A Southern Tier Halloween!

I think part of the fun of craft beer is the is a beer for everything. You can pair beer with food, music, your mood, weather, holidays, you name it. So when we finally got Warlock in the Virginia Beach area, I thought it only right to save it until Halloween. I already had a bottle of Pumking stashed for Halloween, so I thought I would enjoy them both as I heard they were similar. Now, I know I already discussed Pumking in my pumpkin blog back in September, but I want to kind of provide a side by side. Besides, you watch reruns of The Big Bang Theory all the time, and someone has to be still watching Seinfeld, so who are you to judge?

 Warlock pours a very dark brown (near black) with a tan head. I poured it into my mason jar mug because for some reason it just screams fall to me. Anyways, a sniff will reveal sweet pumpkin on the nose along with a little bit of spices. A taste reveals a big pumpkin pie flavor nicely balanced with some light spices. Light, roasted malts wrap it up. 

Pumking, which more of you have probably tasted, pours a clear orange with a white head. Similar to Warlock, the nose here smells like pumpkin pie in a glass. The taste follows the nose to a T, with sweet pumpkin forward, followed by some spice and a smooth, light finish. Pumking is a fan favorite, and with reason.

Now the million dollar question: Which one is better? That's a tough one. It is one of those situations where you really don't want to choose. If cruelly forced to choose between the two, however, I would have to lean toward Warlock. Warlock is practically Pumking in stout form, and the stout characteristics really play well with the sweet pumpkin base. Pumking is light though, and more suited for the warmer fall days than Warlock. If you can't decide, do what I did with the remains of each bottle, and mix them. Its a Halloween party in your mouth.