Imperial Pumpkin Ale | Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Brewed by:
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Pennsylvania, United States
weyerbacher.com
Style: Pumpkin Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 8.00%
Availability: Fall
Notes / Commercial Description:
We set out to make a bold monument for The King of the Pumpkins!
This 8.0% ABV pumpkin ale is the mother of all pumpkin ales. It is heartier, spicier and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren! We have added lots of pumpkin along with cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of cardamom and clove, giving this beer a spicy, full-bodied flavor.
This truly is an Imperial Pumpkin Ale. Perfect finisher on a cool autumn night or match it up with a slice of pumpkin pie and fresh whipped cream.
Added by cbl2 on 09-17-2005
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 2,727 | Reviews: 1,025
3.74/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
4.35/5 rDev +11.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Bottled on 08(Aug)/02/16, opened 04(April)/08/17 after near constant refrigeration. Poured into a snifter, drank after slight warming.
Look: hard poor resulted in a thin bubbly head. The amber color has a slight orange hue to it. Overall, this is exactly how I want a pumpkin ale to look.
Smell: hits you the second you open the bottle. The smell is dominated by a bready, caramel malt and cinnamon, although clove does manage to come through. It's also slightly boozy. I do not smell the nutmeg or cardamom.
Taste: sweet, but it's a pumpkin ale, so what did you expect? Almost all of the flavors actually come through in this beer, which I've never experienced before from a pumpkin ale. Upfront you get the sweetness and the malt, but the cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove settle in, making this a great beer to sip at. I don't personally get the cardamom. What kept me from giving it a higher score on taste is that the cinnamon tastes a little like fake cinnamon. Since the beer was old, I didn't count not tasting the cardamom against it.
Feel: smooth, refreshing, and a very slight bitter tingle.
Overall, smell and taste matter the most to me, so 4.25. This was an excellent purchase. If you've been searching for a good pumpkin ale, buy this beer ASAP.
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look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Bottled on 08(Aug)/02/16, opened 04(April)/08/17 after near constant refrigeration. Poured into a snifter, drank after slight warming.
Look: hard poor resulted in a thin bubbly head. The amber color has a slight orange hue to it. Overall, this is exactly how I want a pumpkin ale to look.
Smell: hits you the second you open the bottle. The smell is dominated by a bready, caramel malt and cinnamon, although clove does manage to come through. It's also slightly boozy. I do not smell the nutmeg or cardamom.
Taste: sweet, but it's a pumpkin ale, so what did you expect? Almost all of the flavors actually come through in this beer, which I've never experienced before from a pumpkin ale. Upfront you get the sweetness and the malt, but the cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove settle in, making this a great beer to sip at. I don't personally get the cardamom. What kept me from giving it a higher score on taste is that the cinnamon tastes a little like fake cinnamon. Since the beer was old, I didn't count not tasting the cardamom against it.
Feel: smooth, refreshing, and a very slight bitter tingle.
Overall, smell and taste matter the most to me, so 4.25. This was an excellent purchase. If you've been searching for a good pumpkin ale, buy this beer ASAP.
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3.71/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Dark cinnamon-pumpkin color with a small ring of bubbly head.
Aroma is beautiful. Warm brandy, hot cinnamon, cardamom, clove, pepper, potpourri.
Taste is a little bit of a let down, as the spices are far gone, could be due to age. It's still got some of the cinnamon and potpourri flavors there, along with a lot of club soda.
Feel is hot (boozy), and very carbonated. Leaves a sticky, dry finish.
Overall, I can't knock this one too much. It's pretty tasty even after the spices have fallen off. I'll revisit it again this fall.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Dark cinnamon-pumpkin color with a small ring of bubbly head.
Aroma is beautiful. Warm brandy, hot cinnamon, cardamom, clove, pepper, potpourri.
Taste is a little bit of a let down, as the spices are far gone, could be due to age. It's still got some of the cinnamon and potpourri flavors there, along with a lot of club soda.
Feel is hot (boozy), and very carbonated. Leaves a sticky, dry finish.
Overall, I can't knock this one too much. It's pretty tasty even after the spices have fallen off. I'll revisit it again this fall.
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2.74/5 rDev -29.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
3.78/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.97/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a clear red colour. Smells syrupy, ginger, juicy pumpkin pulp, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Tastes like it smells, juicy pumpkin pulp, sweet and malty throughout, date syrup, ginger, spiced hop at the end, and maybe some cinnamon.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a clear red colour. Smells syrupy, ginger, juicy pumpkin pulp, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Tastes like it smells, juicy pumpkin pulp, sweet and malty throughout, date syrup, ginger, spiced hop at the end, and maybe some cinnamon.
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3.91/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a murky burnt-pumpkin with a finger of dark-khaki head. Head retention is decent with no lacing left behind. Aroma is hearty, with notes of pumpkin, holiday spices, biscuit and toasted malts, butter, and caramel. Nice and full aroma. Flavor profile has pumpkins, and holiday spices right up front. As the holiday spices linger and dwindle away, notes of toasted malts, caramel, and burnt sugar pop up. Very flavorful. Mouth feel is medium-thick, with a hearty, filling feel. Overall, a fantastic, bold rendition of pumpkin beer, at least if you enjoy complex flavors. Holiday spices are plentiful, but edge onto the side of over powering.
Served in a 12oz snifter.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a murky burnt-pumpkin with a finger of dark-khaki head. Head retention is decent with no lacing left behind. Aroma is hearty, with notes of pumpkin, holiday spices, biscuit and toasted malts, butter, and caramel. Nice and full aroma. Flavor profile has pumpkins, and holiday spices right up front. As the holiday spices linger and dwindle away, notes of toasted malts, caramel, and burnt sugar pop up. Very flavorful. Mouth feel is medium-thick, with a hearty, filling feel. Overall, a fantastic, bold rendition of pumpkin beer, at least if you enjoy complex flavors. Holiday spices are plentiful, but edge onto the side of over powering.
Served in a 12oz snifter.
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3.71/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.25/5 rDev +9.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
DATE: October 7, 2016... OCCASION: made it through another week of school... GLASSWARE: Maudite snifter...pours a dark amber, almost mahogany body with a busy, bubbly body that cannot sustain the fizzy, off-white head--a placid surface collects the occasional bubble, but the alcohol halts any impressive froth... BIG, powerful cinnamon, caramel, gingerbread and nutmeg promise BIG things in the profile... some hops also wrapped with a breath of alcohol... a medium-bodied, oily, bourbon-evoking draw... the profile is profoundly ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg--a dessert in and of itself... outstanding, strong, and worth the price tag.... another strong Weyerbacher product that seems bigger than its 8% ABV... right up there with other high ABV pumpkin ales...
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look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
DATE: October 7, 2016... OCCASION: made it through another week of school... GLASSWARE: Maudite snifter...pours a dark amber, almost mahogany body with a busy, bubbly body that cannot sustain the fizzy, off-white head--a placid surface collects the occasional bubble, but the alcohol halts any impressive froth... BIG, powerful cinnamon, caramel, gingerbread and nutmeg promise BIG things in the profile... some hops also wrapped with a breath of alcohol... a medium-bodied, oily, bourbon-evoking draw... the profile is profoundly ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg--a dessert in and of itself... outstanding, strong, and worth the price tag.... another strong Weyerbacher product that seems bigger than its 8% ABV... right up there with other high ABV pumpkin ales...
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3.71/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.59/5 rDev -7.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Poured a reddish color with very little tan bubbly head. The smell has a lot of sweetness to it before the other spices kick in, made me very wary of the beer. Flavor is very well balanced. The sweetness of the pumpkin and cinnamon start off but the nutmeg transitions it to the clover and more savory spices. This is a good pumpkin ale, great combination of flavors, not too sweet but very seasonally spiced.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Poured a reddish color with very little tan bubbly head. The smell has a lot of sweetness to it before the other spices kick in, made me very wary of the beer. Flavor is very well balanced. The sweetness of the pumpkin and cinnamon start off but the nutmeg transitions it to the clover and more savory spices. This is a good pumpkin ale, great combination of flavors, not too sweet but very seasonally spiced.
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4.28/5 rDev +10%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I am making an effort to try a variety of pumpkin beers this year and I have come across this - so glad I did.
I'll just start off by saying this is probably the best pumpkin ale I have had to date. And I can't think of coming across another one better (but here's to hoping.) Anyway, though the brew pours no head and it has zero lacing, it has a rich pumpkin look - liquid pumpkin if you will. The scent is a perfect blend of pumpkin, spice, and hops, neither one overpowering or stepping on the other. I found it crisp to the tongue as well as silky and smooth, the carbonation was easily ignored in this brew. At an 8% ABV, the ale, the pumpkin flavor and the spicy malts all seem to blend as well as they do to the nose. This is by far a truly special beer - pumpkin or not.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I am making an effort to try a variety of pumpkin beers this year and I have come across this - so glad I did.
I'll just start off by saying this is probably the best pumpkin ale I have had to date. And I can't think of coming across another one better (but here's to hoping.) Anyway, though the brew pours no head and it has zero lacing, it has a rich pumpkin look - liquid pumpkin if you will. The scent is a perfect blend of pumpkin, spice, and hops, neither one overpowering or stepping on the other. I found it crisp to the tongue as well as silky and smooth, the carbonation was easily ignored in this brew. At an 8% ABV, the ale, the pumpkin flavor and the spicy malts all seem to blend as well as they do to the nose. This is by far a truly special beer - pumpkin or not.
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3.77/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.94/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled on 07/22/2016, enjoyed on 10/22/2016.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled on 07/22/2016, enjoyed on 10/22/2016.
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4.85/5 rDev +24.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Aroma: Sweet and malty. Spicy pumpkin.
Appearance: Foggy orange glow, reminiscent of a lit Jack-o- lantern. Unfiltered? Not much carbonation here. Poured into a tulip glass, it revealed a pencil-thin head. Little lacing left behind.
Taste: I taste cardamom right up front. The rest of the pumpkin pie spices hang-out in the back.
Overall: Very warming. Enjoyable. Nice to sip on a Fall day.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Aroma: Sweet and malty. Spicy pumpkin.
Appearance: Foggy orange glow, reminiscent of a lit Jack-o- lantern. Unfiltered? Not much carbonation here. Poured into a tulip glass, it revealed a pencil-thin head. Little lacing left behind.
Taste: I taste cardamom right up front. The rest of the pumpkin pie spices hang-out in the back.
Overall: Very warming. Enjoyable. Nice to sip on a Fall day.
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3.75/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.54/5 rDev -9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
4.57/5 rDev +17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
From bottle at home, dated 7/20/16. Seems like a early bird looking to perch on the retail shelves before Labor Day.
First glass had a decent beige head that forgot to leave any lacing & the second glass had very little effervescence.
Cosmetics aside this is one tasty pumpkin ale. Forcing myself to ignore the substantial 8% ABV (a + in my book) reading that there was cardamom within was a surprise. Seems these guys were set on making something different in what has become a crowded & cliched genre.
Cutting to the chase: I like this one & I've had a few varieties.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
From bottle at home, dated 7/20/16. Seems like a early bird looking to perch on the retail shelves before Labor Day.
First glass had a decent beige head that forgot to leave any lacing & the second glass had very little effervescence.
Cosmetics aside this is one tasty pumpkin ale. Forcing myself to ignore the substantial 8% ABV (a + in my book) reading that there was cardamom within was a surprise. Seems these guys were set on making something different in what has become a crowded & cliched genre.
Cutting to the chase: I like this one & I've had a few varieties.
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Imperial Pumpkin Ale from Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
3.89
out of 5
based on 2,727 ratings.
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Treated as an imperial ale, this was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a ruddy burnt amber to orange color with no head or lace. The aroma starts off semi-sweet pumpkin fleshiness hitting against subtle spices of allspice, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves; well balanced. The flavor leans somewhat spicy with a gentle sweetness underneath. Sweet pumpkin flesh rides into the aftertaste and quickly hits the finish, that ends up being slightly spicy - just a little bit. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a nice sessionable to sipping quality sticking to my tongue appropriately. Spices create enough harshness but gentle enough. Overall, damn nice imperial pumpkin ale that i would love to have again.
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