Half Full Positively Pumpkin and Pepperidge Farm’s Gingerman
Our season’s first Pumpkin beer pairing. The novelty of pumpkin beer may have worn off on some, but not for us. This isn’t a beer style I drink a lot of, but I do enjoy one or two in the fall when the temperature gets into the ‘hoodie wearing, bonfire lighting’ range.
The Beer: Positively Pumpkin is a spiced ale from Half Full that is super tasty. The color is a bit orangey and the aroma is full of spice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mild bitter finish with a medium malt profile. If you like pumpkin beer, you will like this.
The Cookie: Pepperidge Farm is a company that does cookies right. They make all sorts, but each are excellent and decadent versions of traditional cookie or unique creations. These little gingermen are hard and crisp with large sugar crystals over them. They have a big ginger snap taste with a bunch of cinnamon notes too.
The Pairing: With a beer that had the spice and malt character of the pumpkin beer, it can be surprisingly hard to find a good partner that adds something but doesn’t clash. The cookies hard crunch make it a great partner for beer. The spicy cinnamon and ginger flavors in the cookie make the aromas of the beer really pop. We agreed that the dunk technique with these guys was a real win.
Have you dunked a cookie yet? What are you waiting for?
