Pumpkin Imperial Spruce Stout - Rock Art Brewery

Gavage

New Jersey

3.54/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: pours a dark brown almost black color with a 2" head that falls to a thick surface foam.

Smell: definite earthy and woodsy aroma here.

Taste: nice roasted malt profile with a big earthy tone. The spruce is definitely noticeable but not overpowering. Some pumpkin spice is there but very soft. Alcohol is slightly noticeable.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Lightly crisp to start, smoother at the finish. Long lasting earthy and woody aftertaste.

Overall: decent fall / winter time beer, but the pumpkin flavors were very mild.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 20:38:38 | More by Gavage

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.03/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to Bruce for the opportunity to try this one.
Pours a solid dark brown/black color with a smallish off white head that quickly dissipates to a cap. Smells of roast caramel and ash with a spicy earthy menthol aroma that I assume is spruce. This beer smells a bit oxidized or maybe that's a mix of spruce and pumpkin. The flavor is a bit spicy and roasty. Herbal spicy menthol hits up front followed by a roasty caramel and toffee. This finishes with a long lingering bitterness that seems more intense than just hops. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a roasty bitter mouthfeel. This one is certainly out of the box, but it really didn't work all that well for me. The pumpkin is almost non existent and the spruce adds a harsh bitterness that I really couldn't get into.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 04:07:49 | More by johnnnniee

kangarooAdam59

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Into a pint glass (also had in a nonic, no change):

A: pitch black colored body that leaves a one finger mocha colored head that gently dies into the body, No carbonation is seen rising

S: spruce in front with a bit of sweet hops.

T: basically the same.

M: medium with nothing harsh on the tongue, nice and smooth with a nice creaminess coming out the more I taste this one.

O: this is a nice double stout. Though no pumpkin noted anywhere in the beer, I'm not bothered by that and would still have this one again.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2012 23:04:23 | More by kangarooAdam59

BeerImmediately

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2010 vintage that's been chillin in the cellar until this Halloween.

Pours with a large, rocky/foamy tan head that sticks around for a long time. Great lacing.

Aromas contain quite a bit of the minty and spruce twang. Good milk chocolate-like malty sweetness, but dominated by the hops.. surprised this quality has held up so nicely over the years.

Flavors bring the stout, but it's cut so well by the spruce. It's not dissimilar to a peppermint stout I've had before. Rich mouthfeel, but not imperial stout rich. Quite drinkable.

Definitely not your typical impy stout, if that's what you're looking for... but if you've SEEN the label, you'll know better. This one really lives up to the unique qualities that it sets out to achieve.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 22:22:02 | More by BeerImmediately

ryan1788a5

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle poured into a large snifter.

A: It's hard to get a feel for the color in dim lighting, but it looks to be charcoal black. An active, bubbly tan head quickly sputters into nothing. Not much lacing to speak of, just a few specks here and there.

S: Roasted malt scents of bakers chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Cola. Strong aroma of fresh pine needles and fir trees. Bit of a minty quality. Andes mints. Coffee beans underneath. An interesting nose, to say the least. Aromatic, but not very complex and exotic to the point of being a bit odd.

T: Strong hit of pine needles and mint on the attack. Roasty malt tastes behind this. Charcoal, black cocoa powder, black coffee. Bitter dark chocolate with a touch of acidity. Touch of vague fruitiness. Eventually the pine goes away altogether and the bitter, roasted acidity takes charge. Try as I might, I can't pinpoint any pumpkin. Finishes with bitter dark chocolate, acidic black coffee, and charcoal.

M: Medium bodied. Slightly firm malt texture, but it isn't enough. Little to no carbonation. Not much here.

O: The spruce tips sure do make things interesting, but they can't hide the fact that this is a pretty average beer otherwise. Oh, and where's the pumpkin?

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 23:55:06 | More by ryan1788a5

lovindahops

New York

3.9/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Grabbed this bomber on the way home from hill farmstead a few weeks back. Very unique brew from the brief tasting. Poured into an alchemist stemless tulip

A- very brown body with a disappearing act of foam that leaves an opaque body

S-sugary molasses with an appetizing earthy and toffee scent. Slightly syrupy without the pumpkin I was thinking would be there. A sweet and hearty presence

T- sweet aforementioned molasses with a dark piney tone that is thick and effective with the flavor process. Even a bitter element splashes in to make for a unique stout. The brown sugar finish makes for an interesting autumn brew

M- carbonated and smooth with flavor

O- Intetesting autumn brew from a good Vermont brewery. Some sweet autumn attributes that will make me want another if I pass it by

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 21:07:10 | More by lovindahops

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown with a clay colored head. Hard pour sprung a sticky foam cone. Decent retention.

Faint aroma. Dry Ovaltine powder with some old pine needles. As it warms it sorta smells like menthol cigarette butts.

This beer tastes fairly similar to when I mix chocolate whey protein with dark roast iced coffee. Not as strong as that concoction but the same flavor. Mocha I guess. Has a roast malt flavor without any actual roastiness. Dull mint in back which I'm guessing is from the spruce tips.

The bottle warns the buyer to not expect pumpkin pie and the bottle spoke truthfully. It's a colonial take on using pumpkin in beer where the gourd is utilized for it's sugars rather than dousing a beer with pie spices and extracts. Nifty idea and a solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 03:48:20 | More by donkeyrunner

smakawhat

Maryland

3.43/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured on tap at Rock Art Brewery into a taster shaker pint glass.

A dark brownish red body, pretty dark, presented with a faint tan collar. Looks inviting.

Nose is quite diverse. Cola soda. Beech nut and nutmeg. THere's a little bit of faint spicy toffee in the background. This smells very strange, and nothing like a pumpkin beer.

Taste seems to match the nose quite correctly. No sense of dense pumpkin body, lots of burnt charcoal without any sweet grainy tastes. Finishes with hop pine and a twiggy woody character no doubt because of spruce tips added I am guessing. Finish is wet and also a little burning.

Interesting beer, probably like it because it doesn't taste like a regular pumpkin beer, but not really drawn to wanting this again.

Serving type: on-tap

08-25-2012 01:50:32 | More by smakawhat

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Dark brown with an amber glow.

S - Spruce, roasted malts and a touch of maple syrup. Not getting pumpkin at all but a nice nose.

T - Spruce, roasted malts and maple. Decent sweetness overall with some bitterness present as well to provide balance. No pumpkin comes through at all.

M - Medium body, light carbonation.

Serving type: on-tap

07-24-2012 01:26:50 | More by TheSevenDuffs

harrymel

Washington

3.23/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

This beer was worth trying, it is far from a standard pumpkin beer with extensive spruce addition and little else to offer. The beer is worthy trying, but seems more like a novelty save the opportunity for a gin lover’s beer to shine. Looks average brown with some low carb evidence. Spruce nose. Some medium body and lower carb and dry finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2012 21:19:01 | More by harrymel

drabmuh

Maryland

3.65/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks Mike, served in a tiny ticking snifter for ticking. Beer is amber / orange with a mild haze, off white head, some lacing, decent retention, moderate to low carbonation.

Aroma is low, nearly non-existent. Some faint spice, perhaps a pumpkin?

Beer is nice though, decently spiced, nice gourd presence. Strong but not overpower, everything is subtle and nice. For a pumpkin beer not bad. I'd have it again, maybe.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 03:44:21 | More by drabmuh

jondeelee

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pumpkin Imperial Spruce Stout opens with a malty, slightly spicy aroma that has little, if any, pumpkin notes. Instead, the aromas begin with light stout notes, including chocolate malt, dark and milk chocolate, touches of coffee and cream, and add to that a light sprinkling of spruce (which comes across as a hoppy pine note), and even gentler touches of anise. Some brown sugars also rise to the surface. As a whole, the aromas are light, and tend to fade quickly, but are still enticing.

On the tongue, the beer begins with a huge dose of pine and spruce, making at least that part of the beer's name immediately apparent. The spruce adds a good hint of bitter resin and oil to the mixture, coming across much like what the aroma of a pine tree would taste like if distilled: heavy on sap, lemon, and anise. Beneath that is a decent stout, including coffee, chocolate malt, and ash. Hints of pumpkin add welcome sugary, earthy flavors to the palate, slightly tempering the bitter oils and coffees. Hops bring extra bitterness, as well as lemons and grapefruit zest. But the spruce tips definitely remain throughout the mouthful as the dominant flavor, and even dominate the aftertaste, which lingers in sprucy oils and fading hints of coffee and chocolate malt for quite some time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this is certainly interesting beer, though I'm not sure if I would have ever guessed that pumpkin had been added had it not been so noted on the label. Instead, the spruce dominates with its oily, anise-like presence, and while the flavor is intriguing and nicely nuanced, it does tend to overly color the flavor profile, and does not let the other flavors come through as much as they should. The beer is still worth drinking, but as the label notes, one should "not think this is going to taste like pumpkin pie," and should expect instead a more Christmas-y flavor than a Thanksgiving one.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 00:46:19 | More by jondeelee

Gambrinus1184

Connecticut

4.33/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22-ounce bomber bottle into a Newport Storm snifter glass.

A: Black with root beer highlights beneath a two-finger thick head of dense, creamy, espresso-colored foam that leaves some nice lacing an a bit of sediment in the glass.

S: Roasted licorice, tobacco, hops and chocolate with a salty, pumpkin seed smell to go along with some pine needles.

T: Rich, anise-tinged and roasted malt beginning with a slow building, fruity, bitter flavor that pairs up with the bitter, piny hops and bitter, roasted pumpkin flesh. Washes back with a lingering, roasted pumpkin bitterness and some charred, piny hops to go along with a clingy, alcohol finish.

M: Big, bold and complex with loads of charred malts, roasted pumpkin and booziness to cling to those oily hop resins in the aftertaste.

O: A very good stout with an interesting addition of pumpkin and spruce tips, this 8% brew warms up nicely and pairs well with the flashier, peppery spices in my vegetarian chili, as per the label's recommendation. Not a pumpkin ale by any stretch, this stout takes the natural bittering qualities of pumpkin, then marries the bitterness of spruce to the carefully selected piny hops.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2011 00:41:16 | More by Gambrinus1184

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.3/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a two finger light tan head that fades slowly leaving some lace. Opaque brown color, some yeast left in bottle. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Spruce nose. Brewer is right - nothing like pumpkin pie, spruce (there's a whole forest here) adds the bitterness, malts are in background, not finding much pumpkin. $4.54 for a 22oz bottle from Beverage Warehouse Winooski, VT.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 23:06:38 | More by jdhilt

vfgccp

New York

3.9/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

A –Nice ruby brown body. Light tan head is creamy with great retention and ok lace.

S – Brown sugar, chocolate malt, fruit cake, woody bitters and a hint of light coffee.

T – Roasted malt with just a touch of smoke. Tree bark, molasses, and a kiss of fresh pumpkin through the center. Char and pine on the backend.

M – Light body for the style, but not unpleasant. More porter than stout.

O – Light on the pumpkin, but over the profile is fresh and piney with a well integrated profile. Tastes almost like a wet-hop stout.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 18:26:24 | More by vfgccp

Flounder57

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle was poured into a Stella glass. Picked this up in VT during Thanksgiving weekend. Never seen it down here in MA, so I figured it was time to try it out.

Appearance: The beer poured a one finger mocha head. Pitch black and can't really notice anything else at all. Head has reduced to a thin layer with some lacing left on the glass.

Smell: A lot of coffee, mocha, and alcohol on the nose. Smells dry and spicy.

Taste: Same as above, but I could notice the spruce tips, earthiness,and pumpkin in the rear of the sip very subtlely. Also some bitterness towards the end. Spruce tips do a good job of masking the alcohol. This beer tastes better as it gets warmer.

Mouthfeel: medium carbonation, smooth, full bodied, a little dry and boozy, and easy to drink.

Overall: This was a very interesting take on the style. With the subtleness of the pumpkin and the addition of the spruce tips to the kettle, this beer was better than I expected. Very scarily good and will have to grab a bottle next time in VT.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2011 04:12:35 | More by Flounder57

Durge

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

An opaque black brown color with a decent tan cover that settles to a film with similar trail of sketchy lacing. The aroma embraces the subtle spruce idea as advertized. Some skunky, earthy seaweed malt. Nice but not overpowering. The flavor comes out with plenty of spruce hopiness as promised. It’s malty with herbal subtleties over a bit of charcoal but the spruce description is true to form with minty-like freshness. This stuff is about full bodied with balanced carbonation to provide a drinkable, very uniquely tasty beer, although the pumpkin element is not obvious to me.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2011 02:15:01 | More by Durge

ikats

New Jersey

3.48/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours very dark ruby with a wonderful brown head that dissolves slowly (some time in and there is still noticeable head). Aroma is a bit difficult to analyze (my sense of smell is terrible to begin with). Roasted notes. Maybe a bit of sweetness. There is a hoppy component there too. At first taste this beer hit me pretty good. Any sweetness in the aroma is relegated to the background and this beer is all about dryness. Very dry with a touch of bitterness in the back and a touch of sweetness on the lips. As you drink it, the beer feels smooth, but dry aftertaste may not be pleasing to everybody. Personally, I'm enjoying it. My first thought - ice cream (I have a weak spot for stouts with vanilla ice cream). I think it would play nicely off this stout's dryness. Medium body. Somewhat warming.

I will not be reaching out for this beer often, but on a winter day it will be delicious with a dessert. My mom and dad brought me this beer from their trip to Vermont (I only mention it because I always enjoy when people bring me beer as souvenirs).

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2011 02:38:18 | More by ikats

CHADMC3

Connecticut

3.93/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours an opaque black body beneath the foamy, mocha head that very slowly dissolves leaving a thick lacing clinging to the glass.

The visual versus the aroma confuses the senses a bit. Upon first examination, the aroma is of roasted malt traditional of an Imperial Stout. Upon closer review, there is a woody spice to this beer from the spruce, and then the pumpkin comes out a bit too.

After the roasted malt coats the palate, the pumpkin is quite apparent. Not only is the pumpkin flesh easy to decipher, but the woody notes from the spruce could also seem similar to pumpkin seeds or even stem. The wood and spice aspects are more prevalent mid-palate while the pumpkin flesh highlights the finish.

Medium in body (light for an Imperial Stout) with medium carbonation and fairly smooth finish.

This is a tough beer to evaluate. I think I can see what Rock Art was going for and they did a pretty good job. The blend of roasted malt, wood, and spice are nice in the aroma and the pumpkin flesh does well with the malt in the flavor. If anything, it could be a bit fuller in body. A craft beer brain and senses are not used to this type of beer with this blend of qualities. One could argue the brewer got a bit too crazy, or that given what they chose to work with, got it just right.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2011 02:01:00 | More by CHADMC3

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pumpkin Imperial Spruce Stout pours black into the glass with a medium sized, light tan head on top. The foam dissolves quickly to a thick ring around the surface leaving behind several spots and lines of lace on the glass.

The aroma is malty with notes of coffee and roasted malt. Pine and pepper notes are also present.

Each sip of this medium bodied beer is highly carbonated, with a creamy body. The flavor begins with dark malt flavors with roasted malt, chocolate and coffee. Towards the end some pine and citrus hop move in. It finishes dry with a touch of spice. Once gone the pine and chocolate notes linger on the palate.

The pine flavor makes this beer interesting. It has nice stout flavor, but is somewhat over carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2011 19:31:07 | More by WanderingFool

jonB

New York

4.1/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours an opaque brown with a mocha head that dissipates somewhat quickly. The smell is sweet malts with hints of brown sugar and piney hops. The taste has plenty of malt, which gives it a full mouthfeel and finishes with subtle hoppiness. It finishes dry and even with no hint of alcohol. A very well balanced beer that is great to sip. Not at all what you would expect with pumpkin in the name, but a very nice surprise.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2011 01:39:47 | More by jonB

oline73

Maryland

3.13/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a Chimay goblet.

Appearance: Pours almost black but it is a reddish brown when held up to the light. There is just under a finger of off white head that goes away completely.

Smell: Roasty with some pine and a hint of sweet, dark fruit.

Taste: I don't think all the flavors work together in this beer. There is a strong bitterness that comes from the roast and some pine as well. There is a slight hint of citrus peel in this one too. I'm missing the pumpkin. The finish is bitter.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with very mild carbonation and a finish that is a bit slick.

Overall: I wasn't in love with this beer. I don't think everything worked together and didn't really taste pumpkin.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2011 01:19:25 | More by oline73

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - A finger and a half worth of tightly packed slightly creamy medium khaki colored head with a bit of a batter-like top... Modest retention gives ay to a full but slightly lopsided veil of lacing... The color is a deep dark brown... Only a couple of stray carbonation bubbles can be seen rising on the sides of the glass towards the top...

S - Fairly subdued... The spruce notes are rather muted... Some notes of molasses... Very lightly roasted malts... The pumpkin is quite subtle and buried beneath the surface... Very faint chocolate notes...

T - The spruce tips assert themselves on the palette and provide a surprising bitterness... Some lightly roasted malts... Very faint coffee notes...

M - Medium bodied... A bit thin... A light bit of sharp carbonation... A slightly awkward finish that tends to linger for a while...

D - While I didn't expect a blast of pumpkin, as many have said, it is almost completely absent... The spruce tips provide a unique flavor which prove to be a bit challenging... The mouthfeel really detracts from this one overall... Far from a drain pour, but not one I would neither recommend nor purchase again...

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2011 23:33:32 | More by philbe311

stonermouse

Massachusetts

2.95/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a Sam Adams glass. Drank over about an hour, so had it cool through room temp.

Pours cola-brown, with a head that vanishes quickly. Low carbonation and no lacing at all. Looks like a flat RC Cola.

Aroma is decent, if nondescript. A little coffee comes through, along with, believe it or not, a little cola-like smell. Not quite the overwhelming wallop I expected from an "extreme" beer.

I expected big flavor, and I didn't get it. This is pretty mellow all around. There's a bit of chocolate and coffee, but pretty generic, mild flavors. The advertised pumpkin flavor pretty much didn't exist, and there was a touch of pine, earthiness, and a bit of plain hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel is rather dry and thin. Finishes with a bitter and mildly unpleasant dryness.

Not sure what to say about this one. It's a fairly average stout advertised as an "extreme," imperial-type stout. Nothing about this brew is extreme. It's not an offensive brew, but it offers only slightly more than a Guiness in a fancier bottle.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2011 02:41:22 | More by stonermouse

Doshkin

Maine

2.98/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

a - very dark almost black amber. decent head that dissipated quickly

s - some spicy, hoppy smells. not too strong

t - fair amount of hops for what i expected. bitter. no pumpkin taste at all. this was kind of a weak, hoppy stout

m - bubbly, smooth, spiced

o - this is not very "extreme", as claimed very blatantly across the label. i guess the one good thing about it is that it masks the 8% pretty well. i didn't find this beer particularly impressive in any way. i won't buy it again. would not pick it as a beer to hang out and relax with, and i definitely not drink more than a bottle of it. too bad a got a big bottle to come to these realizations : P

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2011 01:49:44 | More by Doshkin