There is no more Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale until this time next year. I stopped in at the LCBO on Brock Road in Pickering and talked to the beer expert. Apparently the entire LCBO stock has sold out, and it's no longer possible to get any more of the beer in.
This is a bit disappointing, as I was hoping to find even one more bottle. While the first bottle I drank was good, the next bottles were amazing. The head, which the first bottle lacked, was very obviously evident -- so I can only assume the first one hadn't been fully carbonated.
I have a hankerin' for some pumpkin ale, and I'm shit out of luck. I wonder how difficult it is to make.
All hail the great pumpkin
Great Lakes Brewery Pumpkin Ale -- It only comes once a year, and I'm very happy the Pickering LCBO on Brock got what looked like a couple of cases of the Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale in stock. So how goes a beer made with pumpkin taste? Oddly enough, kind of like pumpkin pie -- but not as sweet (at least in this case). While I expected a sweet beverage, Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale is actually a little dry, with a rather non-existent head. However, it has all the great tastes of pumpkin pie -- pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon. It's too bad this only comes once a year, but on the plus side, I bought five 650ml bottles of it.
A couple more beers
Chimay Blanc -- When I previously wrote about Chimay, I was referring to the darker Chimay Rouge, but I picked up some Chimay Blanc on a recent trip to the LCBO. While still tasty, this turned out to be more of a Belgium wheat beer similar in taste to Hooegarden. Frankly, I prefer Hoegaarden.
Belhaven Twisted Thistle India Pale Ale -- And just when I thought I'd found the prefect IPA in Sergeant Major, along comes Twisted Thistle. While not as hoppy as Sergeant Major, Twisted Thistle is a brilliant IPA with a soft mouthfeel and a strong head that lasts until the glass is empty. Yum.
What I'm really looking forward to now is the LCBO Hallowe'en releases. Supposedly the Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale will be available, and I'm crossing my fingers that at least a little bit of it makes its way to Durham Region. If it turns out to be tasty, I might try making some pumpkin ale of my own next year.
