Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale
by Brad
As Autumn marches on, so do the parade of pumpkin ales I try to make pancakes out of. We started with a barrel-aged pumpkin ale, and there are a few others waiting for their time, but this week's entry is one of the beers I've been waiting for.
I first came across Whole Hog at the Quivey's Grove Beerfest last year here in Madison. I was kinda new to pumpkin ales in general, and seeing this one at the Stevens Point table, I was a little skeptical (as, let's be honest, Point isn't really known for quality). The wonderful beer they poured me on that warm Fall day changed everything.
Whole Hog instantly became my favorite pumpkin beer, and one of my favorite beers in general. It's basically pumpkin pie in a glass. So then, when I started making beer pancakes regularly, I was instantly reminded of that amazing beer, and I yearned for its return so I could make pancakes out of it. This post is almost a year in the making, so here we go.
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| Oh baby |
Whole Hog instantly became my favorite pumpkin beer, and one of my favorite beers in general. It's basically pumpkin pie in a glass. So then, when I started making beer pancakes regularly, I was instantly reminded of that amazing beer, and I yearned for its return so I could make pancakes out of it. This post is almost a year in the making, so here we go.
Prep/Cooking:
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| So majestic |
Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale is an award-winning pumpkin ale that's bursting with flavor and spice. Admittedly, I think last year's vintage had a bit more pumpkin to it, but it's not like this year's is lacking any. It pours a deep orange with a light orange head, and has an aroma as wonderful and delicious as the beer itself.
In batter form, some of the pumpkin tones dropped off but the spices came through, giving you an interesting mixture of batter and spice. It didn't quite give the "pumpkin pie batter" color or flavor I was hoping for, but it was still pretty good. I'd take the beer over the batter any day though.
In batter form, some of the pumpkin tones dropped off but the spices came through, giving you an interesting mixture of batter and spice. It didn't quite give the "pumpkin pie batter" color or flavor I was hoping for, but it was still pretty good. I'd take the beer over the batter any day though.
The Results:
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| The moment we've all been waiting for |
These pancakes came out a wonderful light orange color and quite a bit of fluff to them. In terms of flavor, again things got a bit subtler in pancake form, such that it wasn't as in-your-face as the beer tends to be, but there was definitely still a sense of pumpkin to them. Light, sweet, and flavorful, but honestly a little bit of a let-down from what I was expecting. That's probably my fault, though, for building it up so much. Also, as mentioned, I think this year's vintage is a little light on the pumpkin.
The Ternary Scale:
Pancakes: 1 - I would definitely say go out of your way to get the beer, because it's an amazing pumpkin ale, but I wouldn't go as far as to say you have to make pancakes out of it. It's a limited release and only comes in 4-packs, so get it while it's hot.
Syrup: 0 - Not that syrup ever really harms pancakes, but it definitely didn't help. The flavors were pretty subtle by the time we got to pancake form, and all this did was mask them.
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| Le disappoint |
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