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Seems like it's been a while since I had a Half Batch beer, but Octoberfest is upon us as I write, so I'm going to break that drought. It seems odd that they call their beer Stump, and it features tree stumps with some kind of argyle clipart over top of them. Behind one stump in particular, there is a goofy looking donkey. It's a cartoon donkey. Does that have something to do with beer? Does it have something to do with tree stumps? How small would the donkey have to be to fit behind the tree stump? These are all questions that stupid cans lead me to ask. Don't make me review your stupid cans.
The very clear, brown beverage produces respectable head that boils down to almost nothing on top of the beer. A ghost of a ring around the sides and a few errant bubbles in the center are buoyed by very few points of nucleation at the bottoms of the glass. There is almost nothing to the aroma. I really tried. I swear to you, I really tried. An Octoberfest should have a pretty good scent with all of these spices that they normally add to them, but I don't really smell much. The vague sense that I get from the aroma is something that puts me in mind of the laser gun game at Kennywood Park outside of Pittsburgh. I don't know why that game has a particular smell, but I suspect it has something to do with the compressed gas used to make it seem like the gun is actually firing. Either way, that's the smell I'm smelling here. It's almost like old, decaying cardboard.
First sip is quite assertive. The caramel malt isn't holding back any of the spices, and I wonder why this didn't smell like it tastes. There may be some brown sugar mixed in, but the spices are slapping my tongue and having their way. I wish I was good enough at picking out specific spices to list them all, but there are a lot. Nutmeg maybe? Basil? Who can say?
Tip-in is caramel malt and spices that hint that they will grow; the carbonation makes no such claim, and it is barely there now. The middle become smooth, yet ethereal. I don't know that there is a whole lot of taste to the middle, but the finish hits with all the spices and brown sugar before sending it into a spicy trail-off.
Bottom Line: Kind of unbalanced.
2.5/5
