Lake of Bays Brewing Wild North Series Pumpkin Ale

Wild North Series Pumpkin Ale is something of a unique animal among this season's potions. It's easily the least "pumpkin-spicy" I've tried so far, but it's also the one that I'd most like to defy the laws of pumpkin brew and stick around to join my regular rotation through the winter. Alas, it's not to be - fans of seasonal novelty goodness must, for our own sanity, accept it's essential ephemerality.


Wild North Pumpkin opens with a strong hit of ale yeast and hints of spice, lacking the spice punch many of its contemporaries unleash at this moment. A dark shade of strong-tea bronze, it fizzes enthusiastically but settles quickly - the modestly-dense body and restrained sugariness don't lend themselves to the foamy vanilla-spice head common to many pumpkin beers, and a glass proper suggests a prime pint of amber more a malty dessert.

Wild North Pumpkin's spice notes become more evident on approach, with the mild but distinct astringency of cinnamon harmonizing with the toffee and earth aromas of the malt-dominant core. At only 10 IBUs, This is a milder brew that lends itself to a hearty swig, ideally accompanying a sandwich on dark, coarse bread. It's also robust without being particulary heavy - also owing to the well-developed malt and yeast character - further contributing to its positive qualities as a pairing beer, and presents a short bittersweet finish marked by cinnamon and ginger .

Pumpkin beer pretty much becomes my primary sustenance during October, but with most varieties between two and six is more than sufficient for me over the eleven months that follow. I've already gone through twenty or more Wild North, and I plan on hoarding a few more for later before winter mulled-ale season sets in. I don't know why - though I suspect never being able to untaste Holiday Spice Pepsi is a factor - but those do so much less for me than pumpkin beers that, once the gourdly grog is done for the year I just trend toward old reliable stouts until the spring Saisons start appearing.

With sparing spicing and pumpkin character that's more of a suggestion, Wild North Series Pumpkin Ale doesn't quite deliver everything one expects from an Ontario pumpkin spice beer, but by virtue of that is a more versatile brew that works on its own level. It definitely needs its complement of spices to come together, given the barely-present hops, but as an ale first and a pumpkin confection second, it succeeds on a different level than its contemporaries.