Gourd Of Thunder Imperial Pumpkin Porter
Strangeways Brewing

The bottle has a very elaborate label of both foil and matte surfaces but I don't see a bottle date listed.

Appearance: The body is black and doesn't ever develop a proper head. What comes of vigorous pouring of the beer is a barren tan ring with the occasional bubble.

Aroma: A big aroma of classic pumpkin spice comes through with a predominant note of clove and a mild secondary note of cinnamon. It smells more of a clove-ridden Christmas Ham than a Pumpkin Beer.

Taste: Clove comes in and never leaves. There is a light bit of burnt caramel flavor but it is dominated by clove.

Mouthfeel: It is smooth but drinkability is hampered by spice and alcohol levels.

Overall: Do you like cloves? This beer has a lot of cloves. If you are looking for something to use as a marinade for a Thanksgiving ham this might be your beer. Otherwise it is very poor. It basically tastes like an over-spiced marinade. I don't recommend it to beer drinkers. It might be of interest to culinary artists who enjoy a mixture of clove and Worcestershire sauce. Go ham with your cooking and this beer artists!

 

This one pours a fairly dark brown, but not black, with a small head, and no lacing.

This smells like caramel, pumpernickel, cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, roast, ginger, and clove.

Like most pumpkin beers, this doesn't really actually taste like pumpkin, but rather really good spiced bread- cinnamon and a great dark breadiness. There's also vanilla and slight dark roast coffee, with ginger and clove as well. It's got a nice creamy flavor as well.

Despite the intriguing flavors, this is quite thin, with a weak body. It's lightly carbonated, too.

The structure of this beer is flawed, but the flavors are quite nice.

L: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a brownish color with red tints and a cloudy texture. There was an inch and a half of foamy, off white, fairly long-lasting head. Good lacing.

S: Smelled of malt, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and other spices.

T: Tasted of a tinge of ginger, a decent amount of malt, lots of cinnamon (more than expected), some cloves, a hint of nutmeg, a light chocolate quality, and some hops in the finish. An interesting flavor that was slightly different than I expected. The pumpkin almost seems like an afterthought, but somehow it seems to work.

F: A good shot of carbonation with a lively finish. Medium-bodied.

O: The low score for this beer is a bit surprising. It's not a typical pumpkin ale, but it is quite tasty.

 

On tap at The Answer

A- pours Dee brown color with a creamy off-white head, good retention

S- cinnamon, clove, allspice, malty

T- heavy cinnamon up front, followed by nutmeg and clove. Sweet malty caramel mid-palate, finishes with more cinnamon

M- medium body and carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel and finish

O- heavy cinnamon

 

Smell: cinnamon nutmeg spicy pumpkin filling.brown sugar green apple
Taste: upfront hints of spice cinnamon nutmeg middle of the mouth pumpkin green apple finishes with more spice and a burnt pie crust note.
Feel: light medium body a bit waterd down. Pretty dry in the finish.
Overall: smells pretty good but doesn't taste very good. Not a big fan of this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/3 of a 750ml bottle served in a Belgian Snifter.
Pours a murky, opaque brown with a limited head.

Aroma: odd -- vegetative (gourd?), cinnamon, Fall spices and faint bread.

Flavor: complex, spicy, mildly sweet with subtle nutmeg, clove, vanilla and earthy/woody notes.

Feel: medium+ body; smooth

Overall: a moderately spicy imperial porter that smells too much like a gourd but whose flavor blends the pumpkin with a mix of spices to create an interesting and satisfying ale.

Poured from a bomber into a snifter, the beer is a muddled, dark, chestnut coloring with a low profile, foamy, bubbly, off-white head. Aromas of rich caramel, milk chocolate, rich pumpkin and pumpkin spice, hints of vanilla and molasses, bourbon, ginger, and clove. Very aromatic. Flavors are roasted forward, with heavy notes of coffee and chocolate, with a solid spice blend of nutmeg and clove coming in shortly after and setting up shop for the long haul. Pumpkin notes dance in and out, and there is a heavily roasted overtone as you drink. The aftertaste is more pumpkin spice, chocolate, and vanilla, with a smooth and dry feel. The finish is dry, smooth, and with a solid linger of rich sweet, spice, booze, and bitter. Good beer.

 

Had on nitro. A tasty beer if a bit weak. I expect a bit more out of an imperial. Still, a solid attempt.