Another fine ale and interesting label (an evil gourd) from stalwart brewer, ’05. Dense pumpkin sweetness dominates heady 8% alcohol rush, sugary malt lacquered stickiness, and vegetal bottom of mildly creamy seasonal. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom spices tingle lingering pumpkin pie resonation as rippling red cherry, berry, and apricot offing enhances pleasant brandied aftertaste.

Up-front pumpkin pie essence thwarted by diacetyl nature, as soapy vanilla malts and weak spiced hops beget fey metallic finish. Narrow clove-allspice-cinnamon-nutmeg passage and muted banana quip too unassuming for watery light-bodied fizzle.

Lamentable limited ’06 release finds astringent Fuggle-hopped bittering and woody alcohol burn overwhelming expectant autumnal pumpkin theme of clear coppery dry body. Spicy pumpkin pie gloss fades considerably as moldy cooked vegetable funk weakens peppered clove and herbal tea illusions obscuring brown sugared cinnamon-nutmeg-ginger whir. Biscuit-y wheat backbone and squash-like finish need better profundity.

Honeyed pumpkin-spiced ale lifts orange-fruited cinnamon-allspice-ginger confluence above red apple whim, sour lemony backslide and earthy vegetal whimper. Fleeting maple passage consumes late-coming herbal eucalyptus-tealeaf blossom.

Dry lemon-hopped souring disguises peppery pumpkin-spiced ambiance of ‘certified organic’ vegetable beer. Peculiar spoiled lemon frontage overwhelms sweet sugar-spiced cinnamon-nutmeg remnant and earthen fennel-carrot digression to metallic raw-grained finish.