Midnight Sun T.R.E.A.T. Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Anchorage, Alaska USA

22oz bottle courtesy of alaskajoe poured into a snifter. Pours dark, dark brown out of the bottle and settles in as pitch black in the glass underneath a large tan head that holds as a cap for a while and leaves decent lacing. The is very interesting with the light pumpkin pie aromas of pumpkin, nutmeg and hints of cinnamon. There are some dark malts in there as well as chocolate though the spices stand out. The taste is even more interesting to me. It starts with some chocolate and lactose sweetness up front before the pumpkin and spices roll onto the palate. The finish almost seems a bit smoky with some coffee bitterness as well. Really complex taste. The mouthfeel is decadent with a very smooth feel with good carbonation and everything is just silky and dessert-like. It’s probably not a fair comparison but this is, without a doubt, the best pumpkin-infused beer I’ve ever had. Very drinkable with a completely non-existent alcohol presence.

Shared by mreusch, thanks. 2008 bottle. Pours completely black with a small but strong tan head. Aroma starts smoky and woodsy with a little bit of toned down pine tree. I get lots of bacon-y woodsiness, I actually get BBQ ribs with a bit of pine, nutmeg and clove at the end. It’s very weird and original. I am not smelling rauch malt but all these different aspects just come off this way. Taste is less interesting though. Its a but watery with light chocolate, spices, and a bit of a nuttiness. Some burnt chocolate as well. Not heavy at all, goes down well with a medium body. Love the aroma but needs some more of the flavor to really make this special.
22oz bottle, New Belgium large snifter/goblet glass.

2008 vintage, 22oz. bomber with thanks to NoonanDBarbarian on BA. Pours a dark brown with a fizzy one finger tan head, nice lacing, moderate retention Aroma is pretty intense, with nutmeg, allspice, milk chocolate, pumpkin, and rich fresh cream, maybe some eggnog too. Stellar aroma! Flavor has some sweetness, with fresh pumpkin puree coming more to the forefront, followed by lighter background notes of nutmeg, spice and chocolate. The flavor can’t seem to keep up with the aroma on this one. Decent, but can’t help but feel let down from what the aroma eludes to. Thanks for the chance to try Brian!

bottle from buddy in anchorage...2008 pours a normal dark with nice tan head. smell wasn’t as strong as anticipated, but still had a faint smell of chocolate and sweetness. Taste was of bitter chocolate and pumpkin infused together. very interesting indeed. Low carbination i did taste some hoppiness as well. very different, but nice beer. First Rating 3.7 Re-Rate 2009. Pours dark with a nice tan head. Smeel seems more aromatic for some reason. Taste is pumpkin and spices all the way. Nice creamy mouthfeel with a bit of an aftertaste of hops. Dry finish but I just love the sweetness of this beer. I lost a bottle during the voyage from Anchorage, but at least I got one from the box along with a couple more goodies from Midnight Sun.

22 oz. bottle - thanks to my main man AKBelgianBeast for this one; 2007 vintage; wowzers, so incredibly tasty that i almost can’t believe i shared this one with others!! haha, just kidding of course; dark brown with soft, thick texture; soapy head brings out rich aromas of chocolate, roasted malts and pumpkin spice; very roasty and pumpkin is a calming addition that sits there softly, while providing a very welcome mix to the flavors and spice as a complement; chocolate is dominate and the pumpkin ends up more like roasted pumpkin seeds; and we can all remember from our childhood how tasty baked pumpkin seeds are; so smooth and a perfectly constructed beer; i hope that MS does something with the base chocolate porter; maybe my fav porter, fav pumpkin and fav chocolate beer all rolled into one; just divine; can’t wait for the 2008 batch!!

A huge thanks to Guerde for sharing. One of the best pumpkin beers I’ve ever had. Phenomenal pumpkin pie intermingles with light chocolate malts. A similar body with a smooth finish.

22 of the 07. Thanks, SuzyGreenberg! What a total score! Opaque black. Towering, surging, moussy tan head. Nice sheeting lace, but its appearance is brief. Coffee, chocolate, and pumpkin on the nose. Creamy medium body, woolly carb. Nice sweet pie spice, pumpkin, chocolate, and coffee on the mid-palate, in that order. Every flavor is distinct and well-manifested, but in harmony with all the others. It’s actually tough to focus on any one of them because they’re all so forward and pleasantly so. Long spicy chocolate finish. Wow. Astonishing.

Courtesy of Geiger. 2008 bottle, pours black with brownish head. Aroma is spicy, pumpkin and chocolate. Taste had more chocolate notes with pumpkin in the aftertaste. One could also note many spices that reminded me of a winter warming beer. Notably cinnamon, nutmeg. Everything was very well balanced, neither too much of chocolate nor pumpkin. An exceptional beer.