Pump[KY]n
Avery Brewing Company

I was late to the game on finding this one. That being said I found a 2015 one at my local hole in the wall place near me! That's 7years old to date. Poured it into a tulip glass. Sediment in the bottom of the bottle (no surprise there), color was a clear muddy brown. Smelled boozy and slight baking spices. Taste was pretty good considering I never had it fresh and being 7years old. Still very strong and one bottle is all you need to feel warm and fuzzy. Really like this one but wish I could of tried it when it was newer!

 

Bottle from 2015

A: Poured into a snifter to a blackish beer which is topped by a dense and slightly rocky finger of off white head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of chocolate and warming spices with some hints of pumpkin and bourbon barrels.
T: Taste is chocolate and warming spices with some pumpkin. Nice oak, vanilla, and caramel as well. On the swallow there's more chocolate, warming spices, pumpkin, oak, vanilla, and some more caramel. Borderline hints of brown sugar at times as well.
M: This beer has a surprisingly light feel on the palate given the ABV with a slightly slick feel. Carbonation is slightly effervescent while the beer has a drying finish due to the ABV.
O: Overall this is a really nice beer. Not a lot of contribution from the base beer but some really nice spice notes going on which makes this a very enjoyable beer to drink in the fall.

2015 vintage (Batch #2). Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Cloudy dark mahogany pour. Sediment... 1.5 fingers of off-white head leave a great ring of lacing.

S: Loads of pumpkin and pie spices. Booze... bourbon and vanilla.

T.F: Sweet... decadent and boozy. Big time pumpkin. Brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla, and spice. Cloves and cinnamon... nutmeg and oak. Dark fruit behind it all with some baked raisin, fig, and even bit of licorice underneath. Medium bodied... warming and strong. Smooth... with a boozy gourd finish.

O: Wow is this a big and boozy beer. Sweet... and definitely a dessert/nightcap. Way more than a run of the mill pumpkin beer... and this has held up marvelously for 6 years in the cellar. Glad I have a few more of these squirreled away.

 

This kicked my butt. This is an elixir, something to be put in its own realm. Great flavor, its so smooth and easy for something you know in your soul is gonna get you faded.

Pours a really dark red color. 1 finger off white head. The head retention is amazing for such a high ABV beer. No lacing on the glass.
The nose is rich with a deep barrel aroma. I also get hints of pumpkin spices.
Taste - I get pumpkin spices throughout, and I also get some vanilla as well.
There is a deep warming burn on the backside of this beer. It is so full bodied and thick - a sipper for sure.
A toally solid barrel aged pumpkin beer.

12oz bottle. Label has bottling date as 'NOV 7 2015', batch No. 2, 15.0 ABV%.
Dark brown colored body, with a slight orange tint. End of the bottle pours some sediment that really darkens the body. Brief lasting tan head. Leaves behind some coverage of lacing on the non-sipping side of the glass.
Aroma has the lighter spices of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. Under that is slight bourbon barrel.
Taste is strong with alcohol, and sweet from the cloves and cinnamon. There is a side of gourd, and the end yields a brief expression of bourbon barrel. The aftertaste is from chocolate and roasted malt.
Thinner mouth feel, but has a coating aspect. Major warming effect in the gut. Okay carbonation.
Actually the high ABV% is not found as a burn, but the warming effect is real. Lots of balance in the spices and gourd. Barrel is there but in the background. I like the late chocolate flavor that levels out the sweetness of the spices. Works as a sipping beer for the holidays.

2015 vintage (Batch #2). Not bad. A little murky but nice head. Aroma, very boozy. Flavor is better if a little sweet. Mouthfeel quite good for a 4.5-year-old beer. I still have one left and that's a good thing.

 

 

 

 

 

Found a bottle of the 2015 at Churchkey. Poured a dark orange with some sediment. Good pumpkin flavor, with a bit of bourbon flavor at the end. Bourbon gets stronger as the beer warms, highly recommend drinking while it's still cold if you don't want the sweetness. Not too sweet like Rumpkin I bought this year, too bad it's not being made any more.

Bottled 9/12/14; drank 10/24/14 @ California Split.

Brown/orange rust.

Minimal dark tan head; minimal lace.

Raw pumpkin, pumpkin seed & vanilla nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Straight pumpkin flavor up front; methane gas & rotten pickle juice finish. Awful.

I bought a Howler of it at Liquor Shed. $25.

It pours a dark brown with reddish hues, small head of foam that shrinks quickly to a ring around the glass. No lacing.

Smells of pumpkin spices, mostly nutmeg, Bourbon, sweet malt, plenty of alcohol. Nothing remotely bitter here.

The taste is not as boozy but there's plenty of warming. Pumpkin spices are working overtime, Bourbon is front and center, wee bit of chocolate and dark fruit, hot. I was told that this was aged 3 years. I can't imagine what it was like fresh.

Fullish bodied, light but not low carbonation.

Sipping good. This will finish my drinking for today.

A pretty brew, but my likes stopped there. This pumpkin tends towards cloying sweetness and a rum, both of which I’m not a fan of. Rich and pumpkiny, but that doesn’t save it in the end.

 

 

 

 

2016 edition
The flavors on balanced and spot on. But holy Hell it’s hot; it is about 40 proof, though. I wish they would do a lower ABV version.

Bring it back... please? Great stuff!

Batch #2 Thanks Richard and Alanna!

A: A murky muddy brown in color with a light tan head.

S: Pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and bourbon.

T: Toasted oak, vanilla, nutmeg, clove and pumpkin, wrapped in a bourbon blanket. Like pumpkin bourbon eggnog. Sweet, and tasty.

M: Medium thick, with low carbonation.

O: Overall a touch cloying, but what a flavor!

12oz bottle into a tall glass. Batch 3, Bottled 8/16/16, so over 2 years old.

Deep, deep, dark amber coloring with hints of black & burgundy. A small off white fizzy head quickly dissipates to a faint ring. No lacing.

Superb aroma. Pumpkin, bourbon, spices, dried fruit. Frankly it smells like a well liquored up English fruit cake, the good kind.

The taste is also excellent. Pumpkin comes through, bourbon & spices, a little sweet and quite warm too. rolls around the tongue beautifully. The porter gets a little lost here, but that's a light knock on a truly tasty beer.

Mouth is full, finish is warm bourbon & dried fruit.

Overall, another great BA beer from Avery. Hoping they bring this one back, or i find another on a shelf somewhere.

BOD 11/2015 Batch # 2

 

Pours a murky deep caramel with a thin, off-white head. Lots of sediment. Bad bottle? Lets see.
Smell the pumpkin from a distance. Lots of Carmel, vanilla, pumpkin, cinnamon and spice. Bourbon Barrell pretty big.
Taste follows the nose. All comes together amazingly! The creamy pumpkins, spuce, cinnamon, caramel and vanilla. Wonderful.
Nice oily, smooth finish. Big beer.
The best pumpkin beer I've ever had.

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a Speiglau BA glass.

Look is a slightly hazy dark amber rogue with little to no head.

Aroma is heavy on the spice not too much bourbon.

Taste is very intense half spice half bourbon. Even with a little age this is still an intense beer.

Pours a deep caramel, very little head or carbonation. Immediately on the nose you get vanilla, mild nutmeg, gingerbread, yam - nothing is overpowering, though it surprisingly lacks barrel presence. The bourbon, however, really shines on the palate - lots of boozey caramel (but not too much heat) the blends well with the earthy spice elements of a pumpkin beer. The pumpkin elements do get a little bit drowned out at times, though they do linger on the palate, especially the clove, which makes for a somewhat acrid finish. All in all of the barrel-aged pumpkin beers I have had this is the best, though your mileage will vary on how you feel about pumpkin & desert beers in general.

12 oz bottle poured into a snifter.

Cloudy brown with a thin off-white head

Nose: pumpkin pie spice dominates - cinnamon, clove, nutmeg. Not getting much bourbon or roasted malt character from the porter.

Taste: pumpkin pie spice up front. Bourbon barrel is more prominent than in the nose but gets overshadowed by the spice. Not much porter character - comes off more as an imperial pumpkin brown to me. Finishes sweet and boozy.

Feel: full-bodied, medium-low carbonation. Definite heat from the alcohol

 

Reviewing batch 2 - Nov. 7, 2015

Pours a deep brown color with a quick, fizzy tan head and almost no lacing.

The smell is loaded with pumpkin pie spices and alcohol.

The taste explodes with bourbon, pumpkin pie spices, and milk chocolate. It's very sweet and almost maple on the finish. Still some alcohol burn after three years, but not much.

The mouthfeel is medium/thick body and minimal lacing.

Overall this has a ton of flavor, is nicely balanced, with a great body. The only knock is it's almost too sweet.

 

batch 2 (bottled Nov 2015) consumed 10/11/18

Pours a barleywine-type murky maroon/brown with lighter, almost clear see-through, edges. a little bit of head that disappears quickly but leaves a thin foam ring around the outsides.

Smell is nice pumpkin & autumn spices with the slightest bit of bourbon. very pleasing on a cool October evening. One of the highlights of this pour for me.

Taste is a nice and balanced blend of pumpkin pie and bourbon. Flavors are a little subdued but with only six months in the barrel there wasn’t a ton of bourbon to begin with. Oxidation could play some part in fading pumpkin & spice flavors but it’s not to the point of falling apart. this beer could have easily sat in my fridge for another year or 2.

Feel is surprisingly thick and very smooth. This is labeled as a Pumpkin Porter and judging from the ABV you could easily add “Imperial” to that label as well. The Porter base gives this some substance as far as mouthfeel goes, which i very much enjoy. This was the other highlight of this pour for me.

Overall, very impressed with this beer especially given its age. i had the 2016 version on draft fresh and while i remember enjoying that pour i think some age has really benefited this beer. no real loss of flavors, but rather a perfect melding of flavors and also some mellowing out. i think i will save my 2016 bottle for another year or 2.

 

Poured into large snifter. Khaki head with high retention, murky brown body.

Nose of pumpkin meat, barrel sweet. Taste follows, with nutmeg, marshmallow, and cinnamon. Mouth is soft and creamy.

A nice imperial pumpkin ale. I'm a sucker for barrel-aged, but the pumpkin really comes through as well.