Fordham Brewing Spiced Harvest Ale – A First Sampling

The temperatures may still be saying “summer” but I couldn’t resist trying an early release sample of Fordham Brewing Spiced Harvest Ale 2014.  First off we should mention that the label is a result of a simple question asked of the Fordham staff….”If you were preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse, what would you pack?”  After various funny answers, including Cheez-It’s, they all agreed that they would pack Fordham brewing Spiced Harvest Ale….and thus the label concept of  “comfort among desolation” was born.  With a rusty tractor and old silo, the label is dominated by pumpkins, and so too is the beer.

But this is not your typical pumpkin beer.  Spiced Harvest Ale is and amber brew that uses ginger, cinnamon, clove, allspice and of course…pumpkin.  The aroma is spicy and warm with a little pumpkin and sweet brown sugar.  The flavor hits you early with pumpkin and that savory flavor is followed by a sweet and spicy finish of cinnamon and clove.  The mouthfeel is pleasant and what I would describe as medium, and the balanced flavors do well to hide the 6.6% ABV.

All in all this is a really nice beer, and yes I’d certainly even call it a pumpkin beer.  For 2014 Spiced Harvest Ale is again packaged in 12oz bottles and will be available in six-packs and on draft this fall.  Try this one for yourself, and be sure to save a few for the Zombie Apocalypse…and if we all survive, let me know what you think of Fordham Brewing Spiced Harvest Ale.
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