Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.

12 oz bottle acclimated to 46°F and poured into a tulip glass.

Pours a little lighter than the color of an old penny with about the same saturation, with much light sediment. Produces a 0.5-1 finger light cream colored head (matching the sediment), dissipating relatively quickly and leaving minimal lacing. Nice colors, plus, colors that I associate with tastes I enjoy.

Initial aroma is exactly that of mince pie, a British holiday dessert, I really get precisely that spiced boozy fruit. Shining through specifically is clove and nutmeg, with apple, pear, reconstituted raisin, and brandy notes. After agitating, these smells are consistent, with the exception of the alcohol playing a slightly stronger role.

Initial taste before swallowing is moderate alcohol burn, holiday spices, and a considerable fruitiness. The alcohol grows slightly in intensity and reminds me of brandy. After swallowing I taste what can best be described as very fuzzy and tingly, followed closely by an alcohol presence with a mild burn that isn't unpleasant. Moderate bitterness lasts through the whole process, again not unpleasant, accompanied by a mild sweetness. What's perhaps strange ( I haven't tasted a pumpkin beer in a few years) is that I'm really experiencing pomme fruity esters and even overt tastes, and not finding any pumpkin. A hint of eggnog is relatively strong, although it's perhaps me associating eggnog with nutmeg. The aftertaste is mostly the eggnog tastes with some alcohol fumes, and a very slight bitterness.

Mouthfeel is not exactly unremarkable, although it feels slightly underwhelming. I can say with certainty, however, that it goes down very smoothly, and there's a hint of creaminess to it.

Overall I'm super happy with this one! I have to admit that I haven't really enjoyed pumpkin beers in the past, despite my desire to. This, however, broke that streak, and broke it with grandeur. What impressed me most was the smell, it genuinely smelled exactly like a mince pie to my nose, as well as smelling supremely good, and I found it to look quite nice. Although not many specific notes were present, I thoroughly enjoyed the taste. Noteworthy is that pumpkin didn't dominate, or play much of a roll at all here. Perhaps that contributed to my enjoying it so much, but whatever the case, I liked it a lot. Additionally I feel as though this is one that could be somewhat sessionable, given that the flavors are kind of easygoing.

Absolutely will buy again, not in large batches, probably only 1 or 2 at a time, but potentially in a 4 pack. Whichever I choose I will do so happily, as well as recommend.

 

 

Pours a light brown color with a minimal head that disappears quickly. Aroma of cinnamon and fall spices. Tastes of pumpkin and spices. Similar to other pumpkin beers. Enjoyed it.

It's been a very long time since I've tried a Weyerbacher beer. Mostly because I only had 1 (Sexy Motherpucker) and it was quite bad, but I couldn't pass up a discount rack, out of season, Pumpkin Beer. They're my weakness. Let's see if they can redeem themselves with this one

Pours a cloudy brownish orange with 2 fingers of light tan head that fades to a thin ring and leaves no lacing

This is pretty standard fare in the nose as far as the style goes, but certainly not bad. I'm picking up on aromas of nutmeg, roasted pumpkin, brown bread, toffee, pumpkin seed, raisin, and a touch of clove. Actually I'm starting to appreciate it more over time with the fruity flavors from the higher alcohol

Unfortunately it's a bit flabby in taste (though that may be a function of its age which is unknown), and there's a surprising hit of booze on the swallow. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting pumpkin seed, allspice, brown bread, caramel, and clove. The swallow brings notes of brown bread, clove, pumpkin meat, light brown sugar, and fusel alcohol

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a slick beer. Finishes mostly dry but a bit boozy

Well it's not great, but I wouldn't call it awful. Then again, I didn't have very high expectations going into it. Oh well

 

Look: Opaque brown. One finger of off-white head with short retention.

Smell: Pumpkin, mild baking spices.

Taste: Identical to the smell. Predominately pumpkin flavor with very mild pie spice. Virtually no bitterness, but a balancing earthy flavor.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, with moderate carbonation.

Overall: One of the few pumpkin beers I’ve had to legitimately taste of pumpkin flesh. Just needs a bit more spice.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured a copper brown with a thin white film of a head. Nose of malt cloves and cinnamon. Pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice notes with the spices lingering on the finish. Alcohol is detectable. This is one of the better tasting pumpkin beers. Moderate body, moderate carbonation with fine bubbles and some slight stickiness. Although I am not a big pumpkin beer fan, I like this a lot and would buy it again.

 

 

 

 

Look – Dark amber red in color with a a hazy body and two fingers of frothy white head

Aroma – Super malty aroma with an interesting minty/herbaceous quality. A lot of nutmeg here as well with a good amount of cinnamon too.

Taste – Pumpkin was a little lacking in the aroma, but it is definitely present here. I can’t help but pick up some dark fruits too. Spices are taking a backseat to the pumpkin, but not by a whole lot. The heavy malt character is also helping to subdue the cinnamon and nutmeg from the aroma.

Mouthfeel – At 8% there is no alcohol flavor, but as opposed to some of the other pumpkin beers that were imperials, this one actually feels like a big bastard of a beer. The body is full and just pulls back from crossing over into feeling too thick or syrupy. Also of note is how dry this one feels after each sip.

Overall – Appropriately named, “Imperial Pumpkin Ale” is not one to tackle lightly. A malty bastard with a dry finish, this is one still delivers enough pumpkin and spices to keep it in check.

trong spice aromas. Flavor features strong cardamom and nutmeg notes with a little bit of pumpkin. Strong carbonation. A little boozy.