Heavy Seas Bourbon Oak Greater Pumpkin

Heavy Seas The Great'ER Pumpkin - Aged In Bourbon Barrels (2012)

Very Limited Seasonal Release.

22 fl. oz. / $ 7.99 USD / 9% ABV

About: "Great Pumpkin draws much of its flavor from a mixture of spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and allspice. Dark brown sugar adds color and some dryness to the spicy, malt-forward ale. The addition of the spices and pumpkin in the kettle makes this brew opaque.

The Great’ER Pumpkin, the bourbon barrel-aged version of The Great Pumpkin. Our brewers wrangled fresh, just-emptied bourbon barrels from A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Virginia, then fill them with The Great Pumpkin, and let the beer age inside the barrel for three weeks - bringing out vanilla and oak notes. The Great’ER Pumpkin will come out in very limited supply, in bottles and on draft."

Thoughts: Light hiss from the cap. Very slow to form head that surprisingly lasted almost a full minute. Head is a semi-transparent white. This beer is incredibly cloudy and so dense that it's impenetrable by light and/or the human eye. Color is a somewhat light auburn orange.

The scent is very mild. I'm getting some honey, circus peanuts and some bourbon way way off in the background. Getting a little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and marshmallow... all still very hard to smell.

On first gulp, I'm hit with the heat! While this beer may be real light on the scent, it blasts straight away in the mouth. A fierce black pepper burst, a fiery haze of booze and a sting from that cinnamon all rain down upon my tongue like pounding fists of flavor. How's the flavor taste exactly? Like harsh, boozy and very buttery cookies with slightly burnt bottoms and loads of sugar as well as brown sugar. It starts off boozy and sweet, then a deep rooted bitterness comes forward for a few moments, before retreating and letting that booze mildly ride out. It's interesting, and tastes really good once it warms. It's not orgasm-inducingly immense or anything, but it's got a velvety like taste to it and it's got aspects of what I like about my (barrel aged) beers:  Great in winter, Spiced, Boozy and Strong, and it's Raw Sugary Adult Candy. Pumking gets the TKO for the win near the end of Round 2, but this one is still fun stuff.

Haven't tried the original version this year, but more than likely I prefer it to this version. It's still in shops though, so there's a chance I may just pick up this years version and see. Mouth feel is a heavy medium, tickling with spices, soft and gentle on the fluff and extremely minimal on the bubbles due to the barrel aging.

Heavy Seas Plank 2

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Plank II - Dopplebock Style Lager (2012)

Limited Release (Brewed Once)

22 fl. oz. / $7.95 USD / 8.5% ABV

About: "Heavy Seas Beer announces the release of Plank II – the second in a series of beers showcasing unique wood aging treatment to add flavor and nuance. Plank II features an 8.5% ABV Dopplebock style lager matured with specially treated Eucalyptus and Yellow Poplar wood planks. The Heavy Seas Plank Series boasts an innovative way of adding wood to the brewing process. The beer is allowed to mature on the wood during secondary fermentation. Created in a not-so-traditional way, Plank II will change the how you perceive wood-aged beers. A revolutionary thermal process releases the compounds in the wood through controlled heat in a way that “toasting” cannot do. In short, we put the wood in the beer – not the beer in the wood. Six-foot planks of Eucalyptus and Poplar were placed in the fermenter and allowed to age with the beer for six weeks. The Eucalyptus wood lends notes of chocolate, balanced with a hint of toffee and smoky dryness from the Yellow Poplar."

Thoughts: Plank 2 poured a darkish amber brown color that filled to a near dense black in the glass and a light tan colored head

Scent is very malty up front. It's woody and roasty, and there's a toasted quality about it. Eucalyptus wood planks is an odd choice for age a beer with, but it smells pretty good. I'm a little weirded out since the last time I smelled something like this it was a body cream. Still, I'm not really getting any sort of hop profile on this one. Just malt and more malt. It's all very mellow too. Nothing is jumping out at me.

Very bitter chocolate malt comes off first and then there's a slightly sweet and sour haze that could possibly be a citrus tone but it's difficult to tell. After swallowing and feeling around there's a light grassy flow throughout each breath. That's about it. Wood aged or not, this isn't exactly the most exciting beer I've ever had. It does have a nice tingling spicy quality about it when it's in the mouth, and that makes it a bit hard to find flavors right off, but perhaps that's a good thing. Only a third of the way through, I'm going to let it warm and see what happens...

Mouth feel is smooth and creamy. It's a little soft and foamy, like a cappuccino. Not light feeling at all.

...alright, it's a bit warmer now. A lot more of that wood flavor comes out and it's a welcome addition to this otherwise boring beer. Now, I'm not a bock fan at all, but I always like to test the dirty waters every few months, especially if it's from a brewery I like. But I'm just not interested in this one at all. The wood is the only part of this beer that I'm enjoying. I'll still try any other their other "Plank" beers, and I'm hoping that they choose a better style to do this with the next time. Knives for fingers crossed for Pumpkin!

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Yule Tide

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Yule Tide Belgian Style Tripel Ale (2010)

Brewed and Bottled by The Clipper City Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland. USA.
Winter Seasonal (Limited Release) - RETIRED

22 fl. oz. / $6.49 USD / 10.0% ABV

About: "Slightly sweet with a complex malty flavor. The spicy flavor comes from our unique blend of Trappist yeast and Belgian Candi Sugar, making it both aromatic and flavorful. It will benefit with aging up to two years. Vintage Dated." This version of the brew has been discontinued. The Yule Tide name will live on, just not in the form of a Tripel.

Thoughts: Poured a super light straw yellow with a huge fluffy white head that grew and grew... and continued to grow! Lot of carbonation bubbles rising all over the place.

Smells like Pineapple Juice! Little bit of sour hops. Yeasty. Very fruity. Really, this smells absurdly like Dole Pineapple Slices, especially after you finish a small can and down the remaining juice.

Starts off with a taste like the smell, then a malty slowly but heavily flows in, upon swallowing there's a real spicy kick that scratched at my throat. Let's try that again: Loads of sweet spicy hops, caramel like malts soothe things out and afterwards there's a gentle, semi-sweet bitterness. One great thing I'm finding about the taste of this is that's it's in no way sour at all like I had feared from the scent. More of a sweeter, sweet and sour sauce. Not even really bitter either. Just tropical and sweet. I can still taste of bit of that Belgian yeast which always makes itself apparent, but the main thing I'm getting here is just a pure enjoyment from this brew.

Smooth flowing. No bite at all. Pretty syrupy. A little bit spicy on the tongue, but very mild overall.

I've never had a beer like this I don't think. I like it. I mean, I love pineapple and all that. I don't know if I'm dumbfounded or confused by it or what, but I'm very glad that I had no previous knowledge on what to expect from this. I'm left wondering how the hell is this beer so damn good and what kind of power does Heavy Seas have over me!? It's damn smooth! I'm halfway though and I could seriously just chug the rest of it. Overall an enjoyable, strange and interesting experience. Therefore, recommended. Not really sure how this is Christmas-y, but uh, after tasting this and all the rest from the bunch I don't know what a fuckin' Christmas Beer is supposed to be! Except for Frosted Frog. The only true Christmas-y brew.

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Prosit! Imperial Octoberfest Lager

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Prosit! Imperial Octoberfest Lager (2011)
Summer Seasonal - August (Limited Release)
Brewed and Bottled by Clipper City Brewing Company (Heavy Seas) in Baltimore, Maryland. USA.
22  fl. oz. /  $5.89 USD / 8.0% ABV 

The Official Statement: "Malt focused with five types of grain including Vienna and Munich malts - plus a secret extra malt that we use only in our Prosit! Balanced with 3 kinds of hops."

Presentation: Nice hat. It's their standard skull and crossbones logo, but this time with an Oktoberfestive cap. It's going to be neat when I line these up all in a row later on my shelf.

Appearance: Pours a dark blood orange, almost red with shades of amber and an off white, one and a half inch thick head. The bubbles in this are popping and going crazy, rapidly... there's plenty of carbonation rising throughout the brew.

 

Aroma: Smells mildly sweet, and malty.

Taste: Whoa! Tastes like a semi-bitter candy, almost medicinal. It's fruity too. I was at a barbeque party about a year back and there were these cherries in a big jar. Well my buddy kept bugging me about these stupid cherries until I tried one. What he had failed to mention is they have been marinating in vodka for a week or two. I'm reminded of that moment when I taste this. Only instead of an overpowering vodka tinge, the fluffy malts in this one roam around in the mouth. It's kinda spicy too, not quite sure if that's cinnamon but there's some kind of toffee sprinkled with black pepper thing happening. It's not major though. And I'm getting some apple in the aftertaste, as if I had taken a bite of one ten minutes ago but hadn't eaten the whole thing. It never really gets bitter until you swallow, and even then it's minor... but you can definitely get that boozy sensation.

Mouth-Feel: Full, frothy with a little bit of a tingle. This 8.0 is seriously drinkable.

Finish and Overall: It finishes pretty damn smooth. I'm on (almost) an empty stomach, just got through half of this and though I'm thirsty as all hell I can still sip this and enjoy the flavors. I chilled it only slightly once I got home, say about twenty minutes in the fridge and ten in the freezer. It's warming quickly and so am I. This brew is a very pleasant experience. How it compares to other Oktoberfest Lager brews I'll have to wait to find out, but one thing is for sure... I am one Imperial lovin' bastard. Heavy Seas Prosit!? Totally worth the six bucks.

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet The Great Pumpkin Imperial Ale

Aaarrrghhhh!

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet The Great Pumpkin Imperial Ale (2011)
Brewed and Bottled by Clipper City Brewing Company (Heavy Seas) in Baltimore, Maryland. USA.
Autumn Seasonal (Yearly Release)
22  fl. oz /  $6.49 USD / 8.0% ABV (some reports of 8.5%)

About: "The secret is in the 2.5 pounds of spice per barrel for this fall brew. We add the pumpkin during the mash at precisely the right time to create just the perfect balance of malt, hops, pumpkin and spice.

Best With:  As specialty beers are typically all made with flavor enhancing ingredients, foods with complimentary ingredients are generally an ideal match. For example, pumpkin beers pair well with spiced pumpkin pie, and chocolate beers tend to work well with chocolate based desserts."

Thoughts: It's their standard logo dude (skull and cross-bones) but pumpkinified (sic). Kinda looks like that evil little fucker from Trick 'r Treat. Digging the pirate theme, and well, you can't really go wrong with skulls and bones.

Poured the whole thing into my big ass mug and got a thick two finger head that was going nowhere fast. As it started to die down it never really faded away. Amber in color.

 

Hmm. I'm getting mostly nutmeg... and hints of pumpkin afterwards. Spices are of the standard sort.

Comes off very tart, kinda fruity. There's something strange about this one. I think I'll let it warm up some. *Some time later* Not too sweet, not too bitter. The cinnamon doesn't have a real kick to it, but it's a bit like black pepper. There's some mild clove too. This one is heavy on the flesh, heavy on the booze and light on other pumpkin spices that other companies so very often abuse with no regard to the drinker. Letting this brew warm up was a very good idea as the cold was masking what it had to offer.

A bit frothy, but goes down easy after a while once the spices warm up.

I'm getting a bitter peppery aftertaste, and it tastes a bit sweeter coming back up. That cinnamon with black pepper still seems the most prominent, along with the alcohol and pumpkin coming in second and third. I was expecting this one to be better than it was, but I'm not saying that in a negative way. For one of the more clove tasting brews, this one is on-par and worthy. The clove is so subtle though that it lets the other flavors shine and that's what I really like about this one.