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

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

IrishMonk

Georgia

3.9/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Out of a bomber from Habersham Beverage in Savannah.

One of my favorite fall seasonals, a creamy pumpkin ale that is pretty drinkable despite the heavy alcohol. Not as spicy as the Great Pumpkin. The bourbon flavor is very forward, and slightly over takes the spices, but leaves a nice pumpkin crust finish. Well worth a try if you like full, barrel aged ales.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 01:11:06 | More by IrishMonk

Shmagles

District of Columbia

4.43/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This will be an odd review. This just came into my store recently so im going to mention this as a 2012 version of the great'er pumpkin. I tasted this beer twice from the same bottle and had differing opinions between the two tastings. I have purchased two bottles because of the rarity. From the initial opening it maintained the boozy aspect that you would expect from the bourbon barrel soaking. I was very dissatisfied initially because I felt like I was drinking bourbon with pumpkin beer flavoring added and it just wasn't a satisfying taste. After which I fell asleep for a couple hours and woke up later. Once I tried it again after it having sat out in the open air for a bit did it finally seem to balance out. The boozy notes of bourbon seemed to settle and a beautiful balance emerged. Now I am fully impressed with the style of the beer and am probably more likely to enjoy it again. If I had finished it before leaving it in the open air, I probably would have rated it alot lower than what i am giving it now. Overall I wonder if this beer would work well leaving it to age before drinking. But it is definitely something worth trying. A- overall, but only because I have yet to fully appreciate the bourbon flavoring.

Ap- Seems like a normal pumpkin beer (darker orange)

Sm- Smells like bourbon and pumpkin spice

Ta - Tasted like bourbon and pumpkin spice

MF - Smooth.

Ov - Bourbon seems to weaken over time esp in open air. Do not wait longer than I did to drink it, After so long the beer will go totally flat. I was very lucky that i didnt wake up after I did. The beer was timed perfectly from absolute random luck. (~5-6 hours later) FYI the bottle was 2/3s poured into a pilsner glass. Very little surface area from the brew. The rest was still sitting in the bottle, I constantly poured the remaining amount to try to obtain a bit of foam before drinking.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2012 10:01:46 | More by Shmagles

rebby

4.13/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I do like my J.D., so when I saw this in Wegman's Collegeville PA I had to try it! It is a really lovely color, a coppery orange-brown, and fairly strong bourbon nose. The bourbon for me overpowered the overall taste a little, and also had a bit of the "hot" quality. But as I said I do like my bourbon as well as my beer, and I like pumpkin too! I'd like to taste a little more pumpkin and maybe a little more spice (not more cloves though). That doesn't take away from the brilliant idea of pairing the taste of bourbon with pumpkin and spice, all in a beverage that can be enjoyed in more than one tiny sip at a time. Great job! I'm going back for more tomorrow.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 01:38:47 | More by rebby

MarkCyrAmanda

California

3.8/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It has a very appealing look right off the bat; smooth, lacy, and just the right amount of sediment. The color is a deep orange copper.

The aroma isn't overpowering, but leaves something to be desired. The association with the bourbon barrels definitely influences the fullness of the aroma, but there are notes of nutmeg and other seasonably appropriate spices.

Possesses a well-balanced malt profile and silky smooth texture. A biting astringency is conferred by the whiskey barrel aging process, giving the impression that your glass has been used previously for a whiskey drink.

The competition between the flavors of autumn and the bourbon creates a battlefield on the palate, leaving way for improvement. Balancing the sweetness and astringency with a spicy hop would turn this from a good beer to a great beer.

Overall, a wholly enjoyable beer (but it's like the Pumking's alcoholic cousin, that is difficult to tolerate in large portions).

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2011 02:27:21 | More by MarkCyrAmanda

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

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