Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
Beer: Imperial Pumpkin
Style: American Double / Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.5%
Character: Half Imperial Stout, half Pumpkin Ale
Metal Connection: IMPERIUM DEKADENZ – Aura Silvae
Back in March, “A Wild Ride through the Pumpkin Patch” was posted on the site. It was a review post that had a total of nine different pumpkin beers. This damn baby right here slipped by me and was not included on that post, so here we go with another pumpkin beer review.
Harpoon Imperial Pumpkin is described as a half Imperial Stout, half Pumpkin Ale, and having characteristics from both sides. Let’s see how accurate this may be.
Poured into a Real Ale 17th Anniversary snifter glass from a 22 oz. bottle. The beer had an opaque, thick looking black color, which had hints of a ruby color as light shined through the glass. Very nice looking color. There was not much of a head on this beer, but the tiny thin layer was a dark beige color when first poured, but quickly disappeared, never to return, leaving no lacing at all on the glass.
The aroma is strong with pumpkin pie spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, a bit of clove, and ginger. Following the spiciness is a nose full of sweet dark fruits (figs, prunes), some chocolate and roasted malts.The heat of the 10.5% definitely shows, as after a big whiff, there is a great boozy burn that lingers around the nose a while. There is no hiding how strong this beer is, that’s for sure.
The taste is right in the same lane as the aroma. Right away on the palate, this beer starts off with a slight hint of booze, blended with the typical pumpkin pie flavors, and spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and a bit of ginger. Rounding out the complexity of this beer are the dark malts, giving this beer a roasted flavor, along with some mild chocolate, and some dark fruit flavors, like fig, or prunes.
The beer has a medium body thickness, even though the look of it may make you think it’s as thick as motor oil. Not much for carbonation, so I thought it was a little flat, but that wasn’t enough to lose my interest. I have found that a few other pumpkin beers have this same quality. With not so much of a carbonation bite, this beer had a really smooth mouthfeel. The high ABV is present on the tail end of the drink, as it left a hot, boozy sensation on the palate that lingered a few moments after each drink.
Overall, I will say that this was a fantastic pumpkin beer, and perfect for the season. It is the type of beer you want to drink on a cold night by a fire. Harpoon delivered exactly what was promised. The aroma and taste of a good Imperial Stout are present, along with the qualities of a good Pumpkin Ale. A perfect match, in my opinion. I look forward to having this beer again when the season comes around.
Metal Connection: IMPERIUM DEKADENZ is a German based Black Metal band who have released four full length albums since 2004. This band was chosen for the Metal Connection for this name being similar to the word Imperial. The song, “Aura Silvae” is from the band latest’s album, Meadows of Nostalgia, which was released in March, 2013 on Season of Mist Records. This is actually my first encounter with this band, but I have now heard music from each of their albums, and I can easily say that this band is definitely under the radar for me, and probably a lot of other Metal heads. This band has a lot of catchy tunes, and worth the time to check them out. Imperium Dekadenz consist of only two band members, Vesperian and Horaz. Vesperian handles the drums for the band also shares the duties of guitars, bass, keyboards, and lyrics with Horaz. Not bad for a two piece band.
Beer Metal Media 