I’ve been generally disappointed with the Heavy Seas, higher ABV (Mutiny) series. 22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. The usual Mutiny series presentation.
There is a turbid orange pour which disappoints. I really want a good clarity on any Pumpkin beer. Some low level head and a little bit of lace.
The nose replicates the combo of pumpkin and light liquor notes very well. I don’t get excited about the aroma much, but it does it well. There is also a VERY strong, alcohol note that comes out of the glass which literally makes my eyes water.
The tastes also produce a very obvious barrel-aged note amongst the pumpkin, but it also combines to give a bit of a vegetal, carrot taste. The alcohol is also nowhere near what the aroma would suggest. Odd. There is lots of sweetness too, and the liquor notes are really quite subtle. Melds well.
The one good thing about this beer is that it does EXACTLY what it says on the label. This is often a problem with American brewed beer, but here it hits the pumpkin and barrel-aged notes pretty much on the nose – it doesn’t *do* much for me, but it does a good job of replicating them.
For me, a funny beer. I don’t like it much, but I can appreciate it and it grows on me a bit and at the end of the bottle I like it more than I did at the beginning. Having said that I would never buy this again.