The Attack of Horrible Beer Names: Pumpkinataur Wrex from Capital Brewing

In what I hope is not a portent of names to come, Capital recently debuted a pumpkin beer called Pumpkinataur Wrex. It's draught only so I grabbed a glass yesterday at Capital Tap Haus. ($7)



I want to admit from the outset that I am not a huge pumpkin beer fan. Mostly this is on the grounds of taste as pumpkin beers tend not to taste like gourd but rather like nutmeg and cinnamon. (And partly because I object to the American/modern culinary notion that spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and mace are only to be used in the autumn and for pumpkin pie and other sweets but rarely savories.)

Even though it's not apparent in my rather poor photo, Pumpkinataur is a gorgeous copper color and my pour came with a nice frothy head. As I was sitting in a restaurant with the scent of food wafting about, I didn't get a good whiff. But, from what I could tell, the stuff smelled sweet with faint hints of spice, especially nutmeg.

I was really happy when I tasted it because it actually tasted like the gourd and not a jar of pumpkin pie spice mix. Oh, the spices were there but relegated to the background. Instead it tasted like pumpkin. Smooth with the gourd complementing the malt extremely well. It was moderately hoppy with a nice spicy bitterness (think Hop Cream.) that added to a clean finish. The hops persisted through the aftertaste. Overall, it was a really nice balance of flavors. As I imbibed more and the beer warmed a bit, the pumpkin began to really shine through and it tasted almost velvety. Thankfully the spices retained their supporting role letting the gourd, malt, and hops take the spotlight.

Pumpkinataur Wrex joins the pumpkin brews of Vintage and Moosejaw as the only one's I'd purchase and potentially drink more than one of. It weighs in at 7.5% ABV but isn't heavy at all and is highly quaffable.

I wonder if this was Kirby Nelson's farewell brew of if it's the product of Capital's interim brewmaster, Brian Destree. I have to admit that I was really ambivalent when I first read about Pumpkinataur. On the one hand, I think it's good that Capital is expanding their range of brews; on the other I was a bit disappointed that they had jumped on a seasonal bandwagon - of a style that doesn't particularly appeal to me. Luckily it's a fine brew.

Junk food pairing: If I wasn't waiting for a bus, I would have paired this beer with some cheese curds. Smooth pumpkin flavor surely goes well with greasy curd.