Uinta Punk'n Harvest Pumpkin Ale

The Dirt
Pumpkin ales appeared to be all the rage this past fall, which I liked since I am a fan of this seasonal beer. The Punk'n was actually my first beer from Uinta, and it was a darn good one.

The beer had a slight, but delicious smelling nose of pumpkin and spice. It turned out to have a great balance of taste with these two flavors as well. The beer actually had slightly less pumpkin spices than your average pumpkin beer, but only slightly less, and I really appreciated this. This balanced allowed you to taste the pumpkin a little more without being too earthy. The pumpkin and spice were backed up with a nice malty backbone, further adding to its balance.

All told it was crisp on the front-end and medium bodied, with a great pumpkin and spice profile. It's honestly one of the best crafted pumpkin beers I've tasted. It's not as deep and complex as other beer styles, but certainly at the top of the pumpkin ale food chain.

Worth it?
If Uinta is available in your area, they can be a bit pricey. I was fortunate to grab this six-pack on sale, and it was certainly worth it. But even at full price, Punk'n is worth it, especially if you like pumpkin beers.

The Final Word

 

Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale

The Dirt
I have to admit that I was rather intrigued that Shiner would make a pale ale. It was on sale one week, so I decided to give it a shot.

I prefer pale ales to be one of two things: big floral hops on the front that quickly disappear to a clean finish, or have a light but certainly present hop profile from start to finish, being a refreshing beer. I found the Wild Hare to be neither.

There was a very mild hop flavor up front, but it was pretty hidden. The beer reminded me more of a slightly sweeter amber, which more or less translates into being a generic ale or what some might call a "mild". This is also the case with the color profile, which is too dark for a pale ale in my opinion.

In all honesty, this isn't a bad beer - it's just not what I'd classify as a pale ale. If it were marketed as something else, I'd probably give it higher marks.

Worth it?
Eh, I think I paid $5.99 for the six-pack, so in that respect it was since it wasn't a bad beer. But if you want a true pale ale, I'd try something else.

The Final Word