First sip is more than clove, that's for sure. There's pumpkin, spices, orange, sweet malt, and a few other things tossed in there. The clove is not alone, but it is definitely in there with all of this. The taste of pumpkin pie - not great pumpkin pie - lingers on the tongue for quite a little bit. I'm going to do the usual, and give this beer a second shot.
Tip-in is a nose full of clove with a mouth of biting carbonation. The relaxed pumpkin is hovering in the back while the spices assert themselves. As the middle hits, the cold nothing overtakes the mouth. I mean this really tastes like nothing. For a beer with so many spices and other stuff thrown into the mix, I expected more flavor in the heart of the beer, but this just doesn't have it. It's a bland mouth full of water. The finish predictably brings a lot more flavor with a heaping helping of spice and orange and apple and pumpkin and that sweet malt (but not sweet enough).
Bottom Line: A bit of a disappointment, if I'm being honest, and why wouldn't I be? I wanted a better beer. I think I have to hit the distributor for something else.
1.25/5