Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

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

GABF 2008. Deep orange amber, heavy all spice and sugary pumpkin aroma. Palate is pumpkin muffin (sweeter than pumpkin pie), with heavy doses of sweet malt and fall spices and an unmistakable pumpkin essence (to set it distinctly apart from, say, a gingerbread kind of thing). This works very well for me, as I love this quirky twist of pumpkin-flavoured brew (just like I love a good coffee porter/stout too).

12 oz. bottle. Pours a hazy orange amber color with a medium sized rapidly diminishing off white head. The aroma is fairly strong spiced pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and a slight peppery burn. The flavor is surprisingly good. I am not a fan of pumpkin beers, but this one is very drinkable. This opens with good pumkin flavor, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a moderate sweetness. This is smooth most of the way through with a slight spicy burn in the finish. Medium bodied and easy to drink.

Near opaque rusty orange with light cream head. Pumpkin pie aroma. Flavor was a little peppery and some cloves. I don’t really like pumpkin ales but this one was pretty good. Expensive though...

Bottle. Poured a dark amber/orange color with a thin off white head. Aroma of pumpkin pie. Flavor was spicier than some, with a definate clove note showing through. Great beer though. Medium/full body with good carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel.

Pours a semi-light ruby red, aroma of pumpkin, spices and such, very much like a pie. Little to no foam created, flavour of hops, caramel pumkin and malty alcohol tones. Somewhat boozy, yet clovish. An all right imperial I suppose, perhaps would be better with some age.

Bottle. Pours amber-orange with a small, dissipating head. Aroma is a phenomenal homemade pumpkin pie with all the spices, all the fixings. With a clean, crisp palate to boot, Pumpkin King sports a “creamy” canned pumpkin flavor with soft hops and a hint of caramel malt. Finish is a touch funky, but does not show the 8% ABV. Given that I haven’t found a pumpkin I’ve liked before this, I think Weyerbacher did an eloquent job.

Bottle from dchmela - thanks! Nose sprouting heavy nutmeg and lesser cloves, quite inviting despite the monochromaticity. Actually, picking up some wheat/lemon notes, but I know that’s the cloves reminding me of past wit-history. Some nice, sweet malty tones. Dark, slightly hazy ruby-bronze with a lacing beige head. Taste is dark and relatively dry, earthen waves splash over the top, spices beginning to muddle a bit but also letting shine just a hint of cinnamon. Alcohol is not as bad as expected. Medium body. Really is a lot more pumpkiny than all the others, and I grant it the higher alcohol (near boozy, but not quite, maybe just "gently warming") because it fits so well with the autumnal, terrestrial base. Probably the best of its kind I’ve had.

Bottle. Pours deep red orange with a beige head. Pumpkin pie aroma, with primarily nutmeg and clove. The flavor is a bit boozy and has a spice profile more along the the lines of cardamom and clove. Nice.