Ah, it’s that blessed time of year again…It is the dawn of the Pumpkin Ale .

Brother Boom was ordained to determine the best pumpkin ale in these parts. As it turned out – the first holy battle was a misnomer, it was akin to a slaughter.

Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale versus Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.

Jack’s came out lame, barely registering a noticeable pumpkin flavor. It floated out of the bottle as a thin ale with the ever so slight taste of pumpkin. Weak!  It boasted having nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and clove, but I only tasted a watered down wanna be. Very disappointed.

Dogfish Head landed a shot to the labanza that made my halo spin! A bit too much of everything!  Real Pumpkin – CHECK! Brown sugar – check! Allspice – accounted for! Cinnamon – definitely in the steeple! Nutmeg – all over the place.

But at the very least it had a definitive taste! Even after a few seconds, the over-powering taste still lingered. I needed a buffalo wing to clear my palate!

Stunned…but it’s clearly the first round winner for having the temerity to blast out of the gate tasting!

I can’t wait for round 2!

Beersset is defined as the integration of two words – Beer and Dessert (Bishop C, 2010). Of course, the proper combination of the two words might have led one to consider Beersert or even Beerzert (approved alternte spellings). Assuming for a moment that some rely on phonetics to spell while enjoying a few brews.

Beerssert was born one evening while the Brothers sat happily and completely content after consuming a few Chimay Grand Reserves. Smiling and giggling to himself,  Bishop C looked deep into his class as he held it up to a lamp and proclaimed the charished nectar “Beerssert.”

Ah yes, the wisdom shared by Bishop C can be quite enlightening †

Reference:

Bishop, C. (2010). Beerssert – Beerzert – Beerssert. Shared in personal reflections July 2010 within Monk Abbey. Retrieved online @ www.monkbrewery.com