Heavy Seas - The Great Pumpkin
Heavy Seas Beer
Beer Geek Stats:
| Print Shelf Talker
- Style:
- Pumpkin Beer
- ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 86
- Avg:
- 3.81 | pDev: 12.86%
- Reviews:
- 206
- Ratings:
- From:
- Heavy Seas Beer
- Maryland, United States
- Avail:
- Retired (no longer brewed)
- Wants
- 21
- Gots
- 35
SCORE
86
Very Good
86
Very Good
Notes:
Reviews: 206
| Ratings: 393
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Reviews by alexgash:
3.97/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22 oz. bottle.
Medium deep copper body. Clear and clean. Oranger edges. Small, cobwebby, off-white head. Minimal lacing. Candy corn, butterscotch, graham cracker malt mix with clove, cinnamon, and maybe a little citrus zest.
Sweet and toasted malt right off the bat. Graham cracker crust and butterscotch/caramel malts are sweet and intense. Singed/toasted bitterness around the edges. Clove and nutmeg (?) come in strong in the latter half of the palate, upon the wave of sweet, pie-y malt. Cinnamon shows up in the finish, along with lingering spices, vegetal bitterness and leftover malt sweetness. Medium-full body with a slightly creamy feel. A big, intensely flavored pumpkin ale that comes in a notch below Pumking and Weyerbacher.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22 oz. bottle.
Medium deep copper body. Clear and clean. Oranger edges. Small, cobwebby, off-white head. Minimal lacing. Candy corn, butterscotch, graham cracker malt mix with clove, cinnamon, and maybe a little citrus zest.
Sweet and toasted malt right off the bat. Graham cracker crust and butterscotch/caramel malts are sweet and intense. Singed/toasted bitterness around the edges. Clove and nutmeg (?) come in strong in the latter half of the palate, upon the wave of sweet, pie-y malt. Cinnamon shows up in the finish, along with lingering spices, vegetal bitterness and leftover malt sweetness. Medium-full body with a slightly creamy feel. A big, intensely flavored pumpkin ale that comes in a notch below Pumking and Weyerbacher.
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More User Reviews:
3.15/5 rDev -17.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
22oz bottle into a pint glass
A - orangey-copper colored with a thinnish white baby's breath head. moderate lacing.
S - Actually getting pumpkin on the nose, with subtle downplayed cinnamon. Not an overpowering aroma, but somewhat promising.
T - Alcohol is rather pervasive, spices end up as downplayed in taste as they are in the smell. Could use more. Pumpkin is also very light, lacking richness. A slightly off-putting twang. Not squash sour or alcohol bite, something else I can't put my finger on, maybe a strange combo of the two. Lightly bready with gingersnap.
M - medium-heavy bodied.
O - Gotta say I'm disappointed, considering the style. At times, it feels heavy-handed, but moreso it just feels unartfully made. I've had much worse, but in this day of a million pumpkin beers, this is worth a one-time try and nothing more.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
22oz bottle into a pint glass
A - orangey-copper colored with a thinnish white baby's breath head. moderate lacing.
S - Actually getting pumpkin on the nose, with subtle downplayed cinnamon. Not an overpowering aroma, but somewhat promising.
T - Alcohol is rather pervasive, spices end up as downplayed in taste as they are in the smell. Could use more. Pumpkin is also very light, lacking richness. A slightly off-putting twang. Not squash sour or alcohol bite, something else I can't put my finger on, maybe a strange combo of the two. Lightly bready with gingersnap.
M - medium-heavy bodied.
O - Gotta say I'm disappointed, considering the style. At times, it feels heavy-handed, but moreso it just feels unartfully made. I've had much worse, but in this day of a million pumpkin beers, this is worth a one-time try and nothing more.
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3.7/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1pt. 6oz bottle into a tulip glass. The label has its ABV (8%) and a short description but no freshness or born on date.
Appearance: Its body has a very nice deep honey amber color with about an inch of off white foam head. It has some visible carbonation and fine yeast sediment suspended in the body making it hazy. Its head fades to just a wispy thin layer and leaves a little spotty lace near the top of the glass.
Smell: The nose has heavy pie spice and sweet honey like notes with bready malt, a slight vanilla note and faint hops.
Taste/Palate: There is a sweet maltiness with notes of honey and vanilla up front with heavy cinnamon and pie spice right behind it. Under that there is just a hint of pumpkin or squash like flavor. In the finish I get a mix of pie spice and hop spice with some mild bitterness and acidity.
Notes For me it was a little heavy on the spice but still good overall.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1pt. 6oz bottle into a tulip glass. The label has its ABV (8%) and a short description but no freshness or born on date.
Appearance: Its body has a very nice deep honey amber color with about an inch of off white foam head. It has some visible carbonation and fine yeast sediment suspended in the body making it hazy. Its head fades to just a wispy thin layer and leaves a little spotty lace near the top of the glass.
Smell: The nose has heavy pie spice and sweet honey like notes with bready malt, a slight vanilla note and faint hops.
Taste/Palate: There is a sweet maltiness with notes of honey and vanilla up front with heavy cinnamon and pie spice right behind it. Under that there is just a hint of pumpkin or squash like flavor. In the finish I get a mix of pie spice and hop spice with some mild bitterness and acidity.
Notes For me it was a little heavy on the spice but still good overall.
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3.74/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A: pours a very slightly hazy orange with a finger of off-white head that recedes into a thin ring with no lacing.
S: Typical pumpkin spices up front--clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.--followed by lots of creamy vanilla and yam-like aromas. Slight alcohol aroma towards the finish.
T: Spices up front in the flavor as well followed by some light vanilla and caramel flavors. A slightly bitter, hearty bread flavor follows with a light alcohol burn.
M: Medium body and carbonation, this beer's carbonation and alcohol presence keep it from being creamy .
O: A pretty decent pumpkin ale. I'd like a bit less alcohol presence, a creamier body, and more pumpkin flavors, but still it's not bad at all.
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look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A: pours a very slightly hazy orange with a finger of off-white head that recedes into a thin ring with no lacing.
S: Typical pumpkin spices up front--clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.--followed by lots of creamy vanilla and yam-like aromas. Slight alcohol aroma towards the finish.
T: Spices up front in the flavor as well followed by some light vanilla and caramel flavors. A slightly bitter, hearty bread flavor follows with a light alcohol burn.
M: Medium body and carbonation, this beer's carbonation and alcohol presence keep it from being creamy .
O: A pretty decent pumpkin ale. I'd like a bit less alcohol presence, a creamier body, and more pumpkin flavors, but still it's not bad at all.
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3.85/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Trying out of my first imperial pumpkins from a local brewery. Pours a beautiful golden color (even my girlfriend thought so!) and smells or nutmeg and cinnamon. Taste is definitely very strong on the spices, maybe a bit too much. Never thought I'd say this but it could use more pumpkin flavoring, the spices kind of ruin the palette after a while. Pretty good beer, and totally hides the alcohol, but not for everyone.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Trying out of my first imperial pumpkins from a local brewery. Pours a beautiful golden color (even my girlfriend thought so!) and smells or nutmeg and cinnamon. Taste is definitely very strong on the spices, maybe a bit too much. Never thought I'd say this but it could use more pumpkin flavoring, the spices kind of ruin the palette after a while. Pretty good beer, and totally hides the alcohol, but not for everyone.
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3.74/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Poured from a 22oz bottle into my Southern Tier tulip glass. Poured a hazy dark amber, almost orange color with a half inch off-white foamy head. The head settled out pretty quickly to leave just a thin film covering the top. After a few minutes there was pretty much nothing left of the head and it didn't really leave any lacing either.
Aroma has some ginger, nutmeg, cloves and a little pumpkin. It's a pretty good aroma for the style, it has some spice but it's not overdone like a lot of pumpkin beers. The taste has a lot of the same spices found in the nose up front but finishes with more of a sweet taste. It leaves a long lasting nutmeg/clove spice flavor on your palate after each drink.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Drinkability is decent, it's a little sweet to drink much of though. It was a pretty decent pumpkin beer but the flavor just wasn't as good as Pumking for my personal tastes. It still falls into one of the better pumpkin beers available here though so I can't say I won't buy it again though when it comes back in season.
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look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Poured from a 22oz bottle into my Southern Tier tulip glass. Poured a hazy dark amber, almost orange color with a half inch off-white foamy head. The head settled out pretty quickly to leave just a thin film covering the top. After a few minutes there was pretty much nothing left of the head and it didn't really leave any lacing either.
Aroma has some ginger, nutmeg, cloves and a little pumpkin. It's a pretty good aroma for the style, it has some spice but it's not overdone like a lot of pumpkin beers. The taste has a lot of the same spices found in the nose up front but finishes with more of a sweet taste. It leaves a long lasting nutmeg/clove spice flavor on your palate after each drink.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Drinkability is decent, it's a little sweet to drink much of though. It was a pretty decent pumpkin beer but the flavor just wasn't as good as Pumking for my personal tastes. It still falls into one of the better pumpkin beers available here though so I can't say I won't buy it again though when it comes back in season.
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3.58/5 rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Think it was Bobby who opened this one.
A: The beer pours a clear golden-amber color with a thin layer of off-white foam.
S: Not surprisingly, the pie spices are the dominant aroma. Quite a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg, plenty of all spice too. There's a good sweet caramel note and some bread/pie crust going on too. Maybe a little alcohol.
T: Big bread and malt flavor and some toffee and caramel. Again, the pie spices are the main component here. Cinnamon, clove, all spice, and nutmeg are the primary ones. Strangely, I get some sweet apple type notes.
M: The body is medium with a moderate level of carbonation.
D: I think I preferred the bourbon barrel one, but this wasn't bad either.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Think it was Bobby who opened this one.
A: The beer pours a clear golden-amber color with a thin layer of off-white foam.
S: Not surprisingly, the pie spices are the dominant aroma. Quite a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg, plenty of all spice too. There's a good sweet caramel note and some bread/pie crust going on too. Maybe a little alcohol.
T: Big bread and malt flavor and some toffee and caramel. Again, the pie spices are the main component here. Cinnamon, clove, all spice, and nutmeg are the primary ones. Strangely, I get some sweet apple type notes.
M: The body is medium with a moderate level of carbonation.
D: I think I preferred the bourbon barrel one, but this wasn't bad either.
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3.33/5 rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A- Poured a dark copper color with a thin off whitish head...some retention, but not much...
S- Alot of pumpkin and spices with cloves seeming to dominate...also get a decent amount of sweet malts...
T- As it smells, though the pumpkin and spices are not overwhelming...sweeter than expected with some warming alcohol in the finish
M- Medium bodied, with a spiciness that seems to stick around for a bit...
D- Even though it was a little sweeter than expected, this beer was fairly well balanced...hits on all the right notes, but just isn't exceptional...a solid brew that is worth a try, but probably not a revisit...
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A- Poured a dark copper color with a thin off whitish head...some retention, but not much...
S- Alot of pumpkin and spices with cloves seeming to dominate...also get a decent amount of sweet malts...
T- As it smells, though the pumpkin and spices are not overwhelming...sweeter than expected with some warming alcohol in the finish
M- Medium bodied, with a spiciness that seems to stick around for a bit...
D- Even though it was a little sweeter than expected, this beer was fairly well balanced...hits on all the right notes, but just isn't exceptional...a solid brew that is worth a try, but probably not a revisit...
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Heavy Seas - The Great Pumpkin from Heavy Seas Beer
Beer rating:
86 out of
100 with
393 ratings
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