The Great’ER Pumpkin
Heavy Seas Beer

 

 

This is an interesting one to me. Great nose but looks and mouthfeel are lacking a bit. The pumpkin, spices, cloves etc. are all here in spades but it has a strong alcohol taste on the finish that turned me off a bit. The barrel aging isnt super obvious to me either and the lingering alcohol overpowers the casks. Just an ok pumpkin ale for me. Not bad but not great.

 

Poured from a can into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a hazed dark orange color with a small head of white foam. The head fades rather fast, leaving a touch of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is strong of a roasted pumpkin smell mixed with nice notes of bourbon and wood. Along with these smells comes some burnt sugar and brown sugar as well as notes of a bready and doughy malt. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove are all there as well, with other woody aromas.
Taste – The taste begins with a heavy roasted pumpkin flavor with a decent showing of cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as a bit of clove. Some caramel, brown sugar, and light vanilla, along with some light woody and doughy flavors. As the taste advances some light bourbon hits the tongue, along with the development of a pumpkin seed flavor. THE booziness gets more pronounced toward the end, leaving one with a nice warming and moderately sweet and more heavily spiced pumpkin taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is slightly thicker and heavier, with a carbonation level that is rather average to lower. For the pumpkin and booziness the feel is great and makes for a nice slow sipper.
Overall – A rather nice pumpkin brew. A bit heavy on the spice, but overall rather flavorful.

The taste is of burnt sugar, dry grass, and rubbing alcohol. I like pumpkin beers, this is not one of them. I tried to get through a six-pack over two or three sessions, but the last two from the pack were poured down the drain

DATE: December 18, 2022... OCCASION: a whirlwind weekend of basketball, baking, cooking, shopping, and football watching ends with the last of the "Thanksgiving" haul... GLASSWARE: nondescript snifter... fizzes out of the bottle, devouring its own head to a flat surface and a white halo atop a copper amber body that is very much alive for a 10% ABV... intense aroma of cinnamon, cardamom, oregano, cherry, and boozy bourbon hints... sweet sugars and clove swirl in a worthwhile draw... its mouthfeel is dry, cider-like and warming... its finish is thicker, coating with a syrupy drip that stays long after its finish... plum, cinnamon, clove, whiskey barrel wood, clove, sweet cherries, apple, and vanilla are robust and arresting, shaking the teeth and sipping like a chill whiskey might... Heavy Seas is notorious for their heavy offerings, and this is another one that deserves a long, cold night of sipping--spicy, fruity, and evocative of bourbon--wins across the board...

 

Medium light carbonation with about a medium body.
Semi clear amber appearance.
Aroma is as if you could blend pumpkin pie with a shot of bourbon with a touch of extra spice.
Taste doesn't stray too far from the aroma. Pumpkin pie and a shot of bourbon in a positive way.
A very good pumpkin beer,far better than most

I like to taste a well balanced brew, this one, though good and enjoyable, was very much booze-forward in the nose and on the tongue. Otherwise, it’s a great entrant into the pumpkin beer class.

From a bottle.

Appearance is cloudy, a dark burnt orange. Different from most pumpkin beers. No head to speak of.

Smell is surprisingly almost non-existent. Faint traces of spice and nutmeg, and that’s about it.

Feel is slightly acidic, feels a bit ‘bubbly’ even though there’s no noticeable carbonation. You can feel the carbonation more than see it.

Taste is much stronger than the light smell would suggest. Strong spice notes, a touch more than ideal. But excellent. Fairly complex spices, but more spice than pure pumpkin. The bourbon barrel aged notes are prominent, but not oppressive, lighter than many barrel-aged beers.

Overall, very good/excellent. Maybe not as fine of a pure pumpkin ale as Southern Tier Pumpking, and not as direct as Warlock. But it’s own excellent niche.

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a burnt orange color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of fresh pumpkin pie. Taste is bourbon up front, pumpkin pie in the background, some alcohol is present. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is an enjoyable beer.

 

It’s as described. Pumpkin, spice, and light bourbon from the cask. Very nice and easy to drink. Good fall beer. Just needs a fire pit.

 

It's not too sweet but it definitely has a fall spice to it. It doesn't taste like a 10% beer.

 

 

Poured a copper gold with a few but some carbonation and no head. Smelled of pumpkin cinnamon and spice. Tasted the same with a hint of bourbon barrel. Felt full and warm but continued from first sip until the aftertaste of strong pumpkin spice and bourbon. A good fall beer!