Heavy Seas - The Great'er Pumpkin - Heavy Seas Beer

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

2.45/5  rDev -36.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Passing by a bottle of bourbon aged beer with pirate bottle art work would prove impossible for me.

Dark orange sherbet color with a marrow beige-white head. Swirly skim retention with a few foamy fingers rising from the orange miasma.

Cinnamon lead pumpkin pie spice is most discernible on the nose followed by a pumpkin pie filling and woody, wet bourbon mash up. Aroma is messy and doesn't feature the bourbon well.

Pumpkin pie spice, mild vegetal pumpkin and bourbon muddled together to form a uniform boozy blah.

I thought I was done with boozy, overspiced pumpkin ales for the year but this one sucked me back in. Once again, bourbon was the source of bad decision making.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2011 14:32:16 | More by donkeyrunner

SchmoTerp

Alabama

2.38/5  rDev -38.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Always a fan of Clipper City and their Heavy Seas series, I was excited about this seasonal brew. When I finally poured this from its 22oz bottle, I was eager to take my first sip. It's appearance was solid, even with a bit of sediment floating around in the glass. The unique red-orange color paired not wholly complimentary with its equally unique smell, a pungent mix of pumpkin, spices, and citrus. Once to my lips, this beer was not for me. The taste of this beer was unbalanced. There were notes of good flavors but together this didn't mesh well. Even worse was the finish which was down right awful and got me looking for a glass of water.

This was a one time special for me.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2011 04:38:09 | More by SchmoTerp

angrybabboon

Rhode Island

2.28/5  rDev -41.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Review adapted from notes taken 11/12/11

Appearance: Hazy, but mostly clear - dark orange - little white head that doesn't stick around for long, average lacing

Smell: Straight-up bourbon, with a side of bourbon - some pumpkin flesh underneath - a ton of the usual pumpkin pie spices - nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger - some sweetness, tons of alcohol - it's like someone hollowed out a pumpkin pie and filled it with bourbon

Taste: Absurd, with so much bourbon - borderline more bourbon than beer - tons of wood, tons of alcohol - underneath this assault, there are some cooked malts and pumpkin - pumpkin pie spices everywhere - a vegetal sweetness, but mostly dry - totally unbalanced, way too much bourbon

Mouthfeel: Medium body, on the thin side considering the harsh flavor, adequate carbonation

Overall: In a word, harsh

I thought a touch of bourbon would do good things to a pumpkin beer. And maybe it would. This beer throws so much bourbon into the equation that it is nearly incomprehensible. And this beer may or may not have made me need to vomit.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2012 06:58:03 | More by angrybabboon

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

2/5  rDev -48.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5

Thanks to angrybabboon for splitting the bomber.

Appearance: Hazy orange. Bright-white head. Pours a little heavy with some decent carbonation. Minus the haze, this is what I would expect to see.

Smell: This is where things start to go wrong. Bourbon, vanilla, clove, nutmeg, and a nice splash of real pumpkin. Sweet like pumpkin pie filling. Fleshy, vegetable goodness mired in some straight bourbon. Not a lot of aroma blending going on here. It's like sniffing a shot of bourbon and then jamming your nose in pumpkin pie filling.

Taste: Sweet pie filling soaked in bourbon. It tastes like someone got drunk in the kitchen and decided to share. Vanilla and oak jam down the sweetness. Clove and nutmeg dominate the spice profile, but bourbon kicks it in the balls and says "To hell with you. I'm the king!" and promptly drops a steamy load of bottom shelf bourbon on your tongue. Pumpkin bombs! Drop a shot of canned pumpkin in a glass of Jim Beam and you'll get the idea.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a moderate carbonation. Drinks on the smooth side, with a hellaciously dry booze burn after every sip.

Overall: They didn't bourbon barrel age this. I think they pumpkin aged some bourbon. Seriously off balance and almost undrinkable. If I wanted to drink a glass of bourbon, I'd do it.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 02:36:38 | More by Goblinmunkey7

Bendurgin

Maine

1.88/5  rDev -51.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Poured this into a pint glass. The body is hazy orange with about a finger of off white head that looks thick and creamy. The body actually really looks like sweet apple cider. Maybe because it's Autumn. The head doesn't retain very well and leaves just a little spotty lacing. I can definitely smell the pumpkin in this one, a bit of oak and certainly the bourbon. The bourbon is actually a bit aggressive, it makes it a bit to intense. Ugh. Pumpkin and bourbon don't go well together at all. This reminds me of cough syrup. I can taste the pumpkin, bourbon and Autumn spices but the bourbon is too much. I remember having the regular version last year and it wasn't bad. But these flavors just don't go well together. The mouthfeel isn't bad. Not really good though because the feeling in my mouth is just the really bad taste of cough syrup. Not at all drinkable. I'm really pissed at Shane from Tully's for pointing this one out to me and convincing me I should try it. That's strike two Shane.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2010 01:19:52 | More by Bendurgin

jsh420

Illinois

1.75/5  rDev -54.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

pours cloudy amber orange with a 1 finger head that left some spotted lacing

smell - almost none but i get some watered down bourbon

taste - sweet bourbon smacks your tastes buds right off the bat - this beer has more bourbon flavor then lots of stouts aged in bourbon barrels and no pumpkin to back it up - i think i might and coke zero so i can drink this booze monster

mouthfeel - kind of sticky medium body with low carbonation

drinkability is awful - 3/4 of this bottle went down the drain

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2010 03:10:53 | More by jsh420

EastHarris

Pennsylvania

1.48/5  rDev -61.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

I picked this up right before Thanksgiving as a bookend to all of the pumpkin/fall beers I would be having that day. I've had Heavy Seas offerings before but this was my first of their bourbon barrel aged offerings. Poured with almost no head. Smelled of pumpkin pie spices with a slight boozy, oaky aroma. The first sip was wow....what happened to this brew? It tasted like someone took a half decent pumpkin beer and poured a double shot of bourbon directly into it. It was so overwhelming that I drain poured the rest of it and I have not had a bourbon barrel beer since. I basically lost my taste for this style because of this beer.

Well intentioned, but poorly executed. I mean poor. The only person who might like this is a bourbon aficionado and even that is doubtful.

Better luck next time around!

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 19:38:47 | More by EastHarris