Pump it!

We're taking a break from exploring Canadian beers in Canada to mark the date. And drink a couple of Canadian beers I brought home with me. Both are from Great Lakes Brewing in Ontario.

The ordinary Pumpkin Ale starts us off, and boy is it ordinary. 5.5% ABV,with the basics of nutmeg and cinnamon, and damn all else. It's thin-bodied and quick finishing, with no fruit character at all. I find it hard to discern what the base beer under the spicing might be; it must be especially bland. A pumpkin beer for people who want their pumpkin beer to taste like pumpkin beer, I guess, but also a prime example of why the style comes in for so much flak.

OK, let's reset. Great Lakes has also produced a pumpkin saison called (sigh) Saison Dupump. I expected this to be a bit more interesting, and I will admit it is, but it's still a very basic saison. The pepper and straw is perfectly typical while the added spices are relatively muted. At 5.2% ABV it's light and crisp and I'm certain it was very tasty before they decided to seasonalise it.

Neither of these have any distinguishing features beyond the raw and obvious pumpkin spices. I guess I'd been hoping for a new an interesting twist on the craft beer cliché, but it seems the market doesn't swing that way, at least it doesn't in Etobicoke, Ontario. These two are very basic. Here's wishing you a better than basic Halloween.