Pumpkin Showdown #2: Red Hook vs. Anderson Valley

For Part 2 of the Pumpkin Showdown series, I'm going to be reviewing one of Red Hook's seasonal offerings and a West Coast microbrew, Anderson Valley's Fall Hornin'.

Let's start with Red Hook's Out of Your Gourd. Red Hook's pumpkin beer starts off with a deep red pour, that's a bit dark and not aromatic at all. Which is too bad, since a really aromatic pumpkin beer is such a pleasure.

As you can see, the beer is very dark...showing off its porter heritage well.

The taste was smooth, with notes of pumpkin and spice. But those flavors took a back seat to warm, dark caramels and roasted beans. The flavor was muted, mellow, but dark.

This beer is definitely a porter. Toasted caramel tastes are present which lend a nice smokiness to the aftertaste. I like the subtlety of the pumpkin flavors. This would be a delicious session beer for cool fall evenings, sitting out on the back deck with friends.

Next up is Boonville, CA-based Anderson Valley Brewing Co. I'll be reviewing their Fall Hornin' pumpkin beer.

So, I actually had never heard of Anderson Valley before. I was looking for some beers in cans to put in my fridge's can chute when I came across this. Apparently, their motto "Bahl Hornin'" actually means "It's good drinkin'" in a local folk language called "Boontling." Apparently, this dialect is only spoken in the Anderson Valley, about 115 miles north of San Francisco. OK, pretty neat. But let's see how well they brew beer.

Immediately, I saw the beer was pretty well carbonated. I'm not a huge fan of that, especially in darker, heavier fall beers, so I was hesitant.

The beer was wheaty, the carbonated texture taking center stage and overpowering the flavors. The beer was lighter, and did have some spice notes. The beer tasted less like pumpkins and more like a pumpkin pie - a mixture of spices and tastes with some toasted / roasted tastes.

I can draw some similarities to the Pumpkinhead in terms of its lightness and thinness. But the Anderson Valley, for its part, was darker and carried the flavors better than the Shipyard. The beer was just OK, certainly not worth the $12.99 I paid for the 6-pack.

In Conclusion

This week's winner is Red Hook. The pumpkin porter has the weight and gravity to really do the pumpkin spice / allspice / clove flavors well. The Anderson Valley, while lighter and probably more approachable for some drinkers, didn't do the pumpkin flavors justice and the texture of that beer really overpowered it.

If you REALLY want to know the best pumpkin beer, just wait until next week.