Sugar and Spice

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
??? IBUs and 5.6% ABV

This one is from a while back, and I have to give my best to the Puritan Backroom for exposing me to this. A little background of me and Smuttynose is in order. I love the name, it is funny and they have a seal, which is a pretty good combination, but a bit more than a year ago I had their Summer at a Fishercats game, and I hated it. It put me off Smuttynose, relegating it to a label I liked to look at but that gave me a sick feeling just rembering that particular pint. Fast forward to one weekend this fall when Jak, I, Alli and her boyfriend of the time went to the Puritan. There I had to be the adventerous one of the group and try the pumpkin ale. The adventerous part was not the pumpkin, or the return to Smuttynose, but answering "Yes" to the waitress when asked whether I wanted cinnamon and sugar on the beer. I am glad I did, the beer was good, but what made it sublime was the perfect bit of sugar and spice that perfectly managed the savory nature of the beer. The only problem was that 2 days later I was back in Maryland, where the only pumpkin ales are Michelob or Saranac, which are good but not great. So here is my long term recomendation, next mid-august start looking out for the pumpkin ale, and when the temperature head over to the Puritan to get some with sugar and spice.

-Nathan