Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Easton, Pennsylvania USA

Bottle from Turdfurguson. Pous with a large foamy off-white and a hazy brown body. Good lacing. Strong aroma from a distance. Cinnamon, strong all spicee, and some nutmeg. Taste is a bit of hay, all spice, carmel, nutmeg and even a hint of peppermint in the aftertaste of the second sip. Lightly carbonated and a bit watery. No pumpking, but a very decent siper.

This is one of the best pumpkins I’ve tasted. Most of the others you just can’t tell the flavor. This one is there and it is smooth. 2009: Nice mouthfeel as well. My recollection of 2008 is better than this year, but I’ve tasted a lot of pumpkins since then so this is still one of the best couple.

Pours a slightly hazy amber brown with no head to speak of. Pungent pineapple-juice aroma, sweet and fruity - very intense! Taste is underwhelming at first, amber malt, some spice, but then the finish opens up and you’ve got plenty of fruity sweetness (no pumpkin, mind) and cereal notes suggest pie crust. Light warming alcohol presence. Minimal carbonation, chewy mouthfeel. Tasty stuff, but it could use a touch of pulpy pumpkin goodness, as I just taste sweetness & very blended spice. Carbonation issue perhaps due to shipping. Thanks to jjpm74 for the trade!

Ugh..Pours copper in color, thin off-white head. Aroma is pretty mild. Taste is a spice bomb. Maybe I got this one too late in the season, but the clove and nutmeg were absolutely overpowering for me. doesn’t hold a candle to the ’’King’’.

Bottle... slightly hazy orange pour with minimal white head. Sweet pumpkin and mat aromas and minimal spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) both on the nose and on the taste. Some other candied sugar notes. This one is sweet but doesn’t overdo the spices, so it’s wholly drinkable. Definitely one of the better pumpkin brews to me.... one of the few I’d consider drinking once a year.

Bottle, thanks to WeeHeavySD for sharing. Pours a clear dark amber with a thin, white head. Sweet malt aroma, pumpkin comes through nicely, with other dark fruits - thick and almost syrupy. Sweet and sharp taste, of pumpkin, malt, maple, and brown sugar, kind of like pumpkin candy. Lingering rich sweetness. Very dessert-like and tasty.

Up until a few years ago, the only Pennsylvania beer I was familiar with was the Penn Brewery. They are a good brewery, but in terms of the sheer variety and availability of good breweries in Pennsylvania, I was sorely uninformed. Thankfully, I am always one for expanding my beer horizons and so I was very pleased to discover and start savoring the fine brews from Weyerbacher Brewing out of Easton, PA.
Available in a 4pack, my bottle of Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale pops with a hiss and pours a deep burnt amber. A copper hued head rises quickly and fades slowly into a small ring and scattered puffs of foam. Marking her trail is an impressive array of brussels lace, of course. Her nose bursts forth with vigor and an array of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, ginger, and freshly toasted crust. Warm and inviting, I am not one to make a lady wait, so with great relish I delve into her liquid depths. Smooth, rich and creamy, she lightly coats the inside of my mouth, lingering long after to whisper soft nothings of pumpkin and spice and everything nice. She warms my body, giving the further impression of savoring a slice of freshly baked pumpkin pie. Backing up the soft and fresh warm pumpkin and crust are an array of winter spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, and a light nip of ginger. Each quaff leaves a light trail of brussels to trace her diminishing path of my enjoyment. No bitter lingering aftertaste, but instead more hints of ginger and spice and fresh sticky pumpkin. While it sounds like a conglomeration of flavors and textures, the Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale is balanced perfectly, achieving an almost nirvana-like state of balance. Delicious.
She is truly the best pumpkin beer I have had to date, and I only wish I had more opportunity to enjoy her than I did. A perfect balance of all aspects I enjoy in pumpkin ale with just an extra bit of warmth to truly bring the pumpkin pie to my glass.

On tap at the beer engine. Pours dark amber with off white head. Has aromas of pumpkin and spices. Has a medium body. Flavor is pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg. Not too overpowering with the spices. Not too bad.