Beer Review – Odd Side Ales – Pumpkin Spice Bean Flicker

I still remember my first Bean Flicker from Odd Side Ales.

I was hanging out with friends at a hometown bar. I quickly glanced at the menu and saw three things: Odd Side Ales, “Bean Flicker”, and coffee. I immediately ordered one, chuckling to myself. When the waitress brought out our beers I was a little confused at the straw colored beer she handed me. I glanced back at the menu and noticed it was a coffee blonde ale. I took one long sniff of the beer and my life was changed forever.

On its own, Bean Flicker from Odd Side Ales is the gold standard when it comes to coffee blonde ales. At 4.5% it’s light and crushable but the coffee in it gives it a much bolder taste than a regular blonde ale.

When a buddy of mine told me that Odd Side made a pumpkin spice version this fall, I knew I had to give it a try for Pumpkin Beer Palooza. Odd Side described this concoction as “our original coffee blonde ale dressed up for fall with everyone’s seasonal favorite … pumpkin spice.” I searched far and wide for it but came up empty. It wasn’t until I was up in Petoskey that I found a honey hole at Toski Sands Market. I picked up a six-pack and headed back downstate.

The Pumpkin Spice Bean Flicker poured the same straw color and a light head developed at the top once in a glass. Instead of the expected coffee on the nose, the pumpkin spice was front and center. This presence continued through the sip until the coffee poked out on the back end as a reminder of its roots. Each sip was a battle between the natural pumpkin spice flavoring and the coffee which was a bit of a surprise for me because I was expecting a nice blend like a pumpkin spice latte.

A quick look through Untappd shows that Odd Side Ales has dressed up the Bean Flicker with different coffee roasts and this was it’s first large scale production with a flavor. After working through the six pack and trying to figure out this beer, I have come to the conclusion that it is a fun fall novelty variant. I’ll keep my eyes peeled, though, for next year’s batch to give it another try.

Cheers!