River Horse Hipp-O-Lantern Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by River Horse Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Lambertville, New Jersey USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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on tap @Doughertys-pours a light tan head and hazy amber color. Aroma is sweet medium malt. Taste is sweet medium malt, spice-cinnamon, vanilla, some pumpkin?

tastes like someone cracked open a can of ready made pumpkin pie. not bad, but i think i had one too many pumpkin beers.

12oz bottle thanks to afrantzell. Pours a clear orangish-copper color with a white head that leaves a film on the beer. Big pumpkin and spice aroma, with caramel and brown sugar. The flavor is decent if a little unbalanced. Big brown sugar, intense spices, and a little pumpkin flavor. Not very smooth. Medium body and carbonation. Not one of the better pumpkin ales I’ve had - a little above average for the style.

pours an opaque amber color reminiscent of a weizenbock with a medium sized lt. tan head. aroma definitely has allspice, cinnamon, and pumpkin...hint of dough or crust to it. flavor is similar but has more spice than pumpkin to it...still reminded a bit of a weizenbock in the flavor too (yeast maybe?) mouthfeel is medium...lively with a lingering spicy finish...clove and spicy hops. not bad at all but a bit too spicy for my taste.

20101019 12oz bottle from State Line. Murky light brown with thin but lasting khaki head of loose foam. Aroma is full of the typical pumpkin pie spice, fairly one-dimensionally so, but pleasant enough. It’s curious that for the last couple years I was mostly turned off by the spicy pumpkin beers, but this year I’ve had a craving for them. Unfortunately, many pumpkin pie style beers turn out to be sweeter than I’d like, especially in the higher ABVs -- this one is an exception. The flavor actually reminds me of the old apples and cinnamon oatmeal I used to eat growing up, and maybe I am finding that comforting. The beer seems to have some nice interplay of spice from a number of factors: the yeast, the high ABV, and the adjunct spice itself. One 12 oz bottle is definitely enough to get me by until next year, but this one was a pleasant surprise. Lingering heavy dose of perfumey nutmeg and some potent alcohol flavors with temp, neither of which are that awesome.

Slightly hazy amber with a small white head... Lots of pumpkin pie aromas, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger.. Flavor follows suit, lots of complexity, alcohol is not really present... good flavors, medium to medium full bodied, loads of flavor, awesome for the price...

Dark amber color with no head. Aroma of spice mostly with hint of caramel and pumpkin. Lots of spice flavor with some caramel sweetness and a hint f pumpkin. Creamy mouth feel. Decent for the style.

Aroma of alcohol, spices, maybe some pumpkin. Too strong, overload on spices (allspice?), not really too much pumpkin. Not a River Horse fan, still.

Location: 12 oz bottle from Buy Rite - Jersey City, 10/8/10

Aroma: The nose has some of that typical pumpkin beer spice to it, caramel, and a little booze
Appearance: It pours a mostly clear burnt orange-brown color with a white head and some lace
Flavor: The taste also is rather spicy with a mild sweetness and pretty much no bitterness
Palate: The body is medium, it has a tingly mouthfeel, and a decent amount of heat
Overall Impression: Nice, a new Imperial Pumpkin from my new neck of the woods! I’m a sucker for this style, so I was excited to see this one show up, and it must be relatively new based on having only 25 ratings from the last few months. Anyway, I like it. A solid Imperial Pumpkin. Not one of the best ones I’ve ever had, but an enjoyable beer.

A nose-forward seasonal brew with lots of pumpkin spice elements, though the mouthfeel and flavors did not follow suit. The complexity and structure of a DogFish or Buffalo Bill’s pumpkin was simply not there. Also, I found the imperial style to be a bit ungraceful and heavy at times. Definitely try this one out.