The King of Pumpkin Ales

Brewer-Weyerbacher Brewing Company

Beer- Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Style- Pumpkin Ale

ABV- 8.00%

Description- Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale pours a hazy brownish amber color with frothy beige head that has decent retention and leaves a pleasant lacing behind.  The aroma is very heavy on the spice and is dominated by cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg along with more subtle hints of vanilla and caramel, all of the wonderful smells you would want in a fall seasoned beer.  The taste is also dominated by spices, but the first perception your taste buds will receive is from the sweet caramel malts followed by the cinnamon and nutmeg with clove adding a smoother background note.  A hint of pumpkin follows adding a bit of bitterness.  A finish of vanilla, brown sugar, and sweet graham crackers gives way to a long dry finish.  The body is surprisingly on the thin side when considering that this is an imperial pumpkin ale, but this does not detract from the beer one bit.  This is a very complex and amazingly sessionable pumpkin beer that should be enjoyed as much as possible before the season ends.

Food pairing – The sweetness of Imperial Pumpkin Ale makes it a perfect dessert beer.  This beer is of course perfect with pumpkin pie and be sure to pile on the whipped cream.  Also try this with some rice pudding, preferably pumpkin rice pudding if you can find it, the cinnamon really adds some depth to the dish.  The richer the desserts the better it will pair with this beer, but think more towards sweet spices.  Carrot cake, spiced cake, pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin or cinnamon ice cream paired with Imperial Pumpkin Ale all make for a more enjoyable way to end any evening.

The Final Word – Weyerbacher is a brewery that produces consistently amazing beers and Imperial Pumpkin Ale is no exception.  The sweetness in this beer may be too much for some, but for those that enjoy pumpkin beers it is absolutely perfect.  The 8% ABV is also a nice addition in that it is very undetectable which can sneak up on you quickly.  This is the perfect beer to have around for a nice warm up on a chilly fall evening.

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Where can I get it? -  Available in bottles at Krugel’s Georgetown Deli- Wilkes Barre; Wegman’s- Dickson City and Wilkes Barre; J & H Beer- Wilkes Barre; Exit 190 Beer Deli- Dickson City; Armetta’s Pizza- Clarks Summit