Veneration, a rye barrel–aged quad where molasses, fig, and pumpkin-spice glow meet Belgian depth and a gentle peppery edge from the rye. It’s complex, warming, and a clear beer-of-the-year contender.

Along the way, we touch on the surprising roots of pumpkin beer in early America and why modern brewers are revisiting the style with more finesse. Looking for the best pumpkin beers to try right now? We’ve got picks for newcomers, heat-seekers, nitro lovers, and barrel fans. If you enjoy thoughtful tastings, honest scores, and a little beer history with your pour, you’ll feel right at home. Subscribe, share this with a fall beer friend, and leave a quick review to tell us your go-to seasonal pick.

Thank you for listening to The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. If you have a question, comment or would like us to review your beer, please feel free to contact us at northwoodsbeerguy@gmail.com.

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Transcript

Lakefront Pumpkin Lager Review

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Welcome to the North With the Beer Guy Podcast. This sounds like some good music, buddy. It sure does. This week it's may not be Oktoberfest, but that music still fits. Yes, it does. That that makes me think of fall, kind of the leaves rustling in the wind, kind of cooler temperatures, and beer. And beer. Of course, pretty much every song reminds me of beer nowadays. Is that a bad thing? No, I was well, I you know, some people might say yeah, but I say no. Well, I say go with it. I say roll the punches. There you go. Or roll out the barrel. There you go. Yeah, exactly. Either or if they have a song called Roll Out the Barrel, you gotta roll out the barrel. You're just being polite. You gotta do it. Exactly. Awesome. Well, hey, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Northwoods Beer Guy podcast. This is Mike, the Northwoods Beer Guy. And as always, I'm here with Jim. Hey, buddy, how are you doing? Doing good, man. How about yourself? Can't complain. Yeah. I did no. I say nobody listens when we complain anyway. So yeah, so we gotta just keep drinking beer. You gotta keep drinking beer and talking about it. Well, what do what do you think we're gonna be drinking this week? Well, you know, we've got a little bit of a trend going. We have German Oktoberfest. We follow that up with pumpkin. Yep. Then we went to American Oktoberfest. Okay, yep. So this week we might as well go back to pumpkin. Wait, oh, you twist my arm. I know. I'm sorry. Okay, let's do it. I think I'm in. I twisted a little hard there. I apologize. I think I'm in. Okay, good. I'm glad because they're on the table here. So all right. Well, somebody's gotta drink them, somebody's gotta drink them. And that's gonna be left up to us. And hopefully, I mean, last week, I mean, sorry, folks, we kind of struck out. I'm thinking these might have some flavor. I think we have potential here. Yeah, we have very, very much potential, yes, because we do have a beer that I think you or I, or one of us, or both of us, actually rated one of the highest pumpkin beers ever. Yeah, I think you're right. And uh we got it, we've circled it back around to bring it back into this category. Well, it's a 2025 version, it might have changed, right? It could have got bad. It could have. I doubt it, but it could have gone bad. It could have. Let's let's hope not. Let's hope not. Let's hope that they're all good. Yes, exactly. Oh, and um oh man. Did you last week was awesome. I didn't have that, I didn't have that hanging over my head. The pressure, the yeah. Oh well, I think up for it. I got some good I got two pages of questions. Oh my word. How many questions you got? We got six beers. I get like 20 questions. Oof. You got all kinds of chances. There you go. I'm gonna score more points than I've ever scored. See? Anything for you, buddy. I know, you're you're you're nice like that. All right. Well, are we? Well, we might as well start with a beer. All right, let's do that. Like I said before, I gotta get my thinker thinking. So I'm gonna tighten up your cap then. Yeah, or yeah, exactly. So the first beer that we have is like last week, is from Lakefront Brewing. All right, well, in Milwaukee. And this is their pumpkin lager. All right, and on the can it says lager brewed with real pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and what is the last one? How do you say that last word there? And mace. Mace? They spray mace in there? M-A-C-E. Okay. I thought it was like isn't that the stuff you spray the bear? I was gonna yeah, I was gonna say it can't be mace, it's gotta be some weird thing. So, yeah, interesting. Well, let's hope it tastes good. I do have a little bit more information on this. And I'm you want you want to pour the beer so we can drink while you're sure. Well, here, I'll give you that. All right, I'll put you on the on the can. So to say that sounded terrible. Uh, in 1989, Lakefront brewery owner Russ Clish was reading Dusty Brewing Tome, tipping one of our fine lagers, and came across a beer recipe that Thomas Jefferson had brewed with pumpkin at his home in Monticello. All right. Lakefront Brewery's pumpkin lager is one of the only pumpkin lagers available in the world. All other pumpkin beers are ales. Okay. Except we did have a couple of uh stouts last time. We had so using real pumpkin and a proprietary blend of spices made here in Milwaukee for us by the acclaimed Spice House. Our brewers lager this beer for four full weeks.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

This extra time gives pumpkin lager a deep, smooth richness that no ale can match. A frothy entry leads to an off-dry medium to full body of intense cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and candied yam flavor on a nutty whole grain toast palette. Wow. Yeah, finishes with a drier spice and light toffee fade. Caramel and Munich malts reinforce this beer's mouthfeel and lend to the malty sweetness. A nicely balanced spice beer for those cool fall nights. Wow. There was a lot going on in there, it sounds like it is color-wise, it's kind of a pumpkin color. Orange-ish orange-ish type thing. Not a lot of aroma. I don't smell much. That's weird, you know. You would think there'd be a lot of pumpkin as oozing out or all those spices, you would get that. But I don't on the nose, I don't get it. Nope. Oh, you taste it. There's some there, but it's not, it's not over the top. No, I was expecting a real strong. And it's a lower ABV. Oh, I didn't tell. Did I? Yeah, yeah. 6.1 and uh 10 IBUs. It's not bad. No, I guess my only complaint would be when you read I read that. I thought you were gonna get, you know, the cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, also that all usually jumps out at you, right? And it really doesn't do that. I think so. The echo in line or fall in line with that, they had a lot of stuff that you were supposed to be tasting. I don't taste all, I mean, there's like the pumpkin flavors there, but all that spice, the stuff that you're looking for, is not so and I'm guessing, you know, it said that whatever the spice house, it must be uh uh another business in Milwaukee. And I'm sure they probably put together the combination, but I think they could have maybe put a little bit more in there. I mean, it it does, it I think it is an adequate representation of a pumpkin. Is it over the top? No, flavor is not oozing out of this aroma's not flowing out, so I'm glad that you get to go first on the score. Yeah, it's uh yeah, I you know, with all of the flavors that they were talking, it should taste like a pumpkin pie. Yes, you know what I mean, honestly, and it really doesn't. You get very faint, because like I said, clove and and all sp all that stuff is really kind of strong flavors. And typically when they're in a beer, because well, like look at Christmas time, yeah, you know, clove and all that stuff is in there, and you get it. It's typically it's like wow, it's there. And this one, you can drink it. Don't get me wrong. I mean, if you've never had a pumpkin beer, you could drink this, you know, because it's not over the top on anything. But I think for what you and I look for and kind of what they promised, so to speak, um, I think it maybe was a little lower than what it should have been. So I'm gonna go like a 2.4.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

All right.

Pumpkin Beer Origins In Early America

Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin: Heat And Sweet

Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale: Close But Missing Spice

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Uh, just because, again, if it's on the can, it should be in the can, and it is, but it should it needs to be a little bit more, in my opinion. Right. I think echo 100% everything you said. I was actually looking forward to a little bit more of the spice because I mean, I think that does add a little bit to it. Because really, right, all what I'm tasting right now is more the pumpkin, which is not a bad flavor, but those other things they talked about would have, I think, added it to the next level. Um, so I'm gonna go with 2.3. Just I was expecting a little bit more, right? I agree a hundred percent with you. So, your first question. Oh, I thought you'd have forgotten about that. The question is kind of a two-part question. Okay, in approximately what time frame and who and why did some people start using pumpkins for beer? I thought, because this is pretty interesting. I thought the the reasons, yeah, because there was a there's a there is a reason why there's a reason why. Okay, I'm guessing it starts with a one. Yes, the time frame. And actually, I'm just I'm gonna even give you to the what century. Oh, I'm gonna give you a hundred-year window. Wow, huh? Hundred-year window. Could I get a thousand-year window? I don't even know what that because that would still start with a one, right? That's what I said. Um and where where is a lot of pumpkins at? I'm gonna say the 1800s. Okay. In you're looking just country or just uh yeah, that makes it way easier. No, we'll say Scotland and because they they didn't have grain. I don't know. I'm just I just throw a note out there. I don't know. That was like, yeah, that's bad. All right. Well, yeah, well, I will have to say it's probably been your worst answer you've ever came up with. Okay, perfect. So the reason was because of starvation. Nobody liked to eat pumpkin, so they made it into beer. For the looming threat for the New England colonists in the 17th century. Shortages of wheat and barley meant families, especially the poor, need to find a tough, versatile crop that was easy to grow and could survive the bitter northwest northeast winters. Okay, pumpkins, it turns out, fit the bill perfectly. So it didn't take long. It started in the US in the 1700s. Interesting, that's cool. So it didn't take long for these early settlers to figure out they could use these squashes for the fermented sugars needed in the brewing process. Malt, which is what and still is normally used to ferment the sugar, was hard to come by. Thus, the pumpkin proved to be a handy and widely available substitute. Well, that's interesting. That's that's cool to know. Yeah, that was a good question, even though I was not quite such a good answer. But I was like, I was expecting you to like narrow that thing right down. No, no, I had no clue. Okay, so I was just shooting from the hip there and totally missed. Tommy gun totally missed. Oh you're a good try, though. I'll give you that. Oh, yeah, that was not a good try. Okay, I take it. All right, so what do we got next? Well, hey, the next one we have, and we have had beer from this company before. We've had some very good beers from this company. All right. This is by New Belgium Brewing, okay, which is in Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado. And this is their Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin Ale. All right. 6.4% ABV and 10 IBUs. Nice. Now, this is a pumpkin ale featuring cinnamon and habanero chili peppers. Oh, say it again. Habanero. Cinnamon and habanero chili peppers for just the right amount of heat. I like I do like the artwork on this guy. Yeah, this is their their cool. I guess he's supposed to be like a pilot, like a fighter pilot kind of guy, but he's got like the he's a skeleton. A skeleton, and he's got whatever that hat is where it's got the ear flappers on it and such. Uh, and this is a special release by them. All right. And I know we've had this in the past, this is the 2025 version, and I hope it's like the old one because I really like it. Yes. I mean, we have had good luck with this. So, I mean, so I compared to last week, I think we're we are doing a little bit better so far. Yeah, already off the bat, we're doing a little bit better. So let's hope we can keep the the roll moving and keep the let's keep her going the way it's going. So this definitely has head. Yeah, yeah. I can smell the cinnamon. Can you very faint, but you can smell it. Boy, I don't but again, there's not a lot of aroma. Not a lot of aroma. We're gonna have to get back into some big beers with aroma. There you go. Ooh, oh, there's a cinnamon, and there's the pepper. Yeah, wow, I like that. That is good. Wow, they're they kind of they really balance and offset each other, don't they? Yeah, for sure. I mean, I can feel the burn at the back of the pepper. The pepper is still lingering, yeah. It's still there, it's still there. If this, but I get the cinnamon right off the bat, and then when you swallow it, you get that pepper burn. Yeah, this is so. If you don't like peppers, this is probably not your beer because it is it's not over the top, but it lets you know it's there. Exactly. This one, if you were a new person, I'm not sure I would recommend it just because of the pepper. Right. Because I think a lot of people are gonna be like, whoa, you know, that's really spicy. Yeah, it's it's gonna catch you off guard. Yeah, I mean it it gets your attention, but it's not it's not like the ghost pepper. Right. That one is those are yeah, that was hot. So, and we've had other jalapeno or I'm sorry, habanero beers, and they're kind of like this. And I know when I talked to my brother the one time about it, uh, and we talked to that gentleman down in Leclair at that brewer if you remember, and that did all the peppers in that. And uh, I think he had said that you use less peppers in like these or ghost peppers or things like that, where jalapenos you got to use more, and he's like, you know, they're all over the board for heat, and some of them are super hot and some of them are not, and so yeah. Well, and this one, I mean, what's good with this? I mean, that there is it lets you know that it's there, but it doesn't stay, it doesn't linger, it really dissipates quickly. Yep. So, I mean, I I I honestly think this might be even better on a on a cold night. Oh, yeah, you know, we're maybe later in the fall, we're a little bit early in the fall, maybe later. This would probably warm me up. Oh, yeah. I don't I mean, just throwing it out there. No, I agree with you. I really like this. Like I said, the pumpkin flavor you do get honestly. I think the pumpkin is kind of the the most muted flavor, honestly. I hate to say it, but I think those hop those habaneros really cancel out a lot of the flavors, yeah. And I still do get the pumpkin and the cinnamon, though. I mean, right off the bat, you get the that, and then then it goes into the the habanero. So I'm actually gonna say a 2.7. Okay. I think it's all right. I mean, I'm not a huge habanero fan, but I think this is just the right amount. Gives you a little, lets you know it's there. The I don't know if I can I say that the habaneros are a finish, yeah. Because it's like I said, it's on the finish, and then your throat is where you're feeling it, you know. So, you know, and we haven't had anything like that for these fall beers in a long time. It's not a bad thing, and it dissipates pretty quickly. It's not like my throat is on fire, like if it was a bourbon barrel, but it lets you know it's there. So I think that's okay. 2.7 is a good score. Okay, yeah, you know, and when you're talking about on the finish, because remember, we had some of the jalapeno beer where you got that really good jalapeno flavor, but there wasn't much burn. Right. You know, where that one, yeah, that's not on the finish. This one is definitely on the finish. You get the pepper for a pepper beer and a pumpkin beer. I do really like this. I'm gonna go with 3.0. Oh, because I I do think that that combination of I guess you could say the pumpkin and the cinnamon with that habanero, it's just a really good combination. It is, yep. And I think you're right. I could see sitting here watching, you know, the first snow of the year kind of floating down, having one of these and keeping you a little bit warmer. So I think so, yeah. I uh they did a good job. Yeah, they did a good job. I really do like this. Perfect. So Belgium back into our question yet. Okay, back into our easy questions. Yeah, he after my first one, he's looking for oh geez, do I have an easier one? Or this next question I think is another good educational piece. Okay, I like those because it's actually they found this in a book from 1771 that was kind of typed together with some other recipes. Okay, so somebody must have stumbled on the pumpkin thing by accident and it was actually with some apple recipes, or it was actually part of the American Philosophical Society. Oh, geez. Okay. So the I'll read this and then I'll get to my question. Okay. Let the pompion beat be beaten in a trough as apples. The express juice is to be boiled in a copper a considerable time and carefully skimmed that there may be no remains of the fibrous part of the pulp. After that intention is answered, let the liquor be hot, cooled, fermented as a malt beer. Okay. So that came from the American Philosophical Society. Okay. My question is who, which famous president made that pumpkin beer? Thomas Jefferson. Um president. Oh, Thomas Jefferson. He was a president. Oh, he wasn't. Thomas Jefferson was. I thought he was just on the nickel.

unknown 16:34

No.

PSL Nitro Arrives: Coffee, Spice, Smooth

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Who was our first president? George Washington. There, that's the right answer. Yeah, because Thomas Jefferson. Hang on. Was he? Yes. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, serving two terms from 1801 to 1809. Mr. Smarty Pants. Well, I guess I was, but you got the question wrong. But I got the wrong. Yes. So interesting, because remember the first one was that uh Lakefront had the recipe that Thomas Jefferson had done. So okay. So this George Washington actually made one a little earlier. Interesting. But it's going to come up in another question later on. So when they were talking, it was kind of the papillon. Is that what you said? P-O-M. Pom P-I-O-M. Pom Pompeon. That's kind of must be an old world name for a pumpkin. Right. Huh. Interesting. So the yeah, be and I can see to get the fibers out because the pumpkin meat, quote unquote, is very fibrous. Right. So, but I mean, so you're it's weird, you know, that somebody went and then wrote it all down and put it in this book because that's they had to come up with the juice first, get all the everything else taken out of it. Interesting, huh? So I'm sure they probably use that for some of their food or something, maybe. Could have been. Could have been. So huh. So there you go. There you go. All kinds of education. Jeez, I can't handle this education thing anymore. You're going right back to school. I'm going right back to entertainment. What do we got up now? Well, we got our first bottle. Bottle? Yep. And this is by Whole Hog. Which is which is Point Brewing. Yep. It's kind of their experimental beers, right? Yeah, there you go. I was gonna say, I I used to think it was kind of like Big Eddie was to Liney's. Right. Where it was kind of their higher octane, uh, like you said, experimental type things. So well, and my daughter found this one for me because she's going to school up there. There you go. So this is one of those. Well, thank you very much for that. Yes. You know who you are. Kudos. Keep it going. Yes. So this is their pumpkin ale, 7% ABB. We've stepped it up just uh just a slight bit. Yep. 38 IBUs. Okay. All right. So this is again out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Handcrafted using real pumpkin and savory pumpkin pie spices with hints of all natural cinnamon and nutmeg. L natural. Pearl hops, which was in, I think, the first one again. Pearl hops. Pearl hops balance with rich Munich roasted and caramel malts for the full-bodied taste and exceptional flavor. All right. So that seems a lot of good words again. Yeah, it seems very similar to like that first beer. Yes. So hopefully we have a little bit more to it. You know, flavor. Flavor. And such. We we like flavor. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if you know this, ladies and gentlemen, but we like flavor. We're not afraid. That's a nice color. That's orange. I like that color. This one is probably the first one. Oh wow, you can't actually see through it. It's it's not no, it's not unfiltered, but it's just a little bit you can kind of if you go by you know your finger in the light, you can see it, but just the outline kind of thing, you know, the shade. So that that's a good sign. Man, again, the aroma is not a huge amount of aroma. You do get a little bit, but not much. All right. Well, here we go. Whole hog pumpkin ale. There's pumpkin. I get that pumpkin pie flavor. Pumpkin spices there. Oh, yeah. It's just the spice is just a little for me. It looks a little bit off. The spice does not like it's missing. Right. It's missing the cinnamon, probably the clove or the allspice, one of those. Because it's just uh, what did it say? It was the uh nutmeg and did it the hints. Oh, natural cinnamon and nutmeg. But the cinnamon is pretty muted. Yeah, I do get the nutmeg, but I think it's missing. It needed the allspice. Something to make it a little bit sweeter. That yes, that spice, whatever. Maybe this little heavier cinnamon, maybe? That could be. I could drink it. Yeah, it's not bad. No, I could definitely drink it. Well, you get to go first. Oh, again. Yeah, I I like this. I it it's getting closer to a pumpkin pie flavor. It's still not there, right? Because, like you said, I do I agree 100% with you, it is missing something, and it could be it could be the allspice, could be the clove, I guess, or like you said, bump up the cinnamon a little bit. Right. Uh, still, it's very good. I'm going to put this at a 2.9, just one notch down from that the last one. Atomic pumpkin. Yeah, just because I do like the where this flavor's going. Uh, I think if they did bump that cinnamon up a bit, or at least whatever it's missing, add just that little tweak. This could be a 3.4, 3.5 type beer because it's very, I think it's got a very good base, so to speak. Uh, it just needs a little tweaking. Very good. Yeah, I I'm right in there with you. I don't know. I'm probably gonna say a 2.8 because it is there. I mean, because there's no bad finish, no bad aftertaste. The pumpkin is really, I think it's a good pumpkin flavor. It's just that that spice just needs a little bit of tweaking. Yep. Other than that, I think it's spot on. I agree with you. So 2.8, nice. All right, all right, hit me with another question. Are you ready? So I'm not ready. Okay, now I'm ready. We just talked about a very famous president, yes, Mr. Washington, president of Washington. There was a point in time where pumpkin beers were very prevalent across the United States, then they kind of fell away as the modern age mechanical, you know, late 1800s, early 1900s, everything so kind of went away from pumpkin beers. Okay, in what year and by whom brought back the pumpkin beers. This is a good one. Man, I I yeah, I'm I don't even know. I can't even venture a guess on that. I'm not, I don't know. You don't know? No. So in 1985, okay. So relatively recently, Bill Owens, yeah. I don't know, Bill, the owner of Buffalo Bills Brewery in Hayward, California. I was gonna say not in Wisconsin. That sounds like an out west name, found the details that George Washington used to brew his pumpkin beer, and he started that exact recipe. Really? So, like so you said like the end of the 1800s it basically went away. Right. It went away. I think people may have kept the recipes, but it wasn't nobody was making a pumpkin beer. Okay, huh? So it sat there until 85. And then somehow this guy found so 40 years is no from the 1800s, so probably yeah, 1985 to today. So it's only been around technically again for 40 years, but wow, that's interesting. So you wonder where in the world did he find I know it does not say that, you know, but it's made him. So Buffalo, what was the name of the brewery? Uh Buffalo Bills Brewery. Buffalo Bills Brewery. In Hayward. We'll have to look it up. I he's probably still not around, but that that's kind of an interesting, interesting thing. All right, so there we go. Trying to educate you. See, no, that it you had some good information. So hopefully the the listeners are uh trying to figure it out as well, but I couldn't drag that out. You couldn't? So what do we got now? So now we have and we've had this brewery a number of times. Okay, left hand brewing company. Good, and they are out of Longmont, Colorado. And this is their pumpkin spice latte. But there's another word on there nitro. Yes, nitro. So this should be a let's hope it's got the little tiny bubbles. I'm hoping it's got the widget in there, and the little tiny bubbles, and little tiny bubbles, and this is a 7% ABV. Stepping up. But still, this is way higher than what we were at last week. Yep. So this on the can it says pumpkin ale with spices and coffee. Oh added. No, we have not had a fall beer yet with coffee, right? No. Now on Untapped, it says up your pumpkin spice latte game with this cozy can of fall. Our brewer's blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice combine with pumpkin and ozo's Ursa U R S A. Ursa. Ursa. There you go. Oh, okay. Ozo's Ursa major coffee. Okay. Oh, there we go. There we go. Yep. I don't know what that word is. Well, this celebrated seasonal craving. Toasted malts impart notes of caramel sweetness while oats and lactose add richness and body. Top it all off with a pillowy nitro head. Pillowy. Reminiscent of latte foam. Golden orange in color like changing fall leaves. Wow. Pumpkin spice latte nitro is tailor-made for the crisp air and comfort of sweater weather. Wow. A lot of words again. A lot of words. Is it in the can?

unknown 25:17

Let's see.

Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale: Bourbon Balance

SPEAKER_01 25:17

Alright, here we go. Let's see if we can hear it. Oh, it's in there. And look at the little smoke type things coming out of the can. I did hear the little widget. Oh boy, that makes me happy. Oh, look at the little tiny bubbles. It's funny. It almost looks like milk. You pour it and it looks like milk right now until it cascades. Look at the bottom. You should almost be videoing that. This would have been a good on-air video, wouldn't it? Oh, no doubt. Oh, it's separating out the beer right to the wow. That would have been cool. That is crazy. We're gonna have to do that one time when we have some more of these nitro beers. And look at look at the uh the head. It's actually orange in the bottom and white at the top. It totally did what it said. Tenth of a point extra. There you go. There you go. And it's got those are super tiny. You can you can tell on the head on that is very smooth. Yeah, that looks almost like milk on top. Oh, that's I got some aroma. There you go. This is the first one in a couple weeks that we've actually really had aroma. Boy, that all right. Here we go. Here we go. That's good. Wow, that one's good. That is natural, really does it. Yeah. Wow. That was good. You totally get the pumpkin and spice type thing. The coffee is not overpowering. No. But you on the I think I get that on the aftertaste is a little bit of that coffee. But it's not really strong. No, no, I was gonna say it's I've never had a pumpkin spice latte. Uh all of the the people that visit the certain coffee houses probably are going, What? But uh but that nitrile really smooths that out, doesn't it? Yeah, that smooth out. That sounds like whipped cream on top. Oh, yeah, yeah, I would agree with you. Wow, that is that's good. That's good. Wow. Hmm, wow. We uh yeah. Oh, you get to go first on this one. Yeah, um this is definitely the best beer that I've had in this category so far. This is really, really good. This is gosh, I'm just trying to figure out where I'm gonna throw a dart, I'm gonna say a 3.5. Oh wow. I I like it. I mean, it's so it's smooth with a nitro. Yeah, it's almost like drinking whipped cream. Yeah, um, the spice is just right. There's a little bit of pumpkin. I mean, and the coffee is just very muted at the end. So I mean it is there, but it's really muted. But this is very good. I know it's hard for me to describe, but it's good. Yeah, I I agree a hundred percent with you. I was gonna say the thing I'm most impressed with is the fact that the coffee didn't overpower right the pumpkin or the spice, the pumpkin spice stuff. I should instead of separating and put them together, yeah. Because sometimes you see, you know, coffee can be real overpowering. This isn't super smooth, like and most nitro beers are that's always the when you see nitro when you and you hear that, you're like, oh because you know it's gonna be there, you know. Score wise, I'm gonna go with 3.3. Okay. I do like that. I think that is uh I would I drink a six pack of it? No, it's in a pint can, and that's why I wouldn't, because it's a pint can, it's a bigger can, but very good flavor, and uh I have no complaints at all. And like I said, the the best part of it to me is you you do get that hint of coffee, but it I think the pumpkin spice is stronger flavor. Yes, I like that. That is that is good, very good left-hand brewing, very good. Jim, you totally redeemed yourself there. So since we had a good beer, yeah. Now you're gonna ruin my time with another tough question. No, I was gonna let you know that you answered all the questions. We educated, we we passed along the information I had, so I thought that was good for now. Yeah, but I think this next beer is really gonna be good because we've had some really good beers from this next brewery, and I was happening to be walking through the liquor store and saw this one really caught my eye, so I'm like, we gotta try. Oh, yeah. I see a number on the bottle that maybe hopefully not scare you. No, no, it doesn't scare me, but it uh takes me to another place. Yes, and this is their 2025 version. All right, there you go. This is by Lexington Brewing Company and distilling out of Lexington, Kentucky. This is their Kentunky Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale. Barrel. Did you say barrel? I said barrel. Nice 10% ABV. It's in our wheelhouse. 16 IBUs. I'll open this and then I'm I'm gonna read the description that we have. This is in our wheelhouse, isn't it? Yeah, I will pass this bottle to you. Nice, okay, double massage it.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

Very nice.

Three Sheeps Veneration: Rye Barrel Revelation

SPEAKER_01 29:48

I don't want to see what you're doing with it. It says a barrel aged ale brewed with Kentucky sourced pumpkin, richly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. See, we must be, I'm thinking that allspice is what was In that other one we had. I think so. As the ale is aged in fresh bourbon barrels, fresh, fresh, the sweetness of caramel and vanilla are imparted upon the brew and complement its spicier base. At 10% alcohol by volume, this robust, limited release seasonal makes for a flavorful sipping beer to slowly warm up with as the weather cools. Barrel aged seasonal series nestled in the heart of bourbon country where bourbon barrels outnumber people, which it probably does. Yep. All tech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company produces a barrel-aged seasonal series that capitalizes on its close proximity to the region and the changing taste preferences of the seasons. All of these beers are produced in Kentucky. Yes. Yes. All right. So now this is our so we've had a roll out the barrel. It was Bourbon Barrel Beach. Yep. That was last year. We haven't had one yet this year. Yep. And that was an Oktoberfest. And that was an Oktoberfest. So this will be our our first bourbon barrel beer of the season. No, a pumpkin. Well, the first pumpkin barrel actually. We had never had one, right? A pumpkin barrel, a pumpkin barrel bourbon barrel. I don't know. That's a good question. I I'm gonna go out on the lib and see how we may not have. This might be our first one because we've had marzons. Yeah, you're right. You're probably right. This is probably one of the first ones. And again, remember, I bring out my A-level. You will always try and bring out some A-level stuff. We'll see. We'll see how it goes. Right now, as long as it doesn't taste like the honey barrel one they had, right? It'll be good. I know you liked it. I mean, not so much. All right, so very nice color. Yep. This is clearer than that other one, isn't it? Yeah, yep. It's orange. It's kind of a darker copper, coppery color, pumpkin yet. A lot of aroma. Get a little bit of the bourbon. I get a little bourbon. I do get a pumpkin. Pumpkin and a little bourbon. A little bit. I wish I wish it would have said what because it, you know, if well, I suppose they don't want to to drag or to bring attention to have you looking for whatever the bourbon is instead of the beer, but I wish we knew because they they distill their own bourbon there. Yes, I totally forgot. They're distillery, so it's their own barrels. It's their own barrels. Right. And I mean it's you can taste a little bit of the bourbon, but it's gosh, it's like right bourbon and a pumpkin are like equal. The nice thing is the bourbon doesn't overpower the pumpkin, right? That's and there's no burn. No, none whatsoever. This does not taste like 10%. No, I was gonna say this would be another one of those that could be scary and sneak up on you. Yeah, so you don't taste honey. No, nope, I don't taste honey at all. That's good. So that's a good thing. I'm happy. Yeah, this is this is good. Yeah, because we've not I don't think that they've made this one before, and we've never had a barrel-aged pumpkin beer, so boy, we're in some uncharted territory. I give them credit because they I think every beer, I should be careful, but I think the at least the vast, vast majority of the beers we've ever had from them are all barrel-aged. Yes, you know. I'm trying to think if they have any that aren't barrel-aged. We've never tried them. No, typically we say, oh, barrel, yeah, give us that. Yep, boy, this is this is good though. Would I drink a six pack of it? No, because it's 10% and you get messed up, right? But flavor-wise, I do. I think it's pretty good. Wow. And then, like you said, you can taste the bourbon, but it's not it, you don't get the burn right at all. I think for the novice craft beer drinker, the introductory, you're not gonna get overpowered by the bourbon. Right. I wouldn't recommend this be your first beer you're drinking of the night, but maybe after a couple. It would be interesting to have somebody that's really not into craft beer, especially not into bourbon barrel to try it because we could be way off. Right for you and I, this is this is great. Yeah, 10% there's no way. I know my opinion, you know what I mean? Right. I get the bourbon, I get the the pumpkin, I get all that stuff. It's not overpowering. Somebody new to it probably be like, you know, who's to say? Yeah, you know, but uh it's good. So I like it. I'm gonna go. I I like it. A 3.9. I like it. Whoa, I like it. Wow, you shot her up there. I'm gonna even give you a little bit of giving yourself a little bit more, a little hit more. Do you want to? I guess I'll take a little more too then. All right, yeah. This because I mean, like we've mentioned, I think you said it before, Kentucky distillery and brewing have always had a good other than the one you didn't like. Yeah, but I don't think I mean for them, they've always come up with really good beers. Yeah, it's almost they're almost like bourbon county, yeah. But bourbon county has their own niche, and these guys have their Goose Island, they have the really the one in Bourbon County, right? Where these guys, it's like kind of all their beers, you know what I mean? Is uh and and I give them credit because they try some stuff that you're like, because remember that there was that blackberry porter, yeah, that was really good. They had a cream ale. What was the the uh peppermint? Remember that peppermint Christmas time one, which hopefully we'll find again this year. That was really good. Tastes like a peppermint cane, like a peppermint cane, yeah, a candy cane. Yep, you know, and it's like man, and but it's barrel aged, and they're all at least right around 10%, right? You know, but they do not taste like 10%, correct? So that yeah, they do a good job. I think they're definitely kind of sneaking up into that upper echelon of the barrel aging stuff. Yes. So what are you thinking on your score? I'm gonna go with 3.7. All right. Uh, I do think it's it's good. Like I said, I the best part to me is the fact that, like I said before, the bourbon does not like totally overpower the pumpkin, right? And you still get that pumpkin flavor. And I think that people would really go, kind of, you know, wow, that is amazing, you know. And again, like I 100% agree, I would not recommend this to a new person because you you don't want this to be their first experience because they're gonna really go, ooh. But I mean, what's weird is all of these have had the good base of pumpkin. Yep, that you can always you taste that pumpkin, but it doesn't overpower you. I mean, I don't like last week, we really struggled to get that Marzan flavor here. I think we're we're every one of these has had pumpkin, you could taste it, you know, and pumpkin slash pumpkin spice, you know, uh which is good, very good because that's what we were expecting. Yeah, we're looking for that exactly. See, now we're going back to look the German October Fest, they gave us what we were looking for, and these really are hitting the nail right on the head. So I agree. I think I might have found the golden nugget. Okay. Um, we have had a can of this a few years back. Okay, I did not look at that episode to see what we uh had actually rated it. Okay, but I used to believe that this could be a possible beer of the year kind of beer, or we even mentioned it when we had it the first time. Oh, so I'm not saying I have not tried this. Yep, it's still closed. Yep, it's a 2025. It's but I'm gonna hand this off on the golden don't drop it. Don't so what do we got? We have from Three Sheep's Brewing, which is in She Boy, and technically it's kind of interesting. Okay, on Untapped, it says it's a Belgian quad. Oh wow, which is interesting, but here's the description okay rye barrel-aged Belgian-style quad ale with figs, molasses, and pumpkin spices. Are you ready for the ABV? All right, do I have to sit down for it? Um, you wouldn't have to, but it might not hurt. All right, so what are you saying? So the last one was 10%. We're gonna bump it up just slightly. How just slightly? We're gonna bump it up slightly to 14.6%. Whoa, say it again. Uh yeah, 14.6% A B V. So can you help me bring me back in reality? Yeah, and all of our fall beers, our core fest beers, how many have we had that are the size? Uh total zero.

unknown 37:56

Zero.

Ranking The Lineup And Final Takes

SPEAKER_01 37:57

So the closest one is the last one that we had from Lexington Brewing. So we're way outside the scope of for the for the what I would consider these to be falls. So this is definitely our highest ABV so far. So have you did you have the score, but we rated it previously? Um let I don't know if that do you have do we have the technology? Can we have our uh crack research staff do up the uh check? I didn't, I don't uh where's it at here? I gotta find oh, here we go. Now does it even say what year? Okay, well let me let me look and see if we have an a closer year. Oh so the one we had before was from 2020. That's been five years. Well, and we had it on the podcast probably in 23. Oh, so I I think I kept it in my fridge, didn't I? And I let me okay. That one was only 10.9%. Oh. So they bumped some they're getting it up. They they bumped something up, and so yeah, our score was about where the Lexington was at. Okay. So so now we're they must have changed because I must have changed something. Because rye, doesn't didn't you say rye has little peppers? Rye, rye beers typically have a little bit of a pepper type flavor. I mean, uh, you know what I mean, as far as that goes. But all right, ooh, look at the color on that. That is orange. I think I may have to take a picture of that because that is we don't. This is like the darkest. This is I'm gonna take a picture of this because that is that is cool. That is like dark. That's almost like a stout. It looks, but it's not it's not really dark, but I mean it's dark. I wouldn't say it's stout, but it's wow, on the the picture looks almost that dark. And the head is the darkest head that that that is uh that's crazy. Smell that all right. So here we go. And this is in a can. In the can. Oh, that smells good, don't it? The aroma. Oh, yeah, rye barrel aged. Yeah, so it was barrel aged. Color-wise, that is a deep, deep orange, deep red, reddish orange kind of thing. That's almost like the harvest moon. Yeah, dark. Wow. There's aroma. I'm not gonna lie, there's aroma on this. It smells good. Wow, that's crazy. That's good. That is crazy. That yeah, that's all I can say is yeah. Wow. That is good. Does not taste like 14. No, my throat does not burn. I'm trying to figure out with the rye bear. I do get a little bit of on the aftertaste, a little bit of like that peppery. Right. Is that the fig? I think I can I get a little. I'm trying to I think the the molasses kind of stands out. Okay, is that the fig and molasses kind of but you still do get pumpkin? That is good. I'm not gonna lie, the pumpkin is a little bit lower, lower, but I get the molasses. It's not super sweet either. No, you know, the way they were describing it was almost like, oh boy, is this gonna be like Avery sweet? Again, we go back to Avery, it's not there's no sugar, there's nothing like that. No, wow, that's good. Yeah, yeah, that's good. And I wish I could remember what the last veneration tasted like, but we thought that was good then, yeah. And I yeah, this might be better. This could be better, and this is the fact that it's stronger, yes, and it totally I would never guess. Somebody go, Oh, what do you think it, you know? When anytime people say that, you know it's gonna be high, right? But I would this if nobody said anything and just here, try this. I'd have been like, okay, eight, seven, eight, maybe, right, you know, but then I suppose you drink a can of it and you're like, whoa, wait a minute, that might have been higher than I thought. This is good, and you get the you get the final stab at the score. That is so good. That's really good. I'm okay. I'm trying to figure out where to stop. Uh, flavor's amazing. Yes, I mean, just amazing. I'm gonna go a 4.3. This is I take it you like it. This is good. I am I'm throwing it up there as well, saying beer of the year for Canada. Right, yeah. This is good. This is good. I mean, it's yeah, yeah. That's all I can say. That's all I can say. It's good. I've said enough. Yeah, I mean, and the hard part I think is it's so good, but the ABV is high, so you got to be careful. You don't want to drink a bunch of these. It would sneak up on you, yeah. But it is so I mean, it's unfortunately this category. You have a category, and then it's like up here. Yeah, it's like yeah, it like just knocks everything that we've had for a while right out of the park. This is like really, really please tell me you had to buy like a six-pack of it. Yes, I did. Oh, yes. Too bad you don't have I could drink five. Oh, you already drink good try though. I do have some more of the other American Octoberpress ones. I got a lot of these uh American October pressed ones. I'll bring Berenga nose over for you. Okay, perfect. I wish I could describe it more. I mean, because we like barrel-aged beers, and for them to be able to make a barrel-aged beer with pumpkin. I mean, so now we've had two. We had one bourbon and now one rye. And for me, the rye is even better than the way complements it better. I mean, I'm usually the bourbon barrel guy that likes the burb, but this this is good. Really, I think I needed a little more done. That's this is good. Yeah, this is well, if it's such a porn, I'll take a little more too. All right, thank you. I wish I could describe for the listeners even more of the flavors, but it's I mean, because we're I guess I'm not leading into what we're gonna do, but I mean, we are part of the uh barrel club. And we have got collected a lot of beers so far. So, and they have the option to sell them, yep. Which not S-E-L-L, no E R C E L L L A R. So they're putting them away for us. So we're probably gonna have a couple of episodes just we probably have enough beer to do like a couple of months worth, you know. So we'll break it up, of course. But and the reason why is because we've had good luck with three sheeps, they've always had a very good barrel aging process, and this falls right in line. You know, it like we were talking about with Lexington, that they're I think quietly sneaking into those upper echelon. I think three sheeps is already there. Yeah, because I mean we had one. I do we have one recently, the wolf, oh yeah, and they've got different versions of it, the wolf variations of it, yes. I mean, this is just right in line. I mean, they do a really good job. It's good. Wow. Oh, so I guess my oh so I guess I'm right 4.3 bear of the year nominee, yes. No doubt. Okay, so you're right there with me. There's no doubt. This is really good. Yeah, I like this. This is crazy. Yeah, so I I I hope we I've redeemed myself so now we know in the future, German Oktoberfest, yep, and pumpkin barley. Pumpkin barley's bears, then we're good. Right. That's all we need. If we can do that, then everything else is just yeah, yeah. Exactly. But wow, what do you think? So other than this, what do you think? All of these, the last two were for me. Well, I'm gonna throw the last three. Okay. Because again, I do really like the atomic pumpkin as well. But the the last three I think were definitely in the class by themselves. In a class by themselves, you know, that that nitro beer, just because of the nitro and all that, I mean, it was very good. And then the the two barrel age. Uh, Lexington Brewing did a great job, but boy, this this three sheep's is a thing of its own, a monster of its own. Yeah. Which is good. I mean, they did good. Oh, 100%. I so then so you ranked them my number the top three are the three sheeps, yep, and then the Lexington Brewing and then the left-hand brewing nitro. And what would you say about the other three? I mean, you think that they could improve on to make a other three. I I again I do really like the atomic pumpkin because I do like that hot marrow burn. That's you know, that and the the cinnamon really worked well together. Yep. Uh, the whole hog, that was the one that it was just missing. I think it was allspice. Yes, because it had the cinnamon, but you know, we don't know it was just how much, but it was the cinnamon nutmeg, but that allspice I think might make it pop. Yep. Uh so it was just missing a little bit, and then uh the the lake front uh pumpkin ale or pumpkin lager, I'm sorry, it just needed a little more flavor, a little more flavor. It was really kind of muted. So that that was my opinion anyway. And I echo right exactly. I mean, I liked the three sheeps, stratosphere, the Kentucky bourbon, just a touch below, they're good. I mean, and I like bourbon barrel beers, and I still think three sheeps was even above them. The nitro just did it for the left hand. I mean, we've had some nitro beers before, but this seemed to like just it made it into a like a latte. I mean, it actually looked like a regular coffee you'd go to well and the coffee didn't overpower the pumpkin. That was the part I really like too, besides the nitro. It looked like you just went to a coffee store and bought it. The way it came out so milky, and then it separated out. I wish we had took a view. That was the way that came apart was just amazing. Oh, yeah. The other three are good, and I think we talked about before, they're pointing in the right direction, they're just not quite there on the level of these other ones. Keep trying. I mean, these were I thought this was a pretty good category. Oh, I did too. I agree a hundred percent. This this was really good. There was not honestly, there wasn't a clunker really. No, I mean, even the you know, the lakefront kind of it let it off because of the ABV, got kind of voted lower, but it it needs to have a little more flavor. Yes, there was a legitimate reason, right? You know what I mean? But from there, but from there it was all it all went up, it was all good, yeah. This this was a unique category. I mean, because again, we've had squash beers, yep, and technically I think this is a squash, and we did not have good luck with squash, yeah. If again, if you see a beer that says squash on it, run, run. If it says pumpkin, it's fine, yes, but squash, so this was a run a category I wasn't quite sure, but I think from a couple weeks past we weren't able to get a single. We may have had a couple of grand slams, or a couple doubles, couple triples. Yeah, we we we scored some runs on this one, yeah. Not like last week, right? This was really, really, really good. Really good. I hope I'm not saying this too bad, but even the novice craft beer drinker, I think, is gonna like some of these. Maybe not try with the three sheeps first, right? But I think you're gonna like these. But boy, uh you know, if if you're out there, uh ladies and gentlemen, and you like barrel aged beers, try to find this. Yeah, I well try to find you know the Lexington Brewing one too. But this the pumpkin spice veneration from Three Sheeps, if you get a chance to find it, get it and try it. Right, because it's it is amazing, it's awesome. It's yeah, one of the better beers we've had. Oh, yeah. And it is in the running for beer of the year. Yes, we our list for beer of the year is kind of getting long now. Is it? Well, that's remember last year. We didn't have that many that because well, of course, we forgot to nominate them, but we've got a lot of them. Which is we've still got a ways to go either. Right, we got a few months to go, but I mean that's good. So we're we're trying some good beers. Yep, exactly. So awesome. Well, dude, yeah, you uh you I redeemed myself. You brought out uh some A-level stuff this week. So awesome. I do appreciate that. Well, I hope the listeners liked it too. I mean, even though they can't taste it, hopefully that it's pointing them in the right direction of which beers to go get. Exactly. Like I said, any of these, honestly, the leg front needs a little work, right? But other than that, if you find any of these, try them. Yes, because they're really good. No doubt. Awesome. Well, hey, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for listening. We hope you uh enjoyed this episode. We hope you try go out and try some uh pumpkin beers. Yes, and if you like again, if you find three sheep's pumpkin spice veneration, try it because or bring it over to our house, or bring it. Yeah, if you don't, if you get a six-pack of it and you don't like it, ship it to me. I will uh gladly accept that. And we'll figure out a place to put it. Yes, yes, in my belly.

unknown 50:07

In my belly.

Sign-Off And How To Reach Us

SPEAKER_01 50:09

There you go. Awesome. Well, hey, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for listening. And like we always say, we hope your campfire is always warm. And your beers are always cold. See ya. Oh, hey, that that roving band is back outside. Look at there they go. They're running. They probably heard of us drinking this pumpkin veneration. I think they're trying to get a beer from us. You got any of that American beer we can give them. Oh, yeah, hang on, we got you covered. Hey, hey, hey. Thank you for listening to the Northwoods Beer Guy podcast. If you have a question, a comment, or a beer you'd like us to review, please feel free to send us a message at Northwoodsbeerguy at gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you're on Untapped, look up the Northwoods Beer Guy and send a friend request. Until next week, I hope all your campfires are warm and all your beers cold.