Brandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Lakefront Brewery, Inc.

Brandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin AleBrandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale
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From:
Lakefront Brewery, Inc.
 
Wisconsin, United States
Style:
Pumpkin Beer
Ranked #18
ABV:
10.7%
Score:
92
Ranked #5,571
Avg:
4.12 | pDev: 9.71%
Reviews:
67
Ratings:
298
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 07, 2024
Added:
Sep 17, 2014
Wants:
  20
Gots:
  39
A strong ale base brewed with real pumpkin and pumpkin spices meld with vanilla beans in brandy barrels for six months to arrive at this smooth, perfectly balanced 10.7% magic potion. We can't count how many times we've heard, "I didn't like pumpkin beers until I had you guys' Imperial Pumpkin"!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Lone_Freighter:
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

4.25/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks Steve.
Back of the bottle read "16 Sep 2016."
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a semi-thick dark amber to brown color with a thin cap of a little white foamy head that slid off at a moderate pace. Just a little bit of concave white lace.
The aroma had a nice blend of sweet pumpkin flesh, brandy alcohol sweetness, light honey covered biscuits, touch of cinnamon then nutmeg and an even lighter speckled of vanilla.
The flavor leaned towards the sweet side and slid off into the spice of the nutmeg/cinnamon to the barrel woodiness. Moderate aftertaste of the barrel, somewhat sweet with the pumpkin flesh.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Carbonation started getting lighter - I'm guess the age of the bottle perhaps did this. ABV still felt somewhat close to what was projected. Semi-stickiness in the finish with a touch of the vanilla, pumpkin flesh and brandy barrel.
Overall, I really don't notice any of the "doppelbock" qualities that I heard were supposedly in this, however, this is an aged review with adjuncts that could have affected these doppelbock qualities. It's one that I wouldn't mind coming back to preferably fresh, but still, this is very nicely done even for now.
Dec 27, 2017
More User Ratings:
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Reviewed by JokersAce

3.75/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Roasted dark brown caramel color with some thickness and apparent suspension of solids. Tastes like a barleywine but with a bit of pumpkin. No head, but well carbonated and lively. Very strong, whoa. Certainly a strong ale (no duh), the adjuncts are blended a bit in. This one is a bit aged but it's fair to review at +10%. I would like to retry on draft or a lot fresher, but it's a solid strong ale as is.
Feb 07, 2024
 
Rated: 4.1 by JeffSK from Wisconsin

Aug 23, 2023
Photo of TheOccasionalBeer
Reviewed by TheOccasionalBeer from Wisconsin

4.42/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
The scent of pumpkin fruit cake wafted from the bottle as I popped the top. Brandy, spices like cloves and cinnamon, and pumpkin. Pouring a gorgeous copper with a hint of amber, it formed little in the way of a beige head... and that disappeared quickly. In the glass, the brandy dominated along with a little metal. Mouth-feel threatened to go astringent, but the roundness overwhelmed it until a touch reappeared as it went down my throat. Brandy dominated the taste as well, but the other flavors were still there and recognizable. I wish extenuating circumstances hadn't kept me from this for so long. Very tasty on a cold night, and strong, too, but in a good way.
Feb 11, 2023
Photo of zeff80
Reviewed by zeff80 from Missouri

4.15/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle. Poured out a clear, golden orange color with a small, khaki-colored head of bubbly foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of pumpkin, vanilla, brandy, oak and spices. Sweet pumpkin and brandy taste with spices, vanilla and some booziness.
Nov 10, 2022
 
Rated: 4.13 by MICAMD from Maryland

Oct 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.84 by Barleycorn from Pennsylvania

Oct 02, 2022
Photo of Chemmlg
Reviewed by Chemmlg

4.71/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Great tasting Pumpkin beer. I’ve tried many and year in and year out this is the best. This is a great sipping beer that is perfect from Halloween to Christmas. This years version is only 10.7% so we’ll see how it compares. I have 6 left over from last year.
Sep 01, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by admonster00 from Illinois

Jun 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.05 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

Mar 30, 2022
 
Rated: 3.34 by sbradley41 from Pennsylvania

Nov 26, 2021
Photo of DokiDokiLitFam
Reviewed by DokiDokiLitFam from New Jersey

4.6/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours out a dark amber color. With an aggressive pour it yields a nice finger of creamy looking foam. An appetizing looking pour.

Nose has that definitive pumpkin characteristic. The unique smell that only squashes have. Alongside, there is caramel and butterscotch, vanilla, wood, fall spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and a dark fruit hiding at the very bottom. Like a predator that hides in the shadows, the brandy influence is there, but not easy to spot. If you look for it, you smell that tart funk that brandys have.

Taste is falls right in line with the nose. Pumpkin, caramel, wood, vanilla, brown sugar, spices. The spices, brandy and wood come together at the end and provide a nice bitterness and drying quality to keep it from getting to sweet. The balance on this brew is top notch. It may be a little sweet for others, but when dealing with brews that are pushing ABV above 11%, sweetness is going occur.

Mouthfeel is fantastic as well. Smooth is a good way to describe it. Medium bodied. Nice density. A little sticky, but not too much. The alcohol dries the palate out a touch preventing it from getting too cloying. There is, surprisingly, still a good amount of carbonation that briefly flashes and fades, adding another layer of intrigue to the brew. Which is great for its drinkability. While this is a one per sitting brew, it doesn't becoming sickening.

Overall, this is by far the best pumpkin ale I've ever had. The brandy transforms this tired gimmicky trend into something special. The base version of this brew is probably just as good as Cigar City's Good Gourd and the brandy influence just takes it to another level. I believe this is my first Lakefront brew, so cheers to them and a Happy Halloween.
Oct 30, 2021
Photo of jrc1093
Reviewed by jrc1093 from Connecticut

3.68/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottled on 7/6/20

Pours a clear, deep blood red body capped with just shy of a finger of semi-creamy, off-white foam; mediocre head retention yields sparse, paper-thin islands of cap, a sizeable, fluffy collar, and the occasional strand of dense, webby lacing clinging to the glass.

Aroma opens with dusty oak contrasting pumpkin purée with a leafy quality and earthy grit just beneath; stiff brandy contributes a boozy apple character integrating over time alongside ginger, autumnal spice (primarily nutmeg), and hints of vanilla.

Taste introduces light pumpkin into brown sugar teamed with a sweet, pie crust heft cutting the building alcohol heat over the mid-palate and into the back end, where pumpkin is interspersed between nutmeg, dry barrel, cinnamon, and vanilla for a more pronounced finish.

Mouthfeel shows a medium-full body sporting a lower-end carbonation and an easygoing slickness over the mid-palate before casually dissipating to a vague, prickly malt texture and pillowy warmth through a rounded, oily, semi-dry finish.

The brandy barrel is a bit intense here, a minor intrusion just prominent enough to subdue the more delicate nuances of pumpkin and especially the spices; despite this, the beer as a whole remains largely without fault, with a coherent presentation of autumnal flavor and a body drinking below its hefty ABV.
Oct 31, 2020
Photo of philbe311
Reviewed by philbe311 from Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Standard pour yields no head... The color is a deep rich translucent ruby red... Big nose that can be detected without bringing ones nose directly over the glass... Whiffs of vanilla, molasses and sweet pumpkin pie With just a hint of cinnamon... The flavor profile is even more stunning... All of the above aromas are present but dialed up a notch or two (or three)... The barrel aging is faint but adds depth and complexity.. On the fuller side of medium bodied... Smooth and sleek... Even and consistent... Hides the 13.4% ABV remarkably well... Quite possible the world's most perfect pumpkin beer... Really spectacular in every facet...
Oct 31, 2020
Photo of AllOfTheCats
Reviewed by AllOfTheCats from Wisconsin

3.42/5  rDev -17%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Rather boozy and not something I particularly enjoyed. The description caught my eye - brandy barrel-aged pumpkin ale with vanilla - sounds awesome. I felt that it was thin, strong booze-wise in a negative way, and almost seemed like brandy was added to the beer rather than what you'd expect from the taste of something barrel-aged.
Sep 30, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by paulish from New York

Sep 21, 2020
 
Rated: 3.95 by mpk2020 from Illinois

Sep 17, 2020
Photo of chinchill
Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

3.95/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
12 oz bottle.
Pours with a dark reddish-brown body and a weak beige head.
Strong spicy aroma with cinnamon, other pumpkin pie spices, and brandy. The flavor adds some brandy barrel notes, more vanilla, and more brandy.
Medium+ body with low carbonation.
Jan 21, 2020
Photo of scaliasux
Reviewed by scaliasux from Wisconsin

3.8/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
L - Moderately dark reddish-brown. Appears hazy. Short off-white head - not especially persistent.

S - Pumpkin, pumpkin spices, vanilla.

T - The brandy is actually quite prominent - the first flavor I get. Pumpkin, obviously. And dark fruit, molasses, spice.

F - Medium. A little alcohol.

O - Rich flavor. Pretty good for a pumpkin beer and the brandy isn't as much of a mismatch as I'd have thought.
Dec 29, 2019
Photo of BlackBeerPirate
Reviewed by BlackBeerPirate from Illinois

4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Taste: rich fall spices, pumpkin spice, vanilla, malty, alcohol kick. Semi sweet pumpkin some boozy nose. Reddish/mahogany hue, clear, tall creamy head, ringed lace. Medium full body. A sipper on a cold day.
Oct 31, 2019
Brandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale from Lakefront Brewery, Inc.
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 298 ratings