Since today’s Beer Advent Calendar post highlighted Winter Warmer from Harpoon Brewery, I decided to post the reviews of Harpoon’s fall beers the brewery recently sent me. Harpoon leaned heavily into the autumn theme with these offerings (three beers and a cider), three of which are brewed with pumpkin. (By the way, pumpkin beers are perfectly appropriate through all the holidays, not just for Halloween.)

I’ve been receiving Harpoon samples for a little while now, and I have to say, I’d love to see the beers distributed and available in Oregon. I mean, U.S. Highway 20 technically connects Bend to Boston, so why not? At any rate, if you can get your hands on these beers, they are worth checking out. Particularly these pumpkin beers if you’re a fan of the category.

Let’s get to the reviews.

Flannel Friday – Hoppy Amber Ale

It’s a simple recipe: take an American amber ale and hop it up with Citra, Simcoe, and Cascade hops. Considering many ambers these days tend to emphasize hops, it could be easy to get lost in the shuffle. But this one works, and reminded me a bit of Deschutes Brewery’s Hopzeit Autumn IPA from a few years ago (which I liked). Harpoon says:

American hops combine with subtle notes of caramel and roast in this seasonal Amber Ale. Teetering somewhere between a Brown Ale and a Red IPA but balanced and easy-drinking, Flannel Friday is our tribute to fall in New England. The sun is bright but the air is crisp—its time to layer up and crack a beer.

Flannel Friday is 5.7% ABV and 35 IBUs.

Appearance: Deep amber color with copper highlights at the edges when held to the light; good clarity. Dense, thick off-white head that’s fluffy.

Smell: Toasty Vienna-type maltiness with a nice piney hop note, earthy with a bit of hop resin. Bread crust, roasted nuts, and a solid hoppy backbone to the aroma.

Taste: Nutty, toasty malts that avoid being sweet with a pleasant hop bitterness and a lightly spicy resin note, as well as a bit of forest floor earthiness—crunchy leaves, loam, mushrooms, twigs. Malts stay nutty and go dry at the end for a satisfying finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation, and it’s nicely attenuated for a dry, clean finish.

Overall: Pleasant and easily sessionable, robust enough for the season but well balanced with the hops.

UFO Pumpkin

This one’s brewed under Harpoon’s UFO brand (which stands for UnFiltered Offering), and stylistically it’s a hefeweizen with pumpkin and spices. It’s 5.9% ABV and the brewery says:

Some people say pumpkins are fruit. Other people say pumpkins are vegetables. We say… they’re tasty! So we brewed our fall-spiced hefeweizen with pure pumpkin – a truly delicious fruiveggie!

Appearance: Hazy orange color, creamy off-white head with good lacing.

Smell: Classic pumpkin pie spice, not overdone, a bit of caramel malt and some graham cracker. Sweet pie-like. Not getting much in the way of classic hefe aromas but that’s okay.

Taste: Surprisingly light (wrote that note down before I realized the base is a hefeweizen) with a noticeable squash flavor, along with a wheat-y German weizen-like flavor (though low phenolics, perhaps overshadowed by the spices). The spices have a slight astringency which could be age (2.5 months since it was canned), but it’s not bad.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium-light body with a wheat creaminess and a decent spice-dry finish.

Overall: Nice, the spices are a touch over what I’d prefer in the flavor but I’m not mad about it. It’s a pretty easy drinking pumpkin.

Dunkin’ Pumpkin

This is the pumpkin spiced latté entry into Harpoon’s coffee beer collaboration series with Dunkin’ Donuts. I haven’t had any of the other Dunkin’ beers so this was an interesting first experience, and also, I have to say, quite a random collaboration. The description reads:

Inspired by our favorite fall latte, this ale is brewed with pumpkin, fall spices, and a splash of coffee. This fall treat is another tribute to all the days that Dunkin’ has helped us fire up the brew kettle.

The beer is brewed with pumpkin purée, Dunkin’ coffee, cinnamon, and lactose, and is 5.2% ABV.

Appearance: Muddy brown-orange, not terribly attractive frankly, but the off-white head is decent. (I’d expected a dark base beer style like a porter since it’s a coffee beer.)

Smell: Cinnamon, coffee, sweetened latté that’s really appealing. Medium-roast coffee gets more prominent as it warms. Light caramel note, no hops. Spice is balanced and well handled.

Taste: Moderately sweet with a subtle squash flavor and a gently creamy coffee character with light spice at the back. Coffee and sugar is a big part of the profile which is as intended, I think. Pumpkin is there with a nice presence with some toasty malts, and spice is nicely subtle and in the background. No hop character.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, lingering coffee flavor, sweet finish.

Overall: Pretty good, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s a nice coffee beer with a good handling of pumpkin and spice.

City Roots Pumpkin Cider

City Roots is the cider brand under the Harpoon (really Mass. Bay Brewing) umbrella, and I’ve reviewed the Farmhouse Cider in the past. This one is a 5% ABV semi-dry cider brewed with pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. The company says:

While apple season is the real draw of fall, pumpkin season is close behind. Our Pumpkin Cider combines the best of both with some subtle seasonal spice. Filtered bright and crisp, it’s everything we love about Autumn in a can or keg.

Appearance: Bright golden yellow, brilliant clarity, moderately carbonated.

Smell: Ginger, cloves, and bubblegum in a spice-forward nose. Sweet cider with a touch of cinnamon underneath. (*Bubblegum abates as it sits and warms.)

Taste: Semi-dry indeed, with a nice ping of tart acid in the jowls. Spices in the flavor are subtle, with light touches of nutmeg, mulling spice for a light mulled cider impression. Clean, tart finish.

Mouthfeel: Light, crisp, clean, dry, semi-petillant.

Overall: Decent and tasty though no “pumpkin” character than I can find. It’s a nice cider overall however.