I'm very excited - one of my favorite fall beers has hit the stores. Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale is a beer I first tried last year, and just really took to it. We may review it at some point this fall, but I just wanted to let all of you know that it is in the stores now, and if you haven't, you should give it a try. It goes great with those chilly fall evenings around a campfire or inside watching scary movies!
I was out looking for an old favorite, Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale recently, but the store I was in did not have it at the time. I picked up this one instead, and I really enjoyed it. I did not realize that Blue Moon produced a pumpkin ale -- is it new this year? I always hate to see summer leave, but pumpkin ale is at least one thing to look forward to as we make the transition to fall.
ReplyDeleteI think they started making it in '97, though I didn't discover it until last year. You can always check out The Hop Shop. The owner, Courtney, would probably put in an order for Buffalo Bill's if you wanted. I picked up two cases of this so that I wouldn't run out too soon. I think they start distributing it in September, and it goes through like November or December.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see autumn come, though I will miss Bell's Oberon. But there is good beer for every season!
I had a pumpkin spiced beer last night at our team fundraiser at Locals Only, but I wasn't paying enough attention to tell you what it was. I think it might have been Buffalo Bill's. I'll have to go back to check!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I can't wait for the winter warmer ales to make their appearance.
I too love pumpkin ales, but I've got to tell you that Blue Moon is not the best one available. I find it fairly pedestrian, but considering that Blue Moon is owned by Coors it is no supprise that they go for mass appeal, which is fine because not everyone is interested in enjoying wonderfully complex beer. For a unique pumpkin I would suggest Dogfish Head Punkin'. Shipyard also has a real good one and there are hundreds of brewpubs around the country who do their own fall seasonal pumpkin ale. Ratebeer.com can guide you to many of these.
ReplyDeleteSeeing these beers start to appear does usually signal the start of the fall and winter seasonals which is easily my favorite time of year for beer releases.
Keep posting Hoosier Beer Geek, I'm going to be checking back often to see what another Hoosier has to say about good beer.