Ah, how I despise October's rolling temperatures. We here in my little pocket of Ohio are being flung from 30-something degrees to 70-some degrees (in Fahrenheit, as always), meaning I've been achy and sleepy. But, hey, I'll take cooler temps however I can get them this time of year! 

I had originally planned on today's beer being the subject of my most recent post but figured it'd be better for a warmer day than one that was more brisk. Thus, my short shuffling around that I'm willing to bet most of you didn't notice. Regardless, let's get into the beer at hand: Streetside's Pumpkin Spice Latte Return of the Mac (I'll just call it PSL from here on out).

Streetside's a brewery operating in Cincinnati, OH's Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood. The brewery was founded by Garrett and Brian Hickey. They started making fun beers, focusing on putting their all into what they did. Along the way, they garnered recognition and awards. Now they're one of the city's most recognizable breweries. Need more information about them? Head on over to their "Our Story" page.

Sure, PSL currently has a spot on Streetside's taplist, but all it really is is a link to the Untappd page for the ale. Which means that I, too, will just link the Untappd page. The beer's a variant of the brewery's Return of the Mac, albeit one with an autumnal twist. Taking its inspiration from the pumpkin spiced beverages that show up in corporate coffee chains every fall, this 5.5% ABV blonde ale is poised to bring pumpkin spice goodness to the tried-and-true coffee blonde.

At first, the bouquet on my can was largely gourdy pumpkin. But that soon settled, and the coffee aromatics began to shine through. These are roasty and bright. Not quite black coffee, more of a medium roast with splash of cream. The main spices I'm finding in my can are cinnamon and ginger. It's a fine showing and, at seven whiffs, one Purrl can seemingly get behind.

The flavor profile isn't as finely crafted as the nose. My first draw gives me coffee, cinnamon, and ginger. The fruitiness of the base blonde is an undercurrent to all of this and none of it meshes as well as I'd like. The pumpkin, you ask? Not here (I'll say now that I have no actual idea if the ale's recipe utilizes pumpkin, or if it's merely aping the pumpkin spice trend). A few swigs later and I'm starting to understand the beer more. Although the flavors haven't yet melded in the fore for me, they all expand and fall together nicely in the long finish.

PSL's creamier drinking that I'd've imaged it'd be. It's full and filling, yet easy to sip and swig.

I love taking my October morning coffees out on the porch. Sure, it's cold and it's dark. But the air's crisp. The leaves are brown and red, orange and gold, and they catch the light of the streetlamps. It's a beautiful reminder that Halloween is so damn close. I always use pumpkin spice creamer on those occasions, to give my mood that extra little something. This evening's beer is like those mornings.

Streetside's Pumpkin Spice Latte Return of the Mac is a good beer. Not great, but definitely something I'm enjoying. It's an 8.0/10 and definitely worth your time.