Cigar City Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Tampa, Florida USA

Orangey-amber with a creamy head. Big spice and lots of sugars plus cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and pumpkin. Big brown sugar with more of the same spices. Very rich. Creamy and delicious, this is as big a pumpkin ale as I’ve had and as good.

(tasted in November, courtesy of Retorp) Small beige head atop clear amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, pumpkin pie, vanilla, allspice, light cinnamon. Taste is moderately sweet, allspice, some nutmeg, cinnamon. Medium-full body, some stickiness, minimal carbonation. Best pumpkin ale I’ve ever had.

Draft… This beer rocks!... Murky caramel-colored ale with a small, creamy, off-white, orange-tinted head. The aroma? Wow! Literally one of the best things I’ve ever smelled. Smells almost too good to drink. It’s a warming blend of the very best pumpkin pie and pumpkin roll my grandma used to make. If genitalia smelled this good, the world’s overpopulation problem would totally subside. Couples everywhere would get to oral sex and then say “to hell with going-all-the-way!” Okay, okay… full-bodied and oily with gentle carbonation. Tastes wonderful. Sweet, spicy, bold and boozy. Nice bitterness. Finishes pumpkiny, spicy, minerally and bitter. A touch grassy at the very end. World class beer!

Pours orange with viscosity and quickly dissipating tan head. The aroma is huge thick rich pumpkin goodness. Smells like a slice of fresh baked pie. Around the edges of the aroma are notes of graham crackers and cinnamon. It smells just amazing. The taste is just like the nose with solid fresh tasty pumpkin with cinnamon spice and pie crust mixing to create a graham cracker sensation. The alcohol presence hits midway and thins it out some. It ends on the dry side with nice rich pumpkin and spices lingering deep into the after taste. This is what I want a pumpkin beer to both smell and taste like. WOW!!!

Deep pumpkin pie filling color. Creamy luscious nose is like the whole pie including whipped cream--a nice sweet and spicy combination. Unique for a pumpkin beer, similar to pumpkin ice cream. Creamy soft carbonation. Gentle, mild but assertive, spicing is integrated and not overpowering. The predominant spices are nutmeg and cinnamon as opposed to clove and allspice. Gets spicier with each sip as it warms, tastier too. Not in the least bit vegetal. Nice, smooth and sophisticated character. Nice malts and a good alcohol dryness in the finish. Super.

Draft at the brewery, courtesy Joey and Wayne. Let me come right out and say it....this beer DESTROYS Pumking and every other traditional pumpkin beer I have ever had, and it is not even close. The pour is lightly hazy and orange-gold in color. A substantial, lasting, spongy head of cream colored foam leaves dense legging and a soapy wash of lace in its wake. Aromas of fresh pumpkin explode from the glass, followed by notes of graham cracker crust and whipped cream. A light dusting of nutmeg, cinnamon and clove finish things off with a subtly spicy kick, but there is no mistaking pumpkin as the star of the show here. Flavors follow suit, reasonably spiced pumpkin pie notes dominating, complete with graham cracker and hints of creamy lactose. Medium-full on the palate, with light carbonation, the body perfectly matches the sweetness that the flavors impart without venturing into cloying territory. Generally speaking, I hate pumpkin beers, so as many who are close to me can attest, this is a ringing endorsement for this brew as the hands down king of this overplayed genre.

Bottle courtesy of Retorp. Pours a golden caramel color with thin white head. Aroma is pumpkin, spice, nutmeg, cream. Flavor is much of the same with some stronger pumpkin and spice notes, heavy cream flavors, slightly boozey. Generally medium body with a pleasing herb/spice finish. This was an amazing pumpkin beer and likely the best that I have had.

This is the best pumpkin beer I have ever had, bar none. Kudos to CCB! Pours orangey gold witha nose of pumpkin pie with whipped cream, booze, ice cream, cinnamon, spice, and graham cracker crust. Flavor is equally deep and sonorous. Finish is lingering pumpkin with sugary goodness. When I started drinking pumpkin beer this is what I wanted. Please keep this bad boy around.