Have you ever experienced a hangover from pumpkin beer? For a variety of reasons, it makes work a pain in the ass. It wasn’t the beer’s fault mind you. I overindulged. Boulder, Colorado-based Upslope Brewing Company’s Pumpkin Ale is hard to turn down, and I got a little aggressive.

You see, next week is my favorite week in beer drinking: Great American Beer Fest week. To prep for the mayhem, I decided to start drinking winning beers from last year’s event. Upslope’s Pumpkin Ale took the gold medal in the “Field Beer or Pumpkin Beer” category, and it did so for good reason. It smells wonderfully spicy with hints of nutmeg and pumpkin (obviously). With the added malt aromas, it is reminiscent of the crust of a good pumpkin pie. Each sip is initially sweet. The malts and spices lead in this beer, allowing the pumpkin to play a more subdued role. It contributes more to the body of the beer than the flavor.

Upslope offers Pumpkin Ale in 16-ounce cans during the fall. It’s perfect for watching the leaves turn and crisp autumn hikes. It’s also perfect to ring in the season’s first snowfall (which happened today at Skiing Mag HQ).

For more information, check out Upslope Brewing Company’s website.

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For all things Great American Beer Festival, check out the website here.