Review: Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale

I am going to start off this post by telling you how much I love World Market.  It has all kinds of stuff from soaps to necklaces to wine and beer.

Oh yeah!

If you haven’t been in one before you might be surprised that they carry alcohol but they do and they have an amazing selection.  They also give you the option of purchasing single bottles of beer to take home and test without having to drop cash on a six pack of something you might not like.

True story.  Check them out if you haven’t already!

Why am I bringing up World Market on a pumpkin ale review?  Because World Market is responsible for introducing me to my Fall Fling, Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale.

I almost passed him up because his label is sort of plain and basic.  However I remembered that looks are only label deep and what lies inside is actually the most important.  I’m sure you all can agree with me on that, yes?

So I bought him.

We have been together every fall since and our relationship is going on about 5 years now.

It’s serious.

I thought it would be appropriate to start my pumpkin ale reviews with my very favorite pumpkin ale, Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale.  Any other ale I drink has to live up to this guy right here.  The first time we were together, he knocked my socks off and bowled me over with his pumpkin flavor.

For me, this beer right here is exactly what a pumpkin ale should be.  EXACTLY.

To quickly recap, the beers are going to be rated on:

  • Smell
  • Color
  • Head Retention
  • Taste

The ratings will be :pumpkin: and the score will range from 1-5.  One being the poorest and five being the best.

Okay let’s get started!

Smell: 5 :pumpkin:

As soon as you open this beer you know right away that it is a pumpkin ale.  The notes of cinnamon and nutmeg hit you first thing.  It is so powerful and smells so good that you can’t wait to take a sip!

Color: 3 :pumpkin:

Admittedly the color is a bit light for this ale.  I prefer darker beers so in my mind I would like to see a touch more of a darker color.

Head: 3 :pumpkin:

I prefer heads that hold their shape and that have a bit of stamina.  The head on this ale does dissipate quickly which if you’re looking for that, it’s a good thing.  I’m not, I want to be forced to wait that extra few seconds because it helps build tension and the payoff of waiting and then sipping is a lot more satisfying.

(Yeah there’s really no way to talk about this without snickering. Go ahead, no one is looking.)

Taste: 5 :pumpkin:

Buffalo Bill’s taste is simply stunning.  It tastes exactly like it smells, which for pumpkin beers is a hard thing to achieve.  This beer is best served (in my opinion) super cold.  It brings out the crispness and freshness of the beer more and you get more of the wow factor from the spices.  The beer hits you with flavor from the first sip and finishes with just as much flavor.  When you drink this beer, you know you’re drinking an ale that is brewed to celebrate fall.

We’ve had this beer with desserts and we’ve had it with meals.  It pairs just as well with chili as it does a pumpkin cookie (or 5 if you’re me).

So far it has been my favorite pumpkin ale and the first ale I look for when fall arrives.  When we stopped by World Market to pick up our first batch of the season, can you imagine how excited I was when I saw they had Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale glasses?!

Jumping up and down may or may not have happened.  I really need to swing back over and buy some more.

If you are looking to try a pumpkin ale, I strongly recommend trying this one and seeing how you like it.  It’s a nice ale to get started with!

Have you had Buffalo Bill’s before?  Did you like it?

14 thoughts on “Review: Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale

  1. I love World Market too! I saw those glasses the last time I was in there. I am going to have to give Buffalo Bill’s another shot. I thought I didn’t like it but honestly it is better than others I’ve tried recently. Thanks for the review! :)

  2. Heidi says:

    I’m been wanting to try a pumpkin ale, but have been afraid to buy a six pack and then not like it. I will definitely give this one a try and let you know. It sounds really good! Thanks for reviewing it.

  3. This stuff is GOOD! My mom bought this pumpkin ale a few weeks ago – I’m addicted (yeah, how fitting that my mother is pushin’ pumpkin ale on me). It’s my ‘Official Fall Beer of 2010.’

  4. i will admit I’ve been staying away due ot all the pumpkin titled posts :) I loved your comment though and updated teh blog and Facebook to ask about bloggie sins, so true and so funny

  5. Gotta try this one. We don’t have a World Market here, but I love going when we travel. Fortunately we do have an awesome party store – Liquor Barn – and they are well stocked with lots of microbrews and imports.

  6. Excellent Beer. I took this to our craft beer party about a month or so ago. People generally liked it. If you are looking for something even better Dogfish Head Punkin Ale is amazingly smooth. I’ve also reviewed about 3-4 other pumpkin style ales so far too (some stronger than others). Check them out on my Brew Review Page.
    Thanks,
    Brad

Leave a Reply to RunToTheFinish Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.