Rum pa pa Pumpkin

Brewer-Avery Brewing Company

 Beer- Rumpkin (2013)

Style- Barrel-Aged Pumpkin Ale

ABV- 18.53%

Description- Avery’s Rumpkin pours a deep ruddy brownish amber color with a tan heads that very quickly disappears.  The aroma is like a perfect fall evening in front of a warm fireplace.  Notes of brown sugar, clove, caramel, and all spice jumps out in abundance with strong backing notes from the rum.  The initial sip is wonderful and overwhelming at the same time, there is just so much to take in all at one time.  The pumpkin pie in a glass taste certainly is true with this beer thru all the standard notes of clove, cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg along with sweet subtle caramel hit the palate first with the alcohol heat and taste of rum coming through on the back end.  The rum barrels really do give quite an impact to this imperial pumpkin ale and add a lot of complexity along with alcohol.  Rumpkin is full bodied with very little carbonation, but the body is certainly enough to handle all of the flavor profiles occurring in this amazing beer.  It is a high ABV ale but is very enjoyable and gets even more delicious as it warms up.

Food pairing – The caramel sweetness in this beer make it a wonderful pairing with a wide variety of poultry dishes.  Duck in particular is a perfect match for this beer, try Rumpkin with a crisp roast duck topped with cherry-rosemary sauce.  The tartness from the cherries accentuate the sweetness while the rosemary picks up on the spices in the beer and the sweet malt bill grabs on to the duck and never lets go.  Rumpkin is also a great beer to have handy for Thanksgiving dinner, not only does the high ABV make relatives more tolerable, but Rumpkin also goes perfectly with Turkey, stuffing, and all of your favorite rich Thanksgiving day foods.  Rumpkin is also a perfect partner for a wide variety of desserts.  Try pairing it with carrot cake, pumpkin cheesecake, or chocolate cake, the more decedent the dessert the better suited it will be when paired with Rumpkin.

The Final Word – A beer this intense may be off putting for some novices, however if you are used to higher ABV or barrel aged beers than do yourself a huge favor and hunt this beer down.  Avery is a brewery known for making high ABV beers that are delicious, try Mephistopheles' Stout or The Beast if you have any doubt of that statement.  Rumpkin is also a stand out pumpkin ale besides the high ABV character as well.  The market is very saturated with pumpkin beers now with more and more breweries producing them every year and instead of producing a wonderful imperial pumpkin, which Rumpkin is, Avery decided to go one step further with the introduction of rum barrel aging.  This decision not only added a lot to the ABV, but also really enhanced all the flavor profiles within this fantastic beer.  This is an absolute must try beer, but be sure to sip on it as the high ABV can hit you pretty quickly.

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Where can I get it? -  It is only available in bottles for limited fall release.  Call around and ask for this one as it is a very limited release, but is well worth the hunt!