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

TheGordianKnot

Tennessee

3.7/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from bomber into goblet...

A- Rusty orange. Has a nice dense off white head, settles fast with some lacing.

S- 5... Simply put: its prefect. Not sure how to describe perfection? Pumpkin pie, spice, sweetness, nuttiness, caramel, everything awesome!

T/M- A little hot from the bourbon. The pumpkin and spice flavors take a back seat as everything seems to settle down on the tongue; ends up being much more of a blend of fall flavors rather than what I hoped a bourbon barrel pumpkin beer would be. Has a slight oak taste on the middle of the palate. The end is alcohol and nutmeg. Body is medium/almost heavy with decent carbonation, but it's not airy.

O- Wished I would have gotten more pumpkin in the flavor. If taste was like aroma, this would be impeccable! Not sure how she will do with this, as I feel the pumpkin flavors I want may settle even more. Decent, but many other options out there which taste better and my wallet enjoys more.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2011 01:11:05 | More by TheGordianKnot

jnn4v

Virginia

3.68/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Orangeish brown, hazy color. No sediment. Very little head.

S: Smells like pumpkin spice candles, hot mulled cider, and hints of apple pie.

T: Apple pie spice, apple cider, pumpkin pie, and alcohol. Not overly sweet. Sort of medicinal flavor.

M: Good texture. Medium-to-thick mouthfeel.

D: OK drinkability. The alcohol and cloves started to get annoying halfway through.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2010 00:53:57 | More by jnn4v

aasher

Indiana

3.68/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I opted to go ahead and pour this one instead of aging it. The curiosity got to me. It poured a cloudy, murky dark burnt orange with almost no head at all. You can smell it from a couple feet away. You can pick up the pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon. Up close you get little more than bourbon, oak, and vanilla. The taste isn't what I wanted it to be. It's subtly pumpkin while overly bourbon. I would've liked it the other way around. It drinks slightly "hot" too because of the bourbon flavor paired with the 9% alcohol content. It has a medium to body and leaves the bourbon flavor on your palate. I like it, but it could've been better. I'll probably buy another one just to let it age for a couple years.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2010 02:54:31 | More by aasher

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Got a bomber of this for 7.99 at my local beer Nutz. Not Sure of the age but with some sediment in the bottle it may be last years batch. Hoping the bourbon has rounded out in that time!

A - Poured a nice amber with an inch of fluffy white head. The pour was pretty carbonated so the sediment was disturbed and resulted in a snow storm in my glass. Ow well it's a bourbon beer so I don't think it is soured.

S - Wow this smells like a booze bomb! Heavy bourbon with just a hint of caramel sweetness with just a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon.

T - Belch! Ow wow the only time I had a as much bourbon flavor was in Nemesis! Usually a beer will round out the bourbon flavor resulting in a sweetness but this is full on booze flavored! Hard to detect anything else but I did pick up mostly caramel sweetness, some wood, and a very mild if any pumpkin taste but really it good have just been bourbon with this monster!

M - Very heavy and almost undrinkable. I kind of enjoy a scotch or bourbon flavor MILDLY in my beer but this is ridiculous.

D - I don't think age will do much more with this beer since after a while the sediment starts to set in destroying the flavor. Was really hoping for more with this beer but has really opened my eyes for big ABV Pumpkin ales. Most of them (Smashed Pumpkin, Hopping Frog Double Pumpkin, and this) were total booze bombs. I will stick with my Screaming Jack from Michigan. PASS!

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2010 05:35:46 | More by DrDemento456

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 oz brown bottle. No freshness date.
Served in a Sam Adams lager glass.
It pours an orange-hued copper color with little specks of suspended floaties and a thin beige head which fades in a matter of seconds. No lacing whatsoever.
The first smell is that of a spiced pumpkin bourbon cake (not a bad idea!), followed by some citrus zest and a whiff of dry barn.
The flavors are fairy intense with pumpkin, bready malt, spices, lemony citrus, grapefruit and bourbon.
The alcoholic profile grows as you get halfway through the glass, and I think to myself yourself, "I've had 2 Wolaver Pumpkin Ales,
and a Sierra Nevada Tumbler before this and now I have to consider how many hours I've been drinking, what I ate and how much I weigh, because I'm feeling this brew in each breath I take and there is a noticeable pleasant buzz in the works. Fear not! I'm sitting in my home office just drinking and a typing...and staring at the pumpkin I just bought.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2011 01:35:13 | More by BeerResearcher

ummswimmin

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Stuck inside during the great Frankenstorm... seems like the perfect time to review some beer!

I poured the Greater Pumpkin into a chalice style glass. On the pour I get about two fingers of foam, but that dies down pretty quickly. The coloring is a deep orange.

I can smell this beer aroma is reaching me from a few feet away. You immediately get a bunch of pumpkin. You can also pick up the bourbon at the edges.

The flavor is really hot. It is over-whelming. You get a ton of alcohol in this. The pumpkin really comes out. I feel like this could get better with aging.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 18:02:32 | More by ummswimmin

drabmuh

Maryland

3.6/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from the bottle into a bruery tulip. Beer is orange and hazy with a thin broken white head of small bubbles.

Aroma is strong with some pumpkin, minimal spices and strong bourbon.

Beer is light in body and quite hot. Its mildly spicy but the pumpkin some how cuts through and is still present. My wife enjoys this beer and this style more than I do but this is a decent beer. I wouldn't have expected much from a bourbon barrel aged fruit beer but this one comes through. Its a little harsh on the onset but overall its OK.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2010 01:47:38 | More by drabmuh

womencantsail

California

3.6/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

What are the chances? Two people bring the same beer to an impromptu tasting (thanks Dan). Thanks for the taste from your bottle, Craig.

A: The pour is a dark amber color with a thin ring of tan foam around the outside of the glass.

S: Tons and tons of pie spices such as cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg. The bourbon aroma is plentiful as well, providing quite a bit of booze along with the usual oak and vanilla.

T: The vanilla flavor is really nice and smooth here. Fairly sweet, but the bourbon flavor helps to mitigate that a bit, and the intense cinnamon and nutmeg flavors do an even better job of this.

M: The body is maybe on the thin side of medium with a low to medium carbonation.

D: I could see this being great, but the bourbon and spices are just overdone at this point.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2010 01:00:06 | More by womencantsail

claspada

New Jersey

3.6/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

2011 Bottle aged for a year in the fridge.

Pours a dark amber color with a thin ring of tan foam around the outside of the glass that recedes to leave some pretty decent lacing on the glass.

Aromas are quite intense with tons of bourbon, quite a bit of booze along with the usual oak and vanilla. As it warms you get a lot of pumpkin pie spices as well; including cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.

The tastes begin with a great deal of sweet vanilla. Fairly sweet, but the oaky bourbon flavors helps to mitigate that a bit. As it warms the intense cinnamon and nutmeg flavors do an even better job of this.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low-medium carbonation. Finish is pretty darn sweet and boozy, which is suprising given the year of age.

OveralI, I chose to age this because I heard it was farily intense upon the release and it it still so after a year. The bourbon and spices are just overdone causing an intense flavor profile is just hard to really enjoy. I don't mind aging beers for more than a year but a pumpkin beer doesnt fit that MO for me

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2012 17:08:53 | More by claspada

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.58/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

On cask at Mahaffey's the other night.

The beer pours a pumpkin orange amber color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is impressive in this pumpkin ale, showcasing a boatload of clove, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, all spice and brown sugar. The beer smells sweet and very spicy. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely in this fairly sweet beer, though there's also something of a buttery mouthfeel and considerable alcohol as well. While I realize this is meant to be an "imperial" style ale, this beer comes across as an 11% or 12% abv. beer.... that's how boozy it is. Mouthfeel is soft, smooth and almost slick in this low carbonation presentation, and the beer has a farily long, spice infused finish. As seems to be typical in these mutiny fleet beers, drinkability is not this beer's strong suit. The combination of sweetness, spice and in your face alcohol made it impossible for me to finish even the 10 ounce glass I was served at Mahaffey's. While interesting, at least for me, this was ultimatley another mutiny fleet dud.

Serving type: cask

10-30-2010 13:14:55 | More by johnmichaelsen

Daktyls

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a hazy amber color with a half finger head that recedes quickly to a minimal lacing in the center of the brew.

S: A light aroma of bourbon masks most of the other smells, leaving a slight amount of malt to be detected as well.

T: A light malty-pumpkin flavor up front followed by bourbon-y sweetness on the back end. Spices are somewhat limited but present, lending little to the taste.

M: Medium amount of carbonation for an overall light body, seems to work well together.

O: Overall, this tastes more like bourbon that anything else. Not necessarily a bad thing, just not really pumpkin-y at all.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 18:38:50 | More by Daktyls

shageman331

Maryland

3.55/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance- slightly better head than the great pumpkin by heavy seas and a little darker, but all in all pretty similar

Smell- big hit of vanilla and Bourbon with some pumpkin making its way through

Taste- there is a lot of vanilla in this beer. The Bourbon influence is a bit overpowering and masks the pumpkin a little too much for my taste. I would like more pumpkin and spice.

Mouthfeel - Carb is well done and keeps the party moving along

Overall - I think this beer could have been exceptional if the Bourbon influence was toned down. All on all, this beer is a bit of a let down.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2010 03:29:18 | More by shageman331

weezyfart

Georgia

3.55/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

After much fanfare from friends of mine, I decided to plunk down some bucks and give this beer a try. I actually had pretty high hopes because this is the only aged pumpkin ale I've cone across yet.

Appearance: murky brown almost rusty in color with a small cap that left no lacing.

Aroma: I get a lot of wood, a lot of vanilla, plus pumpkin spice of course. I also get some dried apricot.

Taste: this is where the beer gets lost to me. Just about all I taste is vanilla and oak. There is lingering spice in there, but it is way overshadowed by the oak and the whole beer gets steered off course. In other words, it totally flew over the seasonal runway. I could drink this in February and basically think of it as a strong ale brewed with spices and aged in oak. I then may have given it better scores because I wouldn't have been thinking "pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin"

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2010 00:17:07 | More by weezyfart

elgiacomo

Georgia

3.53/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle, fall 2010 vintage.

Pours hazy amber/copper with a one finger off-white head that leaves good spotty lacing and holds a good cap.

Aroma is pumpkin, spices: clove, ginger, cinnamon, clove, not much bourbon on the nose although good overall strength.

Flavor is pumpkin, spices such as ginger, clove, nutmeg, a little cinnamon, fair bourbon whiskey, light vanilla, malty, light hop presence, alcohol makes an appearance, long spiced finish.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, medium carbonation, creamy.

Good pumpkin beer, less bourbon than expected. A big beer that needs sharing as 22oz would be too much for one person.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2010 21:51:36 | More by elgiacomo

mcallister

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Highly carbonated deep amber colored with a fluffy slightly off white head that holds good retention and leaves nice lace.

Nose of bourbon, vanilla, sweet oak, toasty woods, hints of nutmeg and cinnamon, with an underlying of toffee.

Decent beer but a pumpkin ale? The bourbon shows through nicely but like the bourbon barley wine it's not necassarily the best bourbon out there at least the way it's aged. Ahh some hints of cinnamon and nutmeg with a butternut squash finish and a bit of oxidation on the finish as well. Some toffee malt oak and vanilla in the middle but not much else. Good but not what I was hoping.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2010 21:07:42 | More by mcallister

pwoody11

Delaware

3.5/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Did a side by side with the Greater Pumpkin. The Greater Pumpkin is the same beer aged in Bourbon Barrels.

This beer was a burnt orange with no head but a small ring around the edges. It was darker in color than the Great version.

Aroma was pumpkin and spice dominated with a little faint malt and bourbon in the background.

After the first sip I'm pretty much only picking up pumpkin. This is "spicier" and more "pumpkiny" than the Great version. The other version is much sweeter whereas this one seemed to be heavier on the nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla.

Mouthfeel was a little weak, but didn't detract from the overall drinkability.

As far as the side by, to be honest, I couldn't pick up on any major differences. I think the Greater Pumpkin is a correct description, as I preferred it over the other, but again, no striking major differences.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2010 21:53:42 | More by pwoody11

FatJesus

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Two to choose from so I went with the one aged in bourbon barrels. Let's see what we got.
Poured into a Samuel smith pint glass from 22oz bottle.
Pours a hazy orange with a white one finger head that quickly dissipates with little lacing to be seen. Some sediment present.
Smells like nutmeg, cinnamon, some pumpkin and bourbon. Everything I expected, bourbon a little on the heavy side. First few taste I get pumpkin pie with nice spices and a bourbon burn at the end, but the more you drink it the more the bourbon takes over the overall taste of everything else. Mouthfeel is average, slight carbonation. A little sticky. Overall the bourbon overpowers everything else this beer has to fifer. Starts off great with all the smells and tastes you expected but gets killed by the bourbon. Don't get me wrong, I like bourbon-barrel aged stouts, the flavors in this just can't hold it's own. Next I will try the regular greater pumpkin to see how that is.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2011 22:51:33 | More by FatJesus

torr

3.5/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had heard amazing reviews from various sources before purchasing this brew. I expected a not overpowering pumpkin ale with a boozy twist. Now, I cannot say that I have the most refined palette, but what I tasted was a beer with a shot or two of bourbon in it. There was no appreciable pumpkin flavor. I wasn't expecting to be punched in the face with pumpkin like you might expect in a Shipyard, but I also wasn't expecting to get kicked in the balls with bourbon.

In my opinion, this is a better than average beer. It is obvious that Heavy Seas is trying to do something interesting that would be beyond the capabilities of most home brewers. I found this to be something I might serve via tasters to an interested group. I cannot imagine drinking more than one of these in a sitting. The overpowering bourbon flavor brought down what might otherwise be a complex and entirely enjoyable beer. I enjoyed the body, color, and the pumpkin spice aroma.

Overall it's worth a try, but generally the pumpkin beer money could be better spent on a Southern Tier Pumking.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 04:38:29 | More by torr

sendsilk

Florida

3.48/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Received in a recent trade. 22 oz. bomber

Murky orange with little head and not much lacing on the glass. Smells very much like cinnamon, cloves and coriander. Taste is pretty spicey, fairly sweet/sugary with the bourbon chiming in but not overly so. It's pretty nice but not the pinnacle of pumpkin beers. Mouthfeel is about average (I guess) for the style. Glad I got to try it but it was just slightly too spicey for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2011 01:34:35 | More by sendsilk

Naugros

New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Nice head, but there's a massive chill haze. Hold the beer up to the light and there's a bunch of sediment floating around in there. Not sure if it's lees suspended in the beer or spices.

The bourbon and the pumpkin are both right up front in the nose. Working together they smell a little solvent rather than boozy. The bourbon surpasses the pumpkin in dominance in the taste. The sweetness is tempered with bitterness as well as a twinge of sour. But I don't get much from the spices as they've been hijacked by the booze.

The time has come to rethink aging every beer we can get our hands on and throwing it into a bourbon barrel. It works with stouts and some barleywines can stand up to the strength of that liquor. Pumpkin ale sounded like a good idea to treat in this manner, but I don't think it really worked here. The original product was probably not bold enough and perhaps Weyerbacher might think about putting their Imperial Pumpkin Ale into bourbon barrels. It might do better sticking up for itself.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2011 00:57:40 | More by Naugros

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.45/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On-tap 11/28/2012 at Doherty’s East Ave Irish Pub in Pawtucket, RI, served in a tulip pint glass.

A: The beer is a cloudy light brown color, with a short dense off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains pumpkin, cinnamon & other spices, caramelized malts and some hops.

T: The taste starts out with a hearty malt character. Then some sweet flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg come in. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings some balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp but not very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is dry and slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, good kick, decent representation of style, this is yet another beer that proves that “imperial” doesn’t always mean better.

Serving type: on-tap

12-01-2012 02:31:05 | More by TheManiacalOne

illidurit

California

3.43/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shared at the December iteration of the Santa Cruz tasting series. Dark orange color. Peppermint and cinnamon aroma, very wintery, pumpkin pie plus spices. Smooth pumpkin sweetness, big spice notes, too much nutmeg/cinnamon. Didn’t get any bourbon. Dial down the spices, dial up the squash and the booze.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 08:30:13 | More by illidurit

ThickNStout

Georgia

3.43/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22oz bottle from Minks (Marietta, GA). 7.99. No bottling info but it is the 2012 vintage. Served in a large snifter.

Pours vibrant deep orange with three quarter finger pale head that fades quickly. No lacing.

Smells of vanilla, bourbon, mild spice, graham cracker and a hint of pumpkin. Strong booze as well.

Taste kicks off with bold bourbon and progresses to vanilla, unsweetened pumpkin pie, wet oak, stale graham cracker and a bunch of booze. While my description may not sound appetizing, it's actually pretty good. The alcohol bite can be distracting but I just play it off as the bourbon.

Medium full bodied with mild carbonation.

An interesting variation of the ever popular fall seasonal pumpkin brew. I haven't tried the base beer but I'm not sure it's quite enough to stand up to the bourbon barrel aging. The woodsy bourbon is nice but the pumpkin kind of gets lost in the mix. Still, a pretty good value as far as barrel aged imperials go and I don't regret the purchase.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2012 04:30:39 | More by ThickNStout

codysjb

Florida

3.4/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bought about a month ago and I’ve been looking forward to getting to try this one.
A: Not much head despite the fact that it gushed all over the place (thankfully missing my laptop and droid) which quickly dissipated in any matter. Light brown, but more of golden amber, color which you can’t see straight through.
S: Bourbon and booze, almost no pumpkin and not much of anything else.
T: Bourbon, Bourbon, a little pumpkin and more bourbon. I can certainly taste the alcohol, not what I was expecting.
M: Almost all bourbon, the flavor is really overwhelming. Can’t taste much of the beer.
O: Not the worst thing ever, better than a bunch of beers but the flavors are unbalanced and there’s way too much bourbon. Maybe not the best type of beer to age in bourbon barrels since the flavors don’t hold up.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2011 06:12:31 | More by codysjb

LordAdmNelson

Ohio

3.3/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice hazy orange color with smallish off-white head that recedes to a ring around the edge of the beer. Aroma is dominated by the Heavy Seas bourbon barrels, a bit boozy, the cinnamon/nutmeg/pumpkin seems to be a bit drowned out.

Flavor is pretty good, although I am not a huge fan of whatever the bourbon aging does to the Heavy Seas beers. I had the bourbon barrel barleywine and I tasted the same thing from the bourbon aging--a bit of vanilla heavily folded into an over-the-top buttery presence. Ruined the barleywine, though it worked a bit better with this beer. I like the Great Pumpkin a lot, so this was kind of a let-down. When the Great Pumpkin does show through over the buttery mess that is the Heavy Seas bourbon barrels, it's still quite good.

MF is thick, chewy, coating. Maybe a hair more carbonation to keep it moving but that's about it. OK drinkability, but I can't get past the buttery character of these beers. Maybe it's me--I'm pretty sure it's not the bottles since this is the same flavor I've found in two of their BA beers.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2010 00:44:22 | More by LordAdmNelson