New Holland Brewing Company Ichabod Pumpkin Ale
What the brewers say
“Ichabod combines malted barley and real pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg in this brew. After dinner, try it with your favorite dessert.”
What our panel thought
Aroma: “Tons of ginger up front, almost like smelling raw ginger. Ginger dominates and overwhelms everything else, with caramel malt, pumpkin, and other spices struggling to come through.”
Flavor: “Ginger is dominant, but not as much as in the aroma. Malt, pumpkin, and other spices are muted. Finish is dry and a bit astringent from the ginger. Hops flavor comes through in the finish, but it needs more malt presence to support the spice.”
Overall: “A somewhat simple but easy-drinking example. For my taste, could use more malt sweetness, heavier pumpkin, and other pie spices (especially cinnamon). This beer is more ginger beer than pumpkin and tastes like an outlier among this selection of pumpkin-pie spice-focused beers.”
