Imperial Pumpkin Ale - Weyerbacher Brewing Co., Easton

Weyerbacher is a brewery I saw on a lot of shelves when I was living in Delaware this summer but I never bothered to pick up any bottles of their beer. It's nothing personal, I just never got around to it. I'd like to think it didn't have anything to do with the packaging, but these labels are notoriously low budget... It looks like these labels were crafted from the finest clip art galleries available to a community college graphic design student in 1997. Labels don't have any effect on the flavor of the beer, but they might be the deciding factor for someone who isn't familiar with the Weyerbacher name.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin pours a barely brownish dark copper color with a light head of large white bubbles. The body is slightly hazy but otherwise quite clear. The head doesn't stick around for long but it does leave a little lacing behind as it retreats. This beer smells much like other big Pumpkin Ales, it has a spicy character with tons of nutmeg, cinnamon and clove. It's sweet, oddly earthy and reminiscent of fall.

The flavor of this beer is, just like the aroma, not unique but also not bad. All those pumpkin pie spices hit your tongue right when you take your first sip. It's a bold mix of flavors but it quickly mellows out as the beer moves across your palate. The middle of this beer seems oddly lacking, perhaps because it starts off so strong. The finish of the Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin is mild with just a little bitterness. With a name like Imperial Pumpkin Ale you might be expecting a little more from this beer. I found it to be pleasantly pumpkin-y yet well balanced with all those spices. It's good, but it's not something I'd write home about.