Am I on to something here? Last year, end of 2015 or so, Colorado’s Breckenridge brewery was acquired by giant Anheuser-Busch Inbev. Beer geeks don’t like that, of course, but I see it as an inevitable development in the brewing business. Lots of beer geeks won’t buy beers from breweries snapped up by the conglomerates, but it won’t stop me from buying from a brewery I love. Such as Breckenridge.

Which brings me to Breckenridge Nitro Pumpkin Spice Latte. I picked up a 4-pack of this interesting sounding beer in early September at Total Wine. As I looked at reviews, though, it seemed to be not so popular. OK, I thought, that happens. I would see for myself, though. First things first, I checked to see what the brewery says about it.

Nitro Pumpkin Spice Latte is a stout made with dark roasted malts and carefully roasted, cold pressed coffee beans. Vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves delicately complement the taste of rich pumpkin. These well-balanced fall flavors presented with the velvety texture of nitrogen create a truly distinctive and delicious beer.

On the can, they tell you to chill at 42 degrees, open and wait 5 seconds, then pour and enjoy. They also say

No glass? No problem. Drink it straight from the can.

Heresy, says I.

Breckenridge Nitro Pumpkin Spice Latte has an alcohol content of 5.5% with 11 IBUs. I paid $8.99 for a 4-pack of 15.2 ounce cans. The bottom of the can is stamped with the date 12/09/16, which I can only assume is a best by date since I didn’t drive to the store in a DeLorean.

Breckenridge Nitro Pumpkin Spice Latte pours to a jet-black color with a thinner than expected creamy head of foam and a wonderfully tempting coffee and pumpkin spice nose. Taking a sip, the beer is smooth and creamy in body, light roasty, a little chocolatey, spicy with nutmeg and cinnamon and drying with gentle clove spice and roast at the last. A gentle vanilla note runs beneath. The beer is quite easy drinking, but if I have one criticism it’s that it might be a tad thin in body. A bit more would be helpful; otherwise I very much enjoyed this one.

Could it be because AB Inbev bought Breckenridge that some pooh-poohed this beer? Is there a bias? Not on this reviewer’s part. I enjoyed it, and to Breckenridge I’d like to say thanks-a latte!

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