Beer Moon Dog Artisan Pouseuré

The words "Moon Dog" and "pumpkin", when used in tandem, send a shudder down the Crafty spine. Before the brewery launched, we were given a sample bottle of a trial Pumpkin Ale as a taster of what was to come. It miraculously disappeared one AFL Grand Final Day with nobody in attendance able to recall what could have happened to it. The mystery remains unsolved; our guilt unassuaged. Still, there have been subsequent chances to sample other Moon Dog pumpkin beers, including a previous Artisan Poseur that was a Pumpkin Porter. This new version (complete with different spelling - in fact, three different spellings that we've seen so far) ditches the porter and ramps up the spices. But not to an overt degree. Indeed for a 7.5 per cent spiced fruit beer from this mob, it's all rather tastefully done, with plenty of roast pumpkin and crystal malts on the nose that are decorated rather than overwhelmed by the cinnamon and cloves. The taste is similarly fulsome without losing control. It pours a hazy burnt orange (like pumpkin pie) and, like the brewers' near neighbours at the Duchess, might not be the best of lookers, but goes down a treat and leaves you with a smile on your face.