When I received the Saranac selection of beers last month, the one I was most interested in and excited to try was (naturally) the Pumpkin Ale. It is, in fact, the first pumpkin beer I’ve seen—and drank—this season, so (and I admit this is an overt bias) while the other Saranac beers I reviewed were good, drinkable beers, this one is the star.

Saranac Pumpkin Ale is 5.4% alcohol by volume, and is a classic example of the style, brewed with “Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Allspice, Cloves, Ginger and Vanilla.”

Appearance: Deep copper, amber color, clear; head is there but a bit thin.

Smell: Spicy pumpkin aroma and as I inhale I smile; reminds me of Fall and Halloween and it’s a long-time favorite (pumpkin pie) beer aroma.

Taste: Really nice spices right up front—cinnamon and cloves predominantly—followed by sweet sugary notes of caramel malts and molasses. Cinnamon is strong, very noticeable.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, sweetish finish. Clean, and pleasantly spicy.

Overall: First pumpkin beer of the season, really liking it.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores an overall grade of B. On RateBeer it scores 2.92 out of 5, and is in their 41st percentile.