Review: Central City Red Racer Spiced Pumpkin Ale


On the first day of autumn.. a bunch of pumpkin beers from BC showed up to my local LC, a few of them are already out of stock, not to return until next year. When that happens, I have to pick up a few bottles as soon as it comes out. Central City's beers tend to sell out near-immediately because of their hugely popular IPA has influenced beer drinkers to try other beers they make. So let's check out Red Racer Spiced Pumpkin Ale!

Guys make fun of girls for their love of pumpkin spice lattes, but beer geek guys can be just as obsessed with pumpkin spiced.. when it comes to pumpkin-spiced beers. I hate the taste and smell of pumpkin, but I love the autumny, spicy and sweet aromas and taste of pumpkin beers.

Appearance: Pours like a typical amber ale (or pumpkin ale) as it gives off a bright reddish amber ale appearance, clear and pours a good amount of yellowish/beige head that quickly disappears yet there's still a nice amount of film retained on top. Moderate amount of carbonation.

Smell: The first thing that hit me about Red Racer Spiced Pumpkin Ale was that it was reminiscent of apple pie more than pumpkin, but my senses seem to change quickly as I'm noticing more of a pumpkiny aroma with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, somewhat earthy hops and a hint of apple pie.. but considering many of the spices used in apple pie are used for pumpkin pies as well, it's likely because of that. Fairly sweet, moderately spicy and reminiscent of an amber ale.

Taste: Starts off with nutmeg then a light burning sensation of cinnamon. I'm actually noticing a good amount of pumpkin guts in the flavour, which isn't something I actually ever really see in pumpkin beers. I don't like the taste of pumpkin so aside from the pumpkin taste, it's not bad at all, fairly herbal and spicy. I'm also getting a moderate mouthfeel with a hint of creaminess backing it up. Light amount of tinny aftertaste.

Overall Thoughts: The beer, for the most part is a medley of cinnamon, nutmeg and.. of course, pumpkin. If you're looking for a pumpkin beer that's more liberal on the pumpkin than most Canadian pumpkin beers, you won't be disappointed. I love cinnamon/nutmeg heavy beers so in this case - it was moderate amount of cinnamon/nutmeg, but nothing wowing me over. I'll likely be trying out a few more pumpkin beers before the month is over, so stay tuned! 5.0% ABV/40 IBU

http://centralcitybrewing.com/beers?brew=red-racer-pumpkin-ale

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