Tag Archives: pumpkin

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Posted on by
Reply

Beer-a-Day #239

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale (image © Christopher Vigliotti)

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale (image © Christopher Vigliotti)

Like a pyramid for a pharaoh, we set out to make a bold monument for The King of the Pumpkins!  This 8.0% ABV pumpkin ale is the mother of all pumpkin ales.  It is heartier, spicier, and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren! We have added lots of pumpkin along with Cinnamon, Nutmeg and a touch of cardamom and clove giving this beer a spicy, full-bodied flavor.  This truly is an Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

Perfect finisher on a cool autumn night, or match it up with a slice of pumpkin pie and fresh whipped cream.  It is available August through November.

This is a great time of year for beer: All of the Octoberfests and Pumpkin beers are hitting the stores.

Golden amber with orange highlights; off-white head. Definitely getting the cinnamon in the aroma. Not bad, but seems a little unbalanced. 8% ABV seems awfully high for a pumpkin beer. There might be a bit too much cinnamon.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Flying Dog Dog Schwarz

Posted on by
Reply

Flying Dog logoBeer-a-Day #33

As usually happens once a year or so, my FOAM meeting this month was held at the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland. For the trivial cost of $5 for a glass, I could sample everything they had on tap.

They had a couple of Wild Goose offerings on tap, as well as a large portion of Flying Dog’s “The Pack”, “Canis Major” and the spring seasonal: Garde Dog Biere de Garde. Three offerings caught my eye today:

First was the Wild Goose Pumpkin Patch Ale. Pumpkin ale is a bit out of season, but it is a guilty pleasure of mine so I decided to have that first.

Then I found out that on the hand pump was the Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout. Not only was it on cask, which was unusual enough, but this batch had been further dry-hopped. The silky-smooth hand-pumped oatmeal stout combined with the spice of dry hops made for an interesting combination.

But what made the biggest impression on my was Dog Schwarz, part of their Wild Dog series. I don’t usually like smoke beers, but this one was nicely balanced. Frankly, from the first sip I was craving bratwurst.

You don’t need to join a Maryland homebrew club. Flying Dog offers tours and tastings every Saturday.