Rickard's Cardigan Autumn Spiced Lager (Canada)

Rickard's Cardigan Autumn Spiced Lager (Canada) 5.5%

First off, the name, label and even the bottle cap are awesomely hilarious. And it's fitting (har, har. Get it? It's a sweater!) too: the spice mix really does make this comfort food in the form of beer.

An orange hued gold in a glass. The aroma is of cinnamon, all-spice and cloves with just a touch of malt in there also. Some of the underlying sweetness is likely due to the added brown sugar but I didn't get any more sweetness than could be credited to the malt.

The taste is very spicy with lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, some brown sugar and cloves. A bitter finish reminds me that this is in fact a beer as well as a collection of flavours reminiscent of pumpkin pie and that reminds me of everything nice about Autumn. And it's a beer that I enjoy very much at that; I can feel the leaves turning with every sip. You absolutely must serve Rickard's Cardigan Autumn Spiced Lager quite a bit warmer than typical refrigerator temperature otherwise the spices are understated and the bitterness comes out much too clearly.

The food pairings suggested on the box are quite apt and I think they would work quite well: braised ribs, sweet potato fries or turkey. Overall a nicely spiced lager perfect for this time of year, so unless you hate pumpkin pie or flavoured beers in general you should give Rickard's Cardigan Autumn Spiced Lager a try.