- My Rating: C
Enlightenment Great Punkin – Renaissance Brewing, 7.2% ABV – 500ml, (Marlborough, New Zealand)
On the front side label:
“Brewed with roasted pumpkin and a blend of spices to yield ‘punpkin pie’ notes and a deep red/orange colour. Lightly hopped with NZ Fuggle. A medium body and moderate bitterness allow the flavour of the pumpkin, spice and caramelized malts to shine through.”
- Style: (seasonal, pumpkin) Spiced Ale
- Taste Profile: creamy/fizzy -> brown sugar/pumpkin/root beer/bad-salty-bitterness -> molasses off-dry malty bad roughness.
- Where I got it : W.16th
- How much: $9 (after 10% off) – 500ml, September 2013
- Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
- Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: no
Visual: Attractively designed label. Pours beer bottle brown with a massive lasting foamy head, thick layer of retention, thick clusters of fast streams.
Nose: sour, almost metallic caramelized malts, hint of orange oil citrus, mildly roasted pumpkin. (6)-aromatic strength.
Attack: creamy/fizzy mouthfeel, malty (7)-sweetness
Mid-palate: (MAIN) brown sugar malts, pumpkin, root beer, ginger dryness (HINTS) nutmeg, almost salty (off-putting) texture
Finish: lingering molasses, malty burnt bitter finish.
Summary: The CO2, visual, and bottling are nice, but what I don’t like is burnt, saltiness in the mids. Perhaps its the roasting or off-balance of the spices that make it leave a lingering bad taste in the mouth. (Note: all numbers above are on a 10-point scale, with 1 being weak and 10 being the strongest)
