Wow. It’s been weeks since I’ve really done any kind of drinking worthy of a real review. This is either terrible because I’ve been negligent of the goals I’d originally set for this website, or good because I’m not thinking about beer so much these days. Lots on the plate, if you know what I’m getting at.
Anyhow, I picked up a six pack of Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale a little ways back. Get with the season, right?
Well, there’s a distinct possibility that I’ve made a mistake here. Buffalo Bill’s was my first Pumpkin Ale ever. I’m going to use the act of writing this review as a way to determine what I actually thought of it. Here goes.
The beer’s nose is quite like pumpkin pie, with clear overtones of spices and not much in the way of the scent of any kind of beer and/or alcohol. It reminded me of those semi-disturbing Jones Soda holiday packs. You know the ones, with the turkey and gravy sodas? Yeah.
As for taste: man, it’s weird and difficult to describe. If it’s possible, and I didn’t think that it was, the ale flavors in this beer are more undertones than the overall driver, which is what I expected. Now, to be completely fair, I have to admit that I’m not entirely certain what I should have expected, but this wasn’t it. The pumpkin and spice–nay, pumpkin pie–flavor is at the center of Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale, which might be welcome were it not for one thing in particular: despite the fact that the label states that the flavors added are “natural,” they taste completely as though someone managed to make a pumpkin pie concentrate and sneak it into your beer.
This said, I think that it’s probably a good idea for me to try a different pumpkin ale, just so I don’t have to base my opinion of the entire category on this beer, because overall, it just wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. On the ol’ TCM Crap to Superb scale, I’ve gotta give it a “Crap,” even though I wanted to like it. Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale should probably be skipped for something different if you’re going for something October-related and/or something to open up the holiday season.
I wrote a book. You can download it for free at http://www.jasonmcglone.com. You can reach me at editor@thecincinnatiman.com. 
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Yikes!! How’d I get linked to thecincinnatiwoman.com beer reviews!! Seriously. Pumpkin beer, real men don’t drink it.