Arcadia Ales - Jaw-Jacker

Time for another seasonal pumpkin beer to face the dreaded Drunken Jackos rating scale! This time, it's Kalamazoo, Michigan's Arcadia Ales and their Jaw-Jacker Spiced Amber Ale.

I know in order for a beer to be reviewed here it has to be a pumpkin beer, but in the case of Jaw-Jacker, we'll make an exception. That's because Jaw-Jacker actually has NO pumpkin in it. Instead, it uses a mix of cinnamon, all-spice and nutmeg to simulate a pumpkin pie flavor. Pretty crafty. And it works well, too.

Jaw-Jacker is actually a tale of two beers. First, the light amber beer poured with a nice thick head and plenty of bubbly carbonation. It also emitted a nice, subtle pumpkin spice note.

The first taste had dry malt undertones with an equally dry, caramel finish. It almost reminded me of a nut brown ale. It was okay overall, and headed to a 3 out of 5 rating.

But then a lucky stroke of magic happened. After letting the beer sit for a few minutes, it transformed! That dryness went away and was replaced with a very clean and smooth ale. The cinnamon, which was absent upon first taste, suddenly showed up and took the overall flavor back toward a traditional, sweeter pumpkin ale. I couldn't believe how much smoother it tasted after letting the beer breathe. I was quite impressed.

So after letting this one sit and open up, I really enjoyed Jaw-Jacker. And with that simple act, the beer improved nicely overall and upgraded to a rating of  3.5 out of 5 Drunken Jackos. Another interesting beer that is recommended during the fall pumpkin season if you can find it.

  

Masthead Brewing Co. - Haunted Hayride Pumpkin Ale

We're now into the second week in October and there's yet to be a new pumpkin beer review!?

Time to change that! The pumpkin beers are again out in force and it's time to once again rate a few in my highly scientific Drunken Jackos rating scale. Every Halloween season, I grab any new pumpkin beer that hasn't been rated in previous seasons, pop the cap and see how it stacks up.

First up is Masthead Brewing Co.'s "Haunted Hayride Pumpkin Ale." This one is brewed right up the road in Cleveland and was available at my local grocery store.

Right off the bat, I knew I was in for something good. The 7.3% ABV beer poured a dense, dark copper color with a slight foam head from the tall can and gave off a wonderful, not-too-intense cinnamon pumpkin spice note. 

Upon first taste, I got a nice, subtle pumpkin spice up front. It smoothed out in the middle with a light hint of ginger and finished with the slightest earthy, malt and nutmeg aftertaste.

This beer was smooth, balanced and really delicious all around and is highly recommended for the October season. And because of that great balance of smooth fragrance and taste, Masthead Brewing Co.'s "Haunted Hayride Pumpkin Ale" scores a 4-out-of-5 Drunken Jackos!

This really is one of the better pumpkin beers that I have tasted and was the perfect beer to get the Drunken Jackos scale started off strong. If you can find it on the shelf, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Cheers!