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By Ryan Moses The Beer Counselor Beercounselor.net
Taste the
dark side You will hear a lot about the dark side over the next two months. In beer, fall and winter are when the dark side wins out. Here are six of the best dark and pumpkin beers available right now:
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[1] Wicked Weed: Pompeon ABV: 8% Pompeon pours a clear copper color. The aroma is an assertive ginger and rum, with a touch of pumpkin. You get a subtle sourness, followed by a touch of pumpkin, carried along by rum and ginger on the back end. A pumpkin beer made for people who don’t like pumpkin beers.
[3] Appalachian Mountain Brewery: Black Gold Porter ABV: 6% IBU: 23 This porter has a deep brown — almost black — color with nice tan head. It offers a nice, roasty malt flavor with hints of coffee. The taste is similar, with a good roastiness and touches of coffee. As with most porters, it has a medium mouthfeel, making it easy to drink.
[5] Mystery: Thornfield’s End Smoked Rye Stout ABV: 6% IBU: 25 Thornfield’s has a dark brown color with a light tan head, and the aroma jumps at you with smokiness, rye and coffee. The taste of smoke hits you upfront, but isn’t overwhelming … giving way to rye and a coffee taste with cocoa hints. A smooth beer for stout and porter fans.
[2] Deep River: Pumpkin Pie Porter ABV: 5.9% IBU: 23 Pumpkin Pie pours a deep, dark brown with reddish hints. Where other pumpkin beers hit you over the head with their pumpkin spice, this beer leans heavier on its roasted malts to give a little chocolate hint to the pumpkin spice, to avoid the cloying nature of many pumpkin beers.
[4] Triple C: Kind Of A Big Deal On Peaches ABV: 9.2% IBU: 25 This pours a deep amber color and leaves a thin white head. The aroma gives you lots of honey, with a hint of bourbon and peaches. Experience a big taste of honey without being cloying, followed by touches of peaches and wheat. Thick without being syrupy to the tongue.
[6] Southern Tier: Pumking ABV: 8.6% IBU: 30 Pumking pours a brilliant, deep copper color. The aroma captures you with vanilla and pumpkin pie spices — especially nutmeg. The taste gives you the pie spices and vanilla upfront, with the malty pie crust taste on the back end. Consistently one of the most requested pumpkin beers on the market.
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