Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale Review

Today we bring to you our first beer, one from Blue Moon's Seasonal Collection. It goes by the quiet name of Harvest Moon. It is a pumpkin ale that, according to Blue Moon Brewing Company, is brewed in early September through late November. It is flavored with the very unique taste of vine-ripened pumpkin. They also say that it goes great with turkey, sweet potatoes and beef (BlueMoonBrewingCompany.com, 2009). Already a huge fan of Blue Moon's other seasonal brews, The Young Connoisseur is excited about this one. First, the bottle is designed similarly to the other seasonal brews that Blue Moon creates. The nice burnt orange label is a very nice touch to the blue and white that are always present on its forefront. Next, the color of the beer is wonderful. Blue Moon calls it a "copper orange" but I think it is more of a dark amber, merged with orange. When poured into a glass, the flavor and scents explode. The rich smell of pumpkin and spice emerge with every last drop coming out of the bottle. The pumpkin is present but it takes a lot of sniffing to get that smell. It smells just more like malt and barley over the pumpkin at first. It foams subtly at the end, only a 2 centimeters or so, but that is great for the taste at first. For the taste, it is that of a very nice, well grown pumpkin. There is not a lot of sugar here so this is not a particularly sweet beer. The spice shines as if they were to be pulled from a pumpkin pie. It is a very full bodied beer with a somewhat light finish at the end. It does have a mild bitterness to it but that is going to come from mostly the base of what beer is and also the pumpkin flavor. This beer was served cold, straight from the refrigerator, poured into a tall glass. The price ranges from $11.99-$14.99 for a 12-pack and $6.99-$8.99 for a 6-pack. This beer packs a 5.7%ALC/VOL and can be found at almost all local beer retailers. Some carry only the 12-packs, and some carry only the 6-packs. Overall, this is a great beer. It may be a little difficult to drink in the spring and summer months and the time when it is brewed and delivered to the store for us to purchase is perfect. Grab this while you can and try it, even if it is only a 6-pack. Just take a try and you may end up liking it and be sad when it is gone, like me.

Appearance: 9/10

Scent: 8/10

Chilled Taste: 9/10

Overall Score: 8.6/10