I am still in my pursuit for the perfect Thanksgiving Day beer. I have every intention on selecting a Fall seasonal and after my last review of the Southampton Pumpkin Ale, the bar is set high. Today’s choice is one I have never heard about until I grabbed it off the shelf, the Four+  Punk’n Ale.

After researching a bit, it turns out that Four+ is actually a series of beer from Uinta Brewing Company in Salt Lake City, Utah. I only knew of their Anglers Pale Ale which is found year round, but today, fitting in nicely with the weather, is their Punk’n Ale. The label describes it as a “Harvest Pumpkin Ale” coming in at a mild 4% ABV.

This one poured a nice orange-copper color with a solid one finger head, which dissipated fairly quickly and left moderate lacing around the glass. After admiring the brilliant dark Fall color of this brew, I noted something that I was really hoping for from the Southampton and Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ales… Pumpkin. The aroma was bold and assertive with dominant pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg notes throughout.

All seemed well until the tasting: this is where things started to fall apart. The immediate flavors on the palate were strong, hitting the pumpkin flavor I was hoping for in a beer, with a cinnamon and toasted malt backbone. However, the mouth feel just wasn’t there; it was terribly thin. I anticipated twist on a Brown Ale with pumpkin and spice, yet the Punk’n Ale tasted like someone mixed Miller Lite with some pumpkin flavoring and re-branded it.

I wanted to give more credit to the Punk’n Ale because, in my opinion, the flavor profile on the nose is incredible, but the mouth feel is just not there for the true Pumpkin Ale style. Hopefully next year Unita can take the amazing flavor profile on the nose and create something that’s medium-to-full bodied. So far Thanksgiving will be spent with the Southampton; that is, unless you have any other suggestions on a Pumpkin Ale to try. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Rating

73
out of 100