Harvest moon Pumpkin Ale

      First off, Blue Moon's bottles are all the same, they suck.  But, does their Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale suck? It Pours a light amber and has a caramel, spice and fruity nose.  No pumpkin.  Well I can't taste any pumpkin either.  There's a bit of the pumpkin spice, but otherwise it's got the normal caramels of other beers.  Really a decent medium ale with a bit of spice in it.  Not any pumpkin?  You suck.  It's got a poor aftertaste as well.  It's an alright beer, but a total failure as a pumpkin beer.  Screw you guys, avoid this beer.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale

      Pumpkin Ales have become a staple of the Fall, and this is a very good thing.  The first time I had a pumpkin beer I knew it was a legitimate style not just some novelty beer.  Now almost everyone makes a pumpkin beer these days.  I'm gonna try a bunch and see which one's are good.  First up is Pumpkinhead Ale from the Shipyard Brewing Company out of Portland, Oregon,Maine.  It pours out a light gold with a very spicy nose.  Classic pumpkin pie spice, heavy on the cinnamon.  The flavor is big on the spice, especially the cinnamon and clove, but there's good pumpkin flavor here.  That's what I like in pumpkin beers.  I have a fever, and the only prescription, is more pumpkin.  This I like,  the spice and pumpkin get along nicely, we call that balance.  This beer has it.  A good first entry and a nice way to enjoy your fall.  Makes me want to try their other beers. A winner.

Octoberfest wrap-up: Saranac Octoberfest

      Saranac is the last of the Octoberfests, for now, to decide the best of the season.  Saranac is made somewhere, blah, blah, blah.  It pours out a light amber with a dry caramel and light mocha nose.  The hops hit a little with this one but in a very good way.  There's strong, but not sweet, caramel here as well as strong mocha.  This is quite good I like the higher hop, which is still fairly mild by some standards.  I would rate this a touch higher than the Sam Adam's.  So just pop a Saranac then a Sam's, lather, rinse, repeat. Alright, here's the list.

1. Saranac
2. Sam Adam's
3. Brooklyn
4. Magic Hat
5. Coney Island
6. Leinenkugel's
7. Otter Creek

Sam Adam's Octoberfest

      Now for one of the big boys, Sam Adam's.  It pours out a nice amber with sweet caramel and light mocha on the nose.  The flavor syncs up perfectly with the nose.  Very sweet caramel hits you then the light mocha, as the hops swirl all around.  This is good, much better than greed.  Sam's has lots of flavor, nice body and excellent balance.  Definitely  better than the others I've had so far, a clear winner. I'm getting in the car to buy more right now.  One more Octoberfest before the Pumpkin Ales.

Coney Island Freaktoberfest

      Coney Island is made by the Shmaltz Brewing Company. Weird. Interesting name, freaky bottle.  Buts that's only the beginning. This beer pours out a nice blood red.  Yes, it is blood red.  The nose has caramel and berry. The flavor is alright, with decent caramels, but you can really taste the dye.  Now this is not the best Octoberfest, it's decent.  But the coolness factor is off the charts.  It's blood red, in a cool bottle, and the ABV is 6.66 %.  For a Halloween Party this beer is a must have.  Next year everyone should buy a six on Halloween just on principal.  I know I will.

Magic Hat Hex: Ourtoberfest

      First, let me say Hex is a very good name for an Octoberfest, Seasonal and cool.  But, calling it " Ourtoberfest " is so hack and annoying it destroys all my goodwill.  One again the bails of pot they smoke at Magic Hat has addled their brains.  O.K. then.  Hex is a light amber with caramel and mocha on the nose.  It opens up with some up front hop and more on the finish , with the middle revealing its sweet caramel and light mocha flavors.  This is  pretty decent I would put it a notch lower than the Brooklyn but well worth drinking.  I could enjoy this fine, still hoping for better.  Worth a try.

Dominion Octoberfest

      Old Dominion Brewery brings us their Octoberfest, but this one is with a C.  This is a medium amber with a nice sweet caramel nose.  It's got some good caramel flavors too as well as fizzy sweet banana, weird.  This is O.K., but pounding more might help me get a better feel for it.  There just is no pop here, the malts are alright, but the hops don't do much.  I could drink a bunch more if nothing else was at hand.  However, I,m looking for better and so far Brooklyn Oktoberfest is it.  It's just O.K.

Otter Creek Oktoberfest

      This is the last of the Ok not Oc toberfests.  Otter Creek is out of Middlebury Vermont.  I don't know where that is but they are probably hippies.  Anyway, it's a nice medium amber with lovely caramels and a hint of mocha and citrus.  I hope it tastes like it smells.  Well there's a bit more hop than I expected, but that's fine. What's not fine is right after the caramels hit you there's a weird off flavor I don't like.  Sort off a burnt herb flavor.  It's drinkable, but this is the worst of the lot so far.  I will not get this again. Avoid.

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest

      Another Oktoberfest with a K,  Leinenkugel's is out of Chippawa Falls Wisconsin, which is in the cold part of the world.  It pours out a nice amber and has bit of caramel, mocha and a hint of spice on the nose.  The nose is kind of weak and so are the flavors.  It's got a nice flavor profile, bot it tastes like a light Octoberfest.  This sis the Fest for you if you like Miller Light.  I think we can safely avoid this mass produced schlock.  It is sort of appropriate for Halloween because it's the ghost of a real Fest. Avoid.