The headless horseman would have been a lot less scary if he’d ridden around gripping a a cool, refreshing, pumpkin beer.  Personally, I would have let him ride me down to give me a delicious, delicious pint of ale.   Sadly, the headless beer delivery horseman only exists in a few people’s overactive imaginations, but the image is wonderfully crafted on to the label of every Shipyard Pumpkinhead bottle.    Hailing from Maine, Shipyard Pumpkinhead was a standout pumpkin beers to me over the years, but due to time constraints last year, I wasn’t able to procure a bottle in time for First Pour Wine’s Pumpkinfest.  So how would it have done had we gotten a bottle? 

Sight: An orange-gold, with a small quickly dissipating head.

Smell:  A more bitter pumpkin pie filling, with a definite lean toward cinnamon with background help from other spices, namely nutmeg.  Vanilla occasionally shows up,

Sip:  The carbonation is on the larger side, keeping the beer from seeming smooth, but the mouth feel is moderate to heavy nonetheless.  Cinnamon and roasted pumpkin leap to the forefront with minor help from nutmeg and brown sugar.  There is almost no sweetness, but it’s not bitter. [A.B.V. 4.7%]

Savor:  A light powdery cinnamon like when it hangs in the air and you can almost taste it lingers with a hint of pumpkin, but it’s a very subtle finish.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead is a dry, cinnamon geared pumpkin ale that could be improved.  The biggest faults it has come back to flavor and mouth feel.  This beer is simple and subtle, which isn’t a bad thing, but makes it feel tiresome to drink a lot of.  Combined with the overly aggressive carbonation throwing off the experience, Shipyard Pumpkin just gets it’s clock cleaned in the pumpkin ale category.  As a light, spiced ale, it’s not bad, but the pumpkin flavor would throw many people off.  Next year, it would be fun to see Shipyard take a cue from their Pugsley Signature Series, and tweak the complexity of the flavors slightly, but maintaining the cinnamon focus.

Verdict:  Needs a head.
Price: $7.99 / 6 pack
Portland, Maine
http://www.shipyard.com/