Paddy's Pumpkin Porter by Gallagher's Brewing Co.

At long last the porter is here and ready to be reviewed! From a 12oz bottle it poured a reddish black, but lacked a real head which was a bit disappointing. Smell was really impressive, lots of nutmeg and cinnamon. Taste was mostly spices with the nutmeg being the most prominent. Was a little plastic tasting which was a drawback, but the finish was very nice with some spices mixed in. Overall, a very light porter that is easy to drink and has some impressive spices to it. Definitely not a contender, but after the failed stout that was put out by GBC, this is a good improvement.

Shipyard Brewing Co Pugsley's Signature Series Smashed Pumpkin

The first of two last minute entries is another pumpkin ale from Shipyard. This ale is more of an imperial pumpkin ale though and comes in at 9.0% abv. Smashed Pumpkin is served in a 22oz bomber with a really cool label that features a light jack-o-lantern and bright orange label. Although its not as creative as the label on Shipyard's Pumpkinhead Ale, its a close second. The brew itself poured a burnt orange with a nice head. Smell was actually surprisingly light for an imperial, with some cinnamon and nutmeg coming through strongest. Taste started off as your typical pumpkin ale with spices, but then moved into some nodes of real pumpkin before finishing with some grassy/earthy hops. It is absolutely delicious. I also really love the mouth feel which is pretty thick and almost creamy. The finish is a bit alcoholy, but not as bad as other imperial pumpkin ales (Weyerbacher) and the slight hops at the end are a great touch. This is definitely a top contender! Will it be enough to take the crown and win Shipyard a free brewery tour of Gallagher's Pub? We will find out in a little over 90 minutes!

Geary's London Style Porter

Grabbed a six-pack of this porter at Bottle King in Glen Ridge because it was the beer of the month. Label was a bit too British for my liking, but I thought that this Maine brewery wouldn't disappoint. It poured dark black with a nice tan head. Smell was chocolatey with some slight coffee scents. Taste was also chocolatey with some coffee/expresso nodes and some nice hops kicking in later on. Its very light for a porter, maybe a little too light, but makes it easy to drink which isn't a bad thing. Overall .. I like! Definitely makes me want to try some more beers by Geary's. Cheers!

Gallagher's Brewing Co. Update

Paddy's Pumpkin Porter was moved to the refrigerator last night. There will be a limited supply released in the Blue Lot before the Rutgers game on Saturday.

This is the third beer that GBC had put out after releasing a pilsner (not bad) and stout (terrible) in early 2011. This pumpkin porter was brewed with pumpkin pie puree and spices. The goal is for it to be an easy drinking pumpkin porter that tastes like pumpkin pie in a bottle. The hope is that it doesn't cause projectile vomiting on consumption.

Stay tuned for a review.

Troegs Dead Reckoning Porter

Forgot to post this one from over the weekend.

Grabbed a 6-pack of this Maryland born porter at Stirling Wines in Stilring, NJ. It poured and smelt like a typical chocolate porter - black with a sweet scent of cocoa. Taste was very chocolatey and sweet with some nice hops kicking in at the end. It was a bit too carbonated for my liking, but overall I thought that it was a very solid porter. Definitely recommend.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

I was hesitant to post about this IPA because I've had it multiple times before, but since a large part of this is about introducing beers to people, I'll throw it out there. By far one of my favorite IPAs, Dogfish Head 60 Minute is simply a very drinkable and solid IPA. It doesn't try to blow you away with tons of hops that dry your mouth out, but rather balances the hops and malt almost to perfection creating a delicious brew. It pours a burnt orange color with a decent head and a hoppy smell. As I said, its very well balanced so the taste is floral and some citrus nodes to start before finishing with some powerful (but not overbearing) hops. This is a great IPA for both hopheads and beginning IPA drinkers to try because of its drinkability and solid balance. While I certainly prefer Dogfish Head's 90 and 120 Minute IPAs over the 60, I'd recommend this one for all. Cheers guys!

Southampton Pumpkin Ale

The second Pumpkin Ale of the night comes from a Publick House on Long Island called Southampton. They brew a few different beers including this fall seasonal which I picked up, again, at the Tribeca Whole Foods. This pumpkin ale poured a dark amber and had a decent head on it. Smell was spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and also some pumpkin. A very solid smelling beer. Taste started off nutmeg, then went sweet with some cinnamon kicking in before finishing smoothly with a nice pumpkin taste, some earthy nodes and more cinnamon. A very well-balanced and easy to drink pumpkin that balances out spices, pumpkin, hops and drinkability almost perfectly. I'm definitely putting this one in that top category, its a contender.

Blue Point Brewing Company Pumpkin Ale

After a tour of Newark's Irish Pubs, its time to get back on track and focus on the Pumpkin beers. I picked up a six pack of Blue Point's Pumpkin Ale yesterday at the Whole Foods in Tribeca to start the pumpkin reviews back up. Poured it into a 16oz glass and it came out burnt orange like usual, with a nice head that lasted for a bit. It had a very spicy smell with mostly cinnamon and nutmeg coming out. Taste was very spicy, again mostly cinnamon, nutmeg and some other sweet malty nodes. Very smooth and easy to drink beer with some slight hops at the end. Nothing too crazy, reminds me of another pumpkin ale I've had, but I can't put my finger on which one. Solid fall seasonal, but doesn't separate itself from the pack.

Guinness @ Kilkenny Alehouse in Newark

After McGovern's, stopped over at another Irish bar in Newark - Kilkenny Alehouse. A bit more brighter and more modern than McGovern's, but didn't have the same welcoming vibe. The Guinness was nicely poured and served at a much warmer temperature, almost a tad too warm, but not bad. Smooth, yet bitter taste with a nice finish. Overall, I'd rate it a tad better than McGovern's because of the warmer serving temperature, but the overall experience was much better at McGovern's.

http://www.kilkennyalehouse.net/

Guinness @ McGovern's

Walked into McGovern's and it was exactly as I expected. Old, oval shaped bar with a lot of character. Police and firefighter signs, badges and helmets decorate this place almost as well as the locals who frequent it. Has a lot of Tierney's in it.

As for the Guinness, was a solid pour that left a nice sized head. It was smooth and delicious as expected, but not a top contender. I'd rate it a notch under Tierney's level, but still a very good pint. One downfall was that it was served a bit colder than I like, but the ambiance more than makes up for it. Might not be a top 5 tasting Guinness, but I'd easily say its a top 5 place to go and have one.

McGovern's

Outside is exactly as expected

McGovern's Tavern in Newark, NJ

After many attempts to get me into McGovern's by my cousin-in-law, Billy, I am officially on my way to this popular watering hole located basically on the Rutgers-Newark Campus. It was rated in Esquire's Top 100 Bars in the US so I have some pretty high expectations. Guinness rating will be up soon. To hold you over, here's an article about McGovern's from back in August. Happy Friday and Happy Homecoming Weekend to all Rutgers readers.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_bob_braun/2011/08/braun_great_expectations_aside.html

http://www.mcgovernstavern.com/

Long Trail Pale Ale

Enjoying this pale ale in a plastic cup poured out of a bottle at the US-Ecuador soccer match at Red Bull Arena. Looks like a typical pale ale, burnt orange with a nice head. Has a very solid taste that is easy to put down, but has some nice hoppiness to it. Definitely one of the better Pale Ales I have had because it doesn't try to do too much. Nice malty start, hoppy finish.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

As the temperature drops, B2B continues its pursuit to find the best pumpkin beer. This one is from one of my favorite breweries, Dogfish Head. Due to Dogfish's recent surge in popularity, this is definitely one of the most well-known pumpkin beers. It comes in a 4-pack and can be found at most liquor stores that carry craft beer.

As for the review, I poured the brew into a glass and it was a darker orange, almost brown color with a small head that quickly faded. Smell was nutmeg, cinnamon and the usual pumpkin beer spices, but not much actual pumpkin. Taste was as expected, spices without much of a pumpkin taste. It finished with some hops, but wasn't as hoppy as I expected based on the reviews I had read on it. More malty than anything and did nothing to separate itself from the pack. It was definitely one of the more hoppy pumpkin ales, but didn't do it for me. I think I'm being a little harsher on this one because I had such high expectations for a Dogfish Head beer, but I just didn't think it was amazing. I'll give it a second chance before Halloween, but as of now its not even in the top 5.

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale

Buffalo Bill's Brewery calls this beer "America's Original Pumpkin Ale". I'm not sure how valid that claim is, but this brew definitely has a different taste and appearance to it than any of the other pumpkin beers I've had. It pours a pumpkiny orange color with a tiny head that quickly fades to absolutely nothing, literally after two seconds it had no head. The smell was mostly clove with some pumpkin and spicy scents, but nothing really to blow you away. Taste was very different, mostly clove again with some pumpkin and spicy nodes, but also had a sour taste to it. Lemon maybe? This combined with the fact that the beer was slightly fizzy like a soda gave it a cidery feel to it. Overall, a very interesting and easy to drink pumpkin ale that would be great for having more than one of. Not a contender though.