Squash faces and pumpkin beers

I wasn't sure if I would manage any Halloween related posts, as I've been on holiday and then had a busy weekend back. It always takes a while to get back to the normal cooking routine, although I'm really happy to be cooking at home again. I don't really celebrate Halloween, but find it quite intriguing, so I wanted to make a small starter dish to celebrate the season. Maybe the faces on my chilli-honey glazed butternut squash “pumpkins” weren't quite as scary as I intended, but they did taste good.

I also wanted to taste a few pumpkin beers, so here are my impressions of them. I already wrote a post about Beavertown Brewery's Stingy Jack Spiced Pumpkin Ale last year, so I'm not going to write about that one, even though I bought it again now.

The other two beers that I wanted to taste were Roadsmary's Baby and Pumpkin IPA.

Roadsmary's Baby 6.8% by Two Roads is an ale brewed with pumpkin and spices and aged in rum barrels with vanilla beans. It has a deep orange colour and smells fruity and of vanilla. The foretaste is slightly sour with some fruity esters and spiciness and there's a long aftertaste of vanilla and hint of Christmassy spices. This beer is quite drinkable considering the strength.

The Pumpkin IPA by Flying Dog 6.7% is an ale brewed with pumpkin purée and spices. It has a very spicy scent with maple and there are strong maple notes throughout. The aftertaste has a long hoppy bitterness with strong spices and there's a lot of pumpkin in the aftertaste. Again, there is no real taste of alcohol, so this beer seems more drinkable than expected.

Have a fine All Hallow's Eve!

Your VegHog