And now, a word from your critic....

Salutations, my name is Margot, and I'm a pumpkinholic.

Fall tends to be a good season for me, considering everything -- and I mean everything -- becomes pumpkin flavored. I've found so far the usual staples: pies, muffins, lattes, ice cream...I've enjoyed pumpkin ravioli and my boyfriend's homemade pumpkin pancakes, baked my own pumpkin bread, and even found recipes for pumpkin stir-fry. It's all wonderful, and it shows the diversity of this beautiful gourd.

Pumpkin ale, however, is just about a mystery to me. I'm not a beer-drinking girl, as it turns out, and I'm very picky about the beers I like. But the prowess of pumpkin ale certainly intrigued me, and so I've decided to set forth and try as many brands of brew I can acquire, and consequently critique them.

I'll be writing on flavor -- from the moment it hits the tongue to the aftertaste -- mostly. If anything stands out to me, I'll make not of it. I'm not a professional beer-taster; I don't know what's required, therefore I'll note as I see fit. I'll also be cheesy and rate each brand on a scale of 1-5, half points included.

My mission here is to enlighten people about the differences between brands, in hopes that readers will venture out and find the "right" pumpkin ale suited to their tastes. And one last note, my super-eloquence in this introduction may make me seem boring; forgive me, I'm just a very fancy typist.

By the way, I'm 21-years of age (at the time of writing this, of course), and I come from the Jersey Shore. So I may not be exposed to many brands of pumpkin ale. I'm also open to suggestions...that is, if this blog ever reaches that much of an audience...so you can feel free to e-mail me at metalmidge87@aol.com with those. And please don't bash the e-mail, I haven't changed it since I was thirteen.

And here we...go!