The bottle states in the text:
"Why is there only one time of year – as goblins, ghouls, and ghosts frolic on front lawns – when we embrace THE FEAR? At all other times, THE FEAR dominates us, controls us, and prevents us from greatness. What is there to THE FEAR? Disagreement? Criticism? Humiliation? Whatever THE FEAR is that consumes you, embrace it, along with this Imperial Pumpkin Ale. Only then will the true artist in you rise up."
The Fear... Not my first encounter with this, both fear, the feeling, and this lovely 9% ABV Imperial Pumpkin Ale. As the bottle says, do not let fear dominate you, you must rise above this temporarily paralyzing feeling and be a better person. Well, maybe not a better person, but enough to remove yourself from the overwhelming feeling. And how does one do this? Well, I personally hold everything in and put on a bold facade until I can get home and drink away all the worries and sorrows. Some sorrows take longer to wash away, such as the loss of a musical icon. So, tonight, I dedicate this review in memory of Lou Reed, who passed away Sunday Oct 27th, 2013. I will note before I begin reviewing this, that the music blasting my ear holes right is Lou Reed solo and Velvet Underground (at loud volumes through ear buds, as to not disturb my partner from watching W. Kamau Bell).
This pours a dark brown color with hints of amber/ruby. Dark, like the lyrics pounding in my ears right now. Opaque with a small amount of off-white, almost khaki colored head that dissipates quickly. The aroma on this is... Fuck... Simply amazing. There are the following; nutmeg, cinnamon, dark fruit, almost a bourbon barrel smell, and some sort of earthy tone to it. None of them in a struggle to overwhelm the others, just perfectly balanced to mount an assault on your olfactory senses. Finally, to the tasting. It's been over a year since this last embraced my lips, all the while, the mind constantly reminding me of the sweet bliss that was brought with this. Sheer desire building over a year of lusting over this seasonal brew, to where a near orgasmic state of mind takes control as the pint glass touches my lips in a sweet embrace, like seeing a long lost love for the first time after a tragedy happened to where you weren't sure if you'd ever get that loving feeling again.
The flavor is dark, rich malts, with almost bitter coffee flavors on the front, followed by a nice subtle attack from the spices. After the cinnamon and nutmeg tag team your taste buds, some ginger comes into the party and dances around like it owns the place. There are hints of a sweeter vegetation from time to time that pop up while the ginger is settling down. There are some wooden tones to it toward the back to give it a nice balanced finish. The big, bold and creamy mouthfeel helps make this the perfect beer for Autumn. Nice dry finish to round this out with a beautiful lacing on the glass.
Side note- Music listened to while typing this:
"Ocean" off Loaded by Velvet Underground
"The Kids" off Berlin by Lou Reed
"The Bed" off Berlin
"Perfect Day" off Transformer (as the pint is raised to my lips)
"I'll Be Your Mirror" off Velvet Underground and Nico
4.8/5 caps
-Nathan-
I will most certainly not be listening to any Lou Reed tonight while typing this. Don't get me wrong; I respect his contributions to the musical world. I wouldn't call myself a fan, however, and I realize that I'm among the few who isn't deeply saddened at his passing. Not that I need to justify my opinion, but all I will reference is Lulu, the dreadful, unlistenable album that he made with Metallica.
It's seriously unlistenable. Lars once called "...And Justice For All" unlistenable (he has since recanted that statement). And then you collaborated with Lou Reed. In what universe did that seem like a good choice?!?!?!
Nathan has described the beer well. It's a ruby or garnet color, with some khaki-colored head that is still sticking around, despite the 45 minutes of lag time and the 9% ABV. It smells like a damn good pumpkin pie: cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, stone fruit. Let's see how it pairs with a Snickers. No, I totally didn't hit the Halloween candy 3 days early. Yes, I totally did and used a Snickers as a palate cleanser. Besides, we won't have too many kids coming to our door. The flavor of this is quite good... and I can't add any damn thing to what Nathan said, other than I do pick up on some pumpkin actually in the beer. I consider this a good thing, since it's a pumpkin beer.
While the flavor profile suggests that this would be perfect in a pumpkin pie bomb, the 9% ABV decrees otherwise. A pumpkin pie bomb is a shot of whipped cream vodka in a pumpkin beer, then you chug the entire thing. It's a very tasty beverage, but I wouldn't go with an Imperial Pumpkin Ale for that choice.... respect your liver and keep it to regular pumpkin ales that are more session-able. Trust me, I'm a professional.
4.8/5 caps
-Jennie
No comments:
Post a Comment