Saranac Pumpkin Ale

I didn't get a picture of this one. While visiting Lake Placid, home of the Saranac brewery, I was invited to try this version of pumpkin beer. This seltzery concoction had almost no pumpkin taste and really didn't do it as a beer. No thanks! This is pretty Bad<\b>. We're here for a wedding and If this is all they serve, I'd pass on open bar.

Sam Adams Fat Jack Double Pumpkin

So I mostly purchased this one due to the ridiculous picture of a dumpy pumpkin-man on the label.  Is he Fat Jack? He sort of looks like the illustrations one might find in original copies of The Wizard of Oz, amusing yet menacing at the same time.  If you purchase Fat Jack, might he, in fact, end up drinking you?!?!

Well, he didn't, at least not before I downed all 22 oz. of him first.  Those initial sips were a little rough.  This dark ale assaults the new drinker with a bitter start, hoppy-ing down your throat.  Yet, let it linger in your mouth a moment and the smoky textures of the included spices--cinnamon, nutmeg, harvested pumpkin--create a pleasing sensation.  Fat Jack isn't so much a pumpkin beer as a nicely brewed Fall concoction, a "nestle under a fire after a cool walk through the changing leaves...but don't let Fat Jack get you at night time or he will bite your face off" kind of beer.

Finish as much as you can while cold though.  I nursed this one while doing the dishes and reorganizing some new furniture and the last few room temperature sips gagged me.  A Good buy when refrigerated.

Happy 1st Birthday!

On Sunday, my littlest turned one-year old.  He was great at eating cake, opening presents, and appreciating everything he received.  As a parent, it wasn't so much that we'll have to store half of them away for his second birthday which we definitely appreciated.  My wife created a fabulous monkey theme topped off by a superior cake.



Best Thing Ever? In the annals of monkey themed cakes and snacks, very much so.  For my part, I finally figured out how to make my PS3 stream pictures to create a no-fuss slideshow of my family's past year, including many pictures of him growing up.  Amazing how humans can change so much in such a short time.



Thanks to everyone for coming out to celebrate with us.  It was a very special event.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead

Here is the be-all, end-all pumpkin beer of the season.  I first tasted this Amazing product way back on my honeymoon during a trip to Salem, MA.  As then, the sweet taste of pumpkin inundated every sip of this light, refreshing beer.  If you have the chance to get one in a glass with sugar on the rim, you are in for a Fall treat that you won't soon forget.  I've enjoyed a lot of the pumpkin beers I've tried this year, but this remains my favorite.