Bruce Camp-Ale
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

 

 

I had lunch at Iron Hill in West Chester, PA in the middle of December, 2015. The Bride and I were strolling the boutique shops afterward, so I was only having a single brew. I wanted a depth charge rather than a hand grenade. I chose the Bruce Camp-ale, despite the fact that I'm not a great fan of pumpkin ales - particularly those that taste like you're eating pie. Drawn on nitro tap, this may have been the best brew I've ever had. The aroma was excellent, the first sip of the foam took you away with the perfect taste of cinnamon and clover. The body of the brew was solid, without the overwhelming pumpkin taste of many ales in this category. There was a slight alcohol taste at the finish to reveal the 9.5 abv. In the end, it left you where you needed to be to meander through kitschy shops selling pointless goods .

 

 

A-dark orange amber color with a nice off-white head and some lacing

S-spices, caramel malt, pumpkin, little vanilla

T-caramel malt, pumpkin, nutmeg, light bourbon, vanilla

F-medium body with moderate carbonation, hint of alcohol

O-decent pumpkin beer,but a little light on flavor and mouthfeel

 

First had: on tap at IH, West Chester, PA

Murky caramel-colored liquid, with a small tan head that displayed good retention and a few speckles of lacing. The aroma was pretty muted on this I thought, with light notes of cooked pumpkin and caramel malts. In the taste, bready malts, brown sugar, toasted pumpkin, and notes of bourbon-soaked wood, finish of neutral alcohol. There was a lot going on on paper, but the end result was a bit plain on the palate. Medium body, decent overall.

 

 

 

 

A: Poured a dark copper color with good carbonation and a nice white head

S: Very nice. Bourbon, pumpkin, wood

T: Vanilla, cinnamon with a lgiht bit of vanilla, bourbon and wood. Plenty of pumpkin, mainly fresh pumpkin.

M: Pretty balanced. Sticky and sweet, well carbonated.

D: Very good!

Took notes on this one last fall and forgot to submit. Ltd Ed brew worthy of Bruce himself.

A - Dark copper color, quickly dissipating white head

S - Surprisingly mostly vanilla (due to the conditioning). Hints of pumpkin, nutmeg, all spice, bourbon.

T - A bit boozy, reminiscent of the smell notes. Taste notes from strongest to weakest - vanilla, pumpkin, bourbon, nutmeg, all spice, cinnamon.

M - Medium-full, syrupy, warm.

D - IH have outdone themselves with this one. Like drinking a mix of pumpkin pie, bourbon, and fried vanilla ice cream. Boozy, but not too boozy for a second or third.

Served at The Gathering of the Gourds at Iron Hill West Chester on 10/24/09. This was described as "Ichabod Imperial Pumpkin ale aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels."

A - Dark orange/copper-colored body with a creamy off-white head that settled into a thin ring of retention and deposited some pretty substantial lacing all over the glass.

S - Vanilla dominates the aroma with a subtle bourbon presence. Pumpkin meat and hints of spices are also apparent, but the Belgian qualities of the standard version of this pumpkin ale are virtually buried beneath the vanill and bourbon notes. Mmmm... no complaints here!

T - As with the aroma, the vanilla and bourbon attributes really dominate the flavor, although there is plenty of pumpkin character as well. Finishes with spicy notes reminiscent of cinnamon and brown sugar, as well as more earthy autumn spices.

M - Medium body with a kind of oily, though slightly syrupy texture, resulting in a smooth, softly carbonated mouthfeel. Finishes with a touch of alcohol warmth and spiciness on the palate.

D - This was easily the best of the ten samples we had at the Gathering of the Gourds... without question. The vanilla and subtle bourbon notes worked really well with the pumpkin attributes of this beer. I'm glad we got an entire 24oz. mug of this rather than the standard 12oz. pour. Awesome!