Harpoon UFO Pumpkin

It looks like I have maybe another 3-4 fall seasonals in my keezer.  The one I grabbed to go with dinner tonight was Harpoon UFO Pumpkin.  It's probably been around four years since I've had any UFO beers, and I remember liking the varieties I had well enough, so let's see how the Pumpkin stacks up:

Vittles:
Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
5.9% abv
20 IBUs
~11 SRM

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 20/25
Taste: 34/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 84/100

Impression:
The beer poured very nicely, and the head retained decently before falling to a slim ring.  It left very little lacing on the glass.  The aroma has a nice malt and pumpkin background, but the main player for the nose is the spice -- it smells warm and earthy, with notes of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.  The flavors are much the same, rounded out with a medium-full mouthfeel and a smooth finish.  It's got all the flavors of fall that I love in a good pumpkin ale, but the balance is a little off, since the spices almost obscure the malt and pumpkin flavors.  I'll be hunting the distributors at the end of the season to see if I can pick up a fall variety case of UFO on the cheap.

Cheers!

Harpoon Octoberfest

I've had a few Harpoon beers before, and while they don't exactly stand out from the crowd, their beers are usually on the upside of decent.  One of the fall seasonals that found its way into my keezer was Harpoon Octoberfest:

Vittles:

Marzen/Oktoberfest

5.3% abv

32 IBUs

Score:

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 20/25

Taste: 36/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 85/100

Impression:

Decent head persistence, and the foam left quite a bit of lacing as it fell.  The aroma has a nice balance between malt and hops, though neither aspect is very strong.  It smells malty-sweet, a little like caramel and toffee, offset by light grassy, floral, earthy hops notes.  The flavor is much the same, improved somewhat by the medium body of the brew.  The carbonation doesn't add much -- seems very weak.  What I like best about this beer is the balance and the smoothness.  (And it pairs well with roasted chicken.)

Cheers!