Cape Ann Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout

Cape Ann Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout (2013)

Autumn Seasonal.

12 fl. oz. / $1.49 USD / 7% ABV?

About: "Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout is a dark stout accentuated by flavors of the Autumn season. Using real pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, the Cape Ann Brewing Company took a fresh take at the common fall seasonal. This rich dark stout offers an inviting pumpkin spice aroma that gives way to the delicate essence of real pumpkin."

Thoughts: Poured a dense black hue with a small, light yellowish tan head on top. 

First whiff, and yup, that's sea water alright! Not too heavy on the coffee in this one, but rather some mild chocolate just offshore. It's got a hint of a dark plum like fruit way in the background. Spices are hard to identify, as is that pumpkin as they're so incredibly mild, but I'm pretty sure it's there. 

Well, the taste on this one just isn't my cup of booze. It's really watery tasting. Whatever yeast and water they used to make this, that's the first strong flavor I got.... and it's not all that splendid, let me tell you. The malt base is just unfathomably weak on this one. You see what I did there? It's not roasty or interesting at all; it's just kind of there. Really bland, no real flavors going on, and the spices are so dull that even though they're here they may as well be swabbing the deck. Also, it's a bit tart and funky tasting. I'm not digging this one at all. 

The main problem with this beer is that it doesn't feel like a stout, both in taste and in mouthfeel. The color of this beer doesn't fool me, man. This one is far too thin. Sure it may put Shipyard's Pumkinhead to shame, but what beer doesn't? While that one's been lost at sea, this beer just isn't in the same... league, as the others. *dr. evil pinky* I had already reviewed their Imperial Pumpkin Stout in 2011 and had it again just this last month, and that beer too fell flat. An amped up boozier version of this brew, it carries all the same weaknesses over to a higher ABV.

Mixing Brews #4

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (2012) "VS" Cape Anne's Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout (2012)

WHAT'S GOIN' ON: DFH Punkin Ale has a lot of hardcore fans, it's a fact. Personally, I think they (Dogfish Head) make a lot of other beers that are far superior to this seasonal. I still enjoy a few bottles whenever it comes around, but it's by no means a holy grail of pumpkin ales. I've tried Fisherman's Imperial Pumpkin Stout last year and it was a pretty cool experience. How their "regular" version of this brew holds up, I do not know... and I probably won't know, since I'm mixing it with the Punkin for my first try. Oh well. Both of these brews clock in at a respectable 7% ABV, and are regulars this time of year for languishing on the singles shelf. So why the hell not?

HOW IT WENT DOWN: I couldn't stop smelling that Punkin once I popped the cap off the bottle. It's wondrous. I stood there with my nose in the bottle for about a minute straight. The Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout smells pretty good too... you definitely get that pumpkin, but there's a half and half with a coffee scent.

These two beers have quite a similar density as the stout just creeped right in and blended with the brown ale. The final result is a pretty deep brown, but while dark in tone, it's still a really clear beer mix. A lot clearer than I thought it would be actually. Head was minimal, though I poured carefully and had a few issues.

Well, that coffee comes through first, dominating the scent. It pretty much drowns out the spices from the other beer, and in itself for a while. There's a pumpkin mash in the background, and the spices have all but been subdued. It smells a little bit like Dr. Pepper now. Weird.

Taste is very smokey. Minimal bite. There's a gentle bitterness, and a toasty, roasted note throughout the whole thing. It's not terribly exciting. The smokiness from the cloves and that roasted coffee are really battling it out here, and neither one is winning. It's a stalemate. And speaking of stale, well, quite frankly this all tastes a bit like day old coffee with a shot of cough syrup in it. It's mildly spicy, but that shit fades instantly!

Mouth is a bit thin, and slightly frothy. It's also flat feeling too, which is weird since both bottles pretty much exploded when I opened them up. Must have let out all the carbonation. Huh.

This one is going to get a great big MEH! from me. I'm not the biggest fan of coffee flavored stouts to begin with, especially the weaker versions, and also brown ales aren't really my thing. So perhaps I'm getting the worst of both worlds here. It just tastes rather bland. Heavy clove, stale coffee, extremely mild cinnamon and a touch of sour pumpkin flesh. Consider this Experiment, failed. At least the DFH Punkin smelled really good.

Fisherman's Imperial Pumpkin Stout

Fisherman's Imperial Pumpkin Stout (2011)
Autumn Seasonal (Limited Release)
Brewed and Bottled by Cape Ann Brewing Company in Gloucester, MA. USA.
22  fl. oz /  $5.99 USD / 11.0% ABV

About: "The Big Brother version of our original fall seasonal.  The Imperial is more robust and intense in flavor with a noticeably spirituous finish."


Thoughts: It's their standard logo with the name underneath. I must have passed this one about five or six times having no idea it was of the pumpkin variety.

Black as midnight, black as pitch... blacker than the foulest witch! Kinda looks like that black blood from "The Ugly". It's got a thick and frothy chocolatey head that fades after a short while.

Smells damn good. Very 'pumpkiny' with a nice amount of spice. Then the coffee creeps in and overflows the senses. I think I'm in for a real treat here.

Damn that's some good alcoholic pumpkin coffee! Very cool. This one isn't bitter at all. I've had bitter beers and bitter coffee but this one mixes the both of them and comes off both flavorful and strong. Dark chocolate, raisins, fresh ground roast vanilla coffee, Werther's originals, nutmeg, and minor notes of clove, allspice and sugar. I'd like the pumpkin to be the dominating factor in this one but nothing is going to get on top of this coffee.

Thick. Creamy. Filling. 

 For an 11% this one is so very easy on the bite, smooth as hell and tastes damn good. It's really like an Iced Pumpkin Coffee with sweet spices in it. It's different from the rest and really a nice change of pace. This one gets a definite recommendation. Go grab one while you can. I read that they've got a Coffee Pumpkin Imperial as well. This confuses me as I don't see how much more of a coffee flavor they could possibly get into this.