We decided to sample a couple of Southern Tier Brewing Company’s seasonal beers based on rumors that a) Pumpking Ale and Creme Brulee Stout were excellent beers and b) they were even better when mixed similar in style to a Black & Tan. We can now confirm that both rumors are in fact true. Each beer has a distinct and well-rounded flavor that when combined make a perfect semi-sweet pumpkin pie flavor.
From the Southern Tier Brewing Company website:
PUMPKING ”bewitched and brewed with pagan spirit”
All Hallow’s Eve is a time of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent. It is thought that we harness this magic to brew our powerful pumpkin ale. Not so, but it is with great respect to the magic of their trade that our brewers produce this fine beer. Take a whiff of this complex ale and your journey has just begun. At first sip, a magical spell will bewitch your taste buds, yet anther victim enraptured by the Pumking.FOOD PAIRINGS: Particularly tasty when paired with traditional thanksgiving dinner, a compliment to pumpkin pie, desserts. [MORE]
and
CREME BRULEE ”a stout of great contention”
We are not the harbingers of truth as some may suggest but it may indeed be argued that our brewing philosophy is tantamount to a dessert with a bellicose past. How, you may ask, would a brewery determine a likeness to hard-coated custard? Our response is simple; it’s all in the power of history, and of course, the extra finesse needed to top off a contentious treat with definition.By comprehending the labyrinthine movement of time, one would not think it strange to trace the errant path of an ordinary object such as a cream dessert only to discover that it has been the cause of cultural disputes since the middle ages. The British founders of burnt cream and from Spain, crema catalana, both stand by their creative originality and we respect that, but it was the French Crème Brûlée, amid the strife of contention, that survived to represent our deliciously creamy brew!
FOOD PAIRINGS: Particularly tasty as dessert, or try paired with vanilla custard, bananas foster, or over vanilla ice cream. [MORE]
The tip to combine? That came from Tasty Beverage Company as did the Creme Brulee – the Pumpking came from Bottle Revolution. Both great places to buy beer in Raleigh.
