Whew!

So I apologize for the crooked picture but it’s not my fault and I’m okay with that.

I stumbled upon this yogurt from Traderspoint Creamery, while I was picking up some Snowville half and half for Scott’s coffee.  I thought this was just a milk company and then I noticed that this bottle said yogurt on it.

Oh?

I’ve been looking around for a new yogurt for a little while now.  I still love Fage but sometimes I want something a little sweeter and not so thick.  I’ve been displeased with yogurts lately and all about abandoned my mission.  Then the florescent store lights shined down up this gem.

100% grassfed cows and certified organic.  Pretty close since this dairy is just over in Indiana.  I can live with that.  They have different flavors of yogurt and even have a full-fat variety.

Traderspoint advertises that their yogurt is more like European style yogurts and that it has won numerous awards.  I read the ingredient list and that was fine, so I decided to give it a try. I bought the low-fat vanilla yogurt.

Believe me when I tell you that at this point, this is hands-down the best yogurt I have ever tasted.  It is thick and dreamy.  It tastes like vanilla cream.

No really, it tastes like cream.

If this is what European yogurt is like then I want it all the time.  The yogurt I’m used to has a harsh tang to it that I know turns some people off.  I don’t mind it, yogurt is something I really enjoy.  But this? This is amazing yogurt that I swear would turn any yogurt hater into a yogurt eating fool.

I love that it comes in a glass bottle but at the same time it does make it difficult to stir the yogurt.  I used a butter knife the first time and now it’s low enough that I can just gently shake the bottle to combine everything.  It pours right out and is smooth like, well, like good cream.

I can’t get enough of it! When I pull it out, even Scott has to pour himself a couple spoonfuls because you just can’t pass it up.  So good!

If you’re lucky enough to see this creamery in your local dairy section, give it a try because it’s worth every penny.

Disclaimer: I purchased this yogurt on my own and reviewed it on my own. Traderspoint Creamery is in no way associated with this review. 

Comments: 2

First up was a crowd favorite, Pumpking by Southern Tier. Sadly not a FE favorite at all.

Next was Shipyard Brewing’s Smashed Pumpkin, and won this year’s favorite!

Followed that up with Heavy Seas The Greater Pumpkin, a lovely barrel aged ale.

Last up was Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela, which sadly didn’t rate very high.

We ended the pumpkin ale season with a tasting at our favorite bar, Hal and Al’s.

This was a great season for tasting new pumpkin brews!

Were you able to get any pumpkin ales this season? Did you find a new favorite? 

Up next?  Perhaps some winter ale tastings!

If you’re into ales as much as we are, feel free to follow me on Untappd!

Comments: 4

We had a hiccup with one of the pumpkin ales that we bought.  It was skunky.

Ugh.

A skunky beer is never a good experience.  So we were kind of scrambling to find a replacement beer.  The thing with pumpkin beers, they don’t last long.  When you see them in the store, you gotta jump on those quick because once they are gone, they’re gone.

Only so many of them get made and sometimes they are in limited release.

We stumbled across this Jolly Pumpkin , La Parcela No. 1 Pumpkin Ale and picked it up.

I have had Jolly Pumpkin’s La Roja which is a sour beer.  It’s lovely for a very hot and humid summer day which means it’s great beer for an Ohio summer.

I decided to go with their Pumpkin Ale because if the brewery has pumpkin in the name, they should know what they’re doing, right?

Smell: 2/5  

Scott said if you breathed in deep enough you could pick up the spice in this beer.  I think he “thinks” he could smell something.  I got nothing.  This beer is aged in oak barrels and I definitely picked up that note but I didn’t get any pumpkin or any spices in this beer.  It’s also supposed to have some cacao in it to deepen the flavor and smell a bit.

Seriously I got nothing.

It gets a 2/5 because Scott said he smelled some spice.

Head: 4/5     

This beer had a great head on it that developed perfectly as the beer was poured.  It stuck around for a little while as well which was nice to see.  It was more white than an off white, but still great nonetheless.

Color: 5/5     

The color on this beer was exceptional.  It had a smooth and deep rich orange color. Very fall-esque!  It was also perfectly cloudy and dense.  Exactly what I like to see in a beer, especially a pumpkin ale.  I couldn’t get over how fabulous the beer looked.  I kept turning the glass over and over just to stare at the color.

Taste: 1/5 

Unfortunately, this beer fell flat.  With the color and given that it was aged in oak barrels, I expected this beer to have some heft and some kick to it.

Nothing.

It was extremely light tasting and almost evaporated on your tongue.  It was very similar in style to a cider and if you like ciders, perhaps you’ll like this style of pumpkin ale.

I still didn’t pick up any spices or pumpkin flavor at all while drinking it.  It also reminded me of their sour beer as this had a bit of a sour finish to it.

I was not a fan.  I didn’t have much of the glass and in the end neither Scott nor I could finish this beer.

Summary:

My fault, I set myself up and had high expectations for this beer.  With it being created by a brewing company called The Jolly Pumpkin and with it being aged in oak barrels, I thought this beer would knock my socks off.  Sadly it did not.  It’s drinkable but not a beer I would seek out or purchase again.

However if you like ciders and really enjoy sour style beers, give this beer a chance because it might be right up your alley.

Jolly Pumpkin, La Parcela

Comments: 0

I have to admit that I did a little happy dance when we spotted this beer because it’s got two of my very favorite things combined into one brew:

• Pumpkin Ale
• Bourbon Barrel Aged

Oh my pumpkins!

I was excited and a bit nervous to try this beer so I was putting it off and putting it off, tasting others first. Excited because barrel aged pumpkin! Nervous because what if I didn’t like it? Yikes!

Finally I put my foot down and said that we needed to taste this beer.

Smell: 3/5     

The smell is more concentrated in the bottle.  You get hints of spices in the background letting you know that you are about to drink a pumpkin inspired beer.  The spices are not overwhelming and are toned down a bit from the bourbon in the background.

The bourbon smell is prominent. Once you’ve had a bourbon aged beer, you can pick up that hint of sweetness at the end very quickly.  The smell alone had me ready to take a sip! The bourbon in this beer brought out a more caramel and vanilla smell that was just right. Not super sweet and you didn’t feel like it was going to be a heavy beer.

Head: 4/5     

When I first poured this beer, the head was minimal at best.  I originally scored this at 2/5.  However when I went back for the second pour (this was a 1pt. 6oz bottle, so roughly two glasses of beer), the head was exactly what I wanted to see.

It was thick with an off-white, very creamy color to it.  It paired nicely with the color of the brew itself.  It also lasted a decent amount of time, so the rating changed! We went from 2/5 to 4/5.

Color: 5/5        

Perfection! This was a great orange color that was deliciously cloudy. I loved the way this beer looked and told Scott that it was probably my favorite so far.

Taste: 4/5    

I went back and forth on this for quite some time because I actually really enjoyed this beer a great deal.  I finally decided that 4/5 would be a fair rating.

The pumpkin flavor isn’t quite as intense as I would like to see in a pumpkin ale.  The spices are also very subtle but they do linger for a while post sip.  That’s a good thing, I want to know that I’m drinking pumpkin and fall brews.

The spices don’t hit you at the front but more at the finish.  That’s okay, but I would like to see a little more cinnamon on the nose.

The bourbon aspect of this beer though is amazing.  This beer is extremely smooth drinking and not harsh in any way.  That is the first thing Scott mentioned when he had some was that it was one of the smoothest pumpkin beers we’ve ever had.

And he’s right!

It’s delightfully crisp as well, the bourbon doesn’t weight this beer down at all.

Summary:

Would I get this beer again? Most definitely! Not only would I get it again, but I would knock you over trying to get there first.

I have no shame in my game.

While it’s not a super pumpkin-y brew, it’s got great spice to it and the smoothness can’t be beat.  It’s one of the more creative pumpkin beers we’ve had and the bourbon barrel aging takes it up to a whole other level.

It’s not overly sweet and it’s not overly spicy.  It’s a great sipping beer and would be perfect for both pumpkin beer lovers and those just starting out with them.

The website lists it in super limited release, so if you see some, grab it!

We bought ours at The Anderson’s in Dublin, off Sawmill on Bent Tree BLVD.

Heavy Seas The Greater Pumpkin, check it out!

Comments: 2

However this does mean that it can be difficult when shopping for beers to review.  So many options!

Up for review this week is Shipyard’s Smashed Pumpkin in the Pugsley’s Signature Series.

Smell: 4/5    

Great pumpkin smell right outta the gate.  While the pumpkin smell is subtle, the spices come through strong but not in an overpowering way.

When you smell this brew, it’s clear that it’s a pumpkin and fall inspired ale.  This is exactly what you’re looking for with pumpkin ales.

Color: 5/5     

Shipyard has done the perfect color for this beer! It’s a great bright orange color and also very cloudy.  I personally don’t like a beer that has been super filtered, allowing you to see through it.  I want some heft to my beer and I’ll take a cloudy beer any day.

I honestly couldn’t stop admiring this beer once it was poured.  In regards to color, it’s the perfect looking pumpkin ale.

Head: 3/5   

The head didn’t last long but it was present.  A lovely cream color to go nicely with the orange of the pumpkin ale. One of the better heads that we’ve seen on a pumpkin ale.

Taste: 5/5     

Winner winner, pumpkin dinner! This was hands down, the best ale we’ve tried yet (YET is the key word here, we still have two more to go!)!  It was amazing and exactly what I want out of a pumpkin ale.

The pumpkin and spice flavors were spot on.  Not too spicy but not so little that the flavor went away quickly.  The pumpkin flavor was strong at the start with the spice flavor finishing it up at the end.  Scott felt that this had a more nutmeg kick to it than other ales and thought it was the most detectable at the finish.

The ale was cool and had a completely clean and crisp taste to it which is essential for pumpkin brews.  It’s a delicate balance creating a pumpkin ale. Too heavy and it will seem sweet and aggressive.  Too light and you won’t know it’s a pumpkin ale.

Shipyard’s Smashed Pumpkin is right on the money.  Very refreshing with a clean crisp taste to it.

A great sipping beer or would go well with salty snacks.

Summary:

I would definitely purchase this ale again.  I had yet to find a pumpkin ale that could stand up to my beloved Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale until this ale came into my life. I’m highly bummed out that we only purchased one bottle.  I need to get more!

I highly recommend this beer.  It’s a great interpretation of a pumpkin ale and a great seasonal brew to have on hand.

Would be great to have at a fall backyard BBQ or maybe to hand out to the parents during trick or treating.  Just a suggestion! They need a treat too!

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin

Comments: 3

Are you excited? Because over here at the HQ we are estatic!

You can take a quick glance at the beers that we reviewed last year.

Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

New Holland Ichabod 

O’Fallon’s Pumpkin Ale

For a brief tutorial, we will be looking at several qualities of the beer:

• Smell
• Color
• Head
• Taste

Rating the beers in pumpkins , from 1 to 5, 1 being the poorest and 5 being the best score.

First up is Southern Tier’s Pumpking.  This beer comes highly recommended from just about everyone. The minute you mention pumpkin beers, most people will ask if you’ve had Pumpking.

Since it’s so highly recommended, it’s going to be the beer that kicks off the month!

So let’s see how it did!

Smell: 4/5    

It has a strong pumpkin smell to it that immediately hits you as soon as you pour the beer.  There’s another scent in the background and I almost want to say it’s reminiscent of melted butter.  Like the way a graham cracker crust would smell.

You can definitely pick up all the typical spices that are common in pumpkin ales which is a good thing! This is highly desirable and something that you want smell right away.

While the pumpkin and spice smell was spot on, I have to say that graham cracker crust smell was a little distracting in a way.

Color: 3/5  

Color was good on this beer but I would have liked to see it a bit darker.  It had a slight orange hint to it and for pumpkin ales this is a must. It’s gotta be orange!  The light color is a great indicator of how light of a beer this actually is.

Head: 2/5  

Really not much head to speak of, and the little poof that was there didn’t last long at all.  You can tell by the picture that there isn’t much going on.

Taste: 4/5    

This is probably one of the more complex pumpkin ales we’ve had in terms of flavor.  There is a lot going on here and I definitely picked up some vanilla in the background as I drank the beer.

The pumpkin flavor is strong along with the typical spices; cinnamon, clove, and allspice.  The spice flavor lasts through out from start to finish.  The vanilla and the caramel/butter notes makes it stand out from other pumpkin ales.

It’s not as beer tasting as most ales.  It is definitely a lot lighter in that regard.  Can be good or bad depending on what you are looking for.  I prefer a more beer taste to my ales.

It’s also on the sweeter side as far as pumpkin ales go.  After sipping this for a while, I found it to become too sweet.  I definitely would not be able to have more than one.

I also had a chance to try this beer on tap which seemed to intensify the sweetness.  One sip was enough for me, I couldn’t drink more than that.  From the bottle, the sweetness builds over time.

Summary:

The beer was good but not something I would purchase again or specifically seek out.  The flavors and complexity of the beer were solid.  However it being on the lighter side and also being more sweet than I want in a beer, means that I’ll pass it by.

If someone is new to pumpkin ales and likes sweeter things, then this beer is definitely for them!  For those that like a hearty pumpkin ale, this won’t tickle your fancy much.

Have you had Pumpking before? What are your thoughts?

Come back next week to see what else is up for review!

Comments: 11

Recently while I was having a meeting with a twitter friend, Scott was off purchasing some beers and other necessities.  He came back with several beers, some favorites and some new ones.

This Buried Hatchet Stout was a new one and I was skeptical.

I’m not a huge beer from a can girl.  Yes it sounds snotty but cans of beer just seem so cheap.  And yes I realize that even cheap beer can come in bottles (You know who you are!) but still, the stigma is there.

Even though Monk’s Blood, which is a great beer that also comes in a can, has taken my fears down a notch, they are still there.

Scott bought this beer for me and I wasn’t even the first one to drink it, he was. One night when I was still getting over my cold, he popped open a can and plopped down on the couch.

Well, you can’t just bring a new beer around me and expect me not to try it.  So I did.  Gave it a short sniff and then a wee sip.

“Wow that beer is awesome.”  I believe was my statement but I was sick so perhaps my senses were off?

Weeks later, it was my turn to pop open a can and plop down on the couch. I was in the mood for a beer and decided this would be a good time to give Buried Hatchet a full tasting.

This beer knocked my socks off.  It has a great stout feel as you pour the beer and see the thicker black brew fill up the glass.  It’s got a great caramel colored head that sticks around just as long as it should.

Coffee and chocolate aromas you smell right away and they make you want to instantly take a drink.  The coffee stands out more and smells like it was just freshly ground.

The best part about this beer is that the coffee flavor sticks with you and lingers on your tongue for a while. It goes away just as you’re about to take your next sip.

Buried Hatchet has a complexity to it that I haven’t tasted in a stout for quite some time. It reminds me a bit of New Holland’s Cabin Fever.  Though Buried Hatchet is more coffee and less toffee flavor.

I am in love with this stout and the bonus is that it is available year round! Hooray! The sad part is that it only comes in four-packs.  This is a beer that you’ll savor as you sip away.

If you like stouts, I highly recommend you look for some Buried Hatchet at your favorite brew retailer.

Ours was purchased at The Anderson’s in Dublin off of Sawmill.

Disclaimer: We bought this beer on our own with our own money.

Comments: 1

I’ve been using it for months now.  Well maybe even coming up on a year?  That’s totally possible.

Our affair goes a little something like this, I spotted it in the grocery store and decided to give it a try.  I bought the vanilla version and really it did nothing for me.  It was a tad sweet and ended up not being my thing.  It didn’t work in coffee as a creamer substitute, and I didn’t like making oats with it.  So I forgot about it, putting it aside as another product that didn’t really fit the HQ needs.

Then something nudged me and said that maybe I should give the unsweetened version a try.  I did and haven’t stopped buying it since.

Scott and I aren’t huge milk fans, we used to be back in the day but now not so much.  We use a good bit of soymilk throughout the day, it goes in our oats and it goes in our coffee.  I was looking for a product that I could use in baking, cooking, and smoothie making that was not soy or dairy based. While we personally don’t have an issue with soy, I don’t want to overload our systems with it either.  Regarding dairy, we just prefer it to be in the form of cheese or yogurt or butter.

We’re also not a big fan of almond milk. You can see how this narrows down the playing field a great deal.

I turned to Unsweetened SO Delicious Coconut Milk to help me out and it’s proved to be a winner.

First off it doesn’t taste like anything, not even coconut.  It is almost like a slightly thicker and creamier water.  Honestly.  But it works great for cooking!  I use it to make mashed potatoes, to make cream sauces, to make soups, and even with baking.  You can’t tell coconut milk has been used and no one would know you didn’t use regular milk unless you told them.

It makes great smoothies, resulting in a really creamy smoothie that isn’t overpowered by a coconut flavor but instead you get all the flavor of the ingredients that you used.

Mac ‘n Cheese, creamy soups, and fantastic gravies I have made with this stuff (just to name a few!).  I use it in anyplace where I would use milk or cream.  I’m very pleased with the product and am happy that I gave it another chance.

What are your thoughts on coconut milk?

Disclaimer: I regularly purchase this product on my own and this review is entirely my own idea and content.

Comments: 13

I’ve tried Red Gold products in the past and have been pleased with them.  They are also one of the few companies that does not put HFCS in their canned tomatoes. Bonus!

Read the labels of the canned tomatoes you purchase and see if they contain HFCS.  Most do and a few will only contain sugar.  It was one of the products that surprised me the most when I started reading labels more.

Okay, sorry for the tangent! Getting back on target, I got the gift pack in mail and was surprised by all the goodies that it contained.

The gift pack contained:

• 4 cans of tomato products
• 1 bottle of ketchup
• Magnet for the fridge
• Keychain
• Recipe book
• Reusable grocery bag (which is really durable!)

I got busy that night cooking with diced tomatoes and green chilies.

I basically made a different version of this.  The outcome was a lovely mix of veggies and beans with a spicy kick at the end.  I don’t often buy the diced tomatoes with green chilies but now I just might have to start picking some up!

The price of Red Gold tomatoes are a bit more expensive than other brands.  However you’re getting a sound tomato product that doesn’t contain HFCS.

Their ketchup is a different story and that does contain HFCS so we have not used that product.  But the diced tomatoes and whole peeled tomatoes do not.

Thank you Red Gold for the gift pack and allowing me to share my experience!

Do you use canned diced tomatoes?  Do you can your own? I would like to get to that point but right now I purchase. They are extremely handy to have in the pantry!

Disclaimer: Red Gold sent me these products for free and I was under no obligation to talk about them. All opinions and statements are my own.

Comments: 9

However I do use Febreeze spray a great deal in the house.  I spray curtains to keep them fresh, sometimes I spray the furniture, and I spray down my workout gear.  Scott and I train in Muay Thai and let me tell you that wraps, gloves, and shin guards can get sweaty and stanky.  Spraying them helps keep them from being too offensive and grossing out our sparring partners (and each other!).  Because I use the spray, I decided that yes I would try out this product on some of my laundry and see if it helps.

The product is fairly new to the shelves and it took me a while to find some but eventually I found a bottle at my local Meijer.

I tested this product out on a wide range of odors and in all honesty, it passed every test.

We recently traveled to visit some friends and family.  During this trip we were exposed to a lot of cigarette smoke, leaving all of our clothes smelling like a week old ashtray. Not pleasant.  I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to bust out the Odor Eliminator and give it a try.

It took care of the smoke smell and I couldn’t detect even the faintest hint of smoke.  I also used it to wash our pillows, Rocky’s pillow, and his blankets that were also exposed.  Smoke smell gone.

The couches I bought for my main living room have removable covers that I can throw in the wash.  I did this on purpose because I have a dog who loves to lay on the couch and snuggle.  Since these couches would be used the most, I wanted to be able to clean them easily.  I used this product on the couch covers, the couch pillows, and the blankets that Rocky sleeps on.  Again, smell was totally gone and only a fresh scent was left behind.

I used it on all of Rocky’s bed covers and blankets.  Odor gone.

I used this product on my workout gear.  I reuse workout gear, especially pants and bras.  I don’t have enough to use once and toss in the laundry.  I also don’t want to create that much more laundry for myself!  Again the Frebreeze totally removed all workout stink leaving me with fresh gear.

The final test, I busted out the big guns.  Workout clothes that we stopped wearing because no matter how many times they got washed, they smelled and not in a good way.  To my great surprise the odor was gone.

I really am shocked about that one because I thought for sure that the odor was there to stay, but nope, it got kicked to the curb.

I’m impressed with this product.  It’s not cheap, a bottle of it costs close to $10.  However you don’t need to use a lot, just a touch goes a long way.  I have an HE front loading washer, I added the Febreeze right in with the laundry detergent.  When I used the Febreeze, I didn’t use anything else other than the laundry detergent.

One of my concerns was that it would leave my clothes and other items smelling really perfumey with a fake fresh scent to it. This isn’t the case at all.  In fact it doesn’t smell perfumey in anyway, the clothes just smell fresh and clean.

Would I purchase this product again?  Yes.  Since a little goes a long way and I only use it on items that need an extra attention (pet items, workout clothes, for example), I think it’s worth the few extra bucks.

You don’t have to take my word for it though, Rachael was kind enough to offer two readers a chance to test out the product as well!  Just leave a comment telling me what you would like to use this product on first! Contest open to US Residents only.  You have until Friday, Dec 3rd, 12pm EST to comment.  I’ll use random number generator to pick two winners.  Please be ready to send me your address so I can pass that along to Rachael!

Disclaimer: I was given a coupon to test this product out for free. I was not asked to write this review, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

THE WINNERS ARE:Congrats to Monica #6 and to Amber #1!!

Comments: 10