Uinta Brewing Co. - Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin

It's finally the weekend! Seriously, this has been the week from hell for me work wise. I'm ready to unwind. I'm ready to kick back and do nothing. I'm ready to get some serious beer drinking done. That's right. Opening up some good stuff this weekend and I'm starting tonight with another beer from one of my personal favorites.

Tonight I'm drinking another beer from Uinta, their Crooked Line series to be exact. Tonight I've got their Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin which is a pumpkin beer (if you didn't know from the name already) aged in Oak Barrels. This one comes in at 10.31% abv (you know, Halloween) and this particular bottle is over a year old with a bottled date of 8/28/12. So, a little age on this one. Let's get it poured and I'll give you my thoughts on the Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin.

The OJIP pours out a really nice dark amber-ruby red-mahogany color. Lots of that ruby red on the bottom of the glass as it rounds up to the sides. There's about a finger and a half of a white, fluffy, billowy head. It doesn't stick around too long and leaves behind a very sticky and soapy lacing. There's a moderate amount of carbonation coming up from the sides and bottom of the glass. This looks like a real nice beer, definitely got the autumn colors going on. Let's get the nose.

Interestingly enough, the first thing I'm picking up is dark fruits. Plum, raisin, maybe some cherry kind of sweetness. There's some earthy kind of bitterness kind of tucked behind those fruits possibly even from those oak barrels. There's a bit of a yeasty ester and some breads. You get some brown sugar, nutmeg, some subtle cinnamon spices here. To be completely honest here, I'm not picking up a lot of pumpkin or gourd on the nose. If it's there I may just be missing it (as I'm typing this someone is outside smoking and it's kind of wafting into my room). With that said, let's see how the OJIP tastes. There's bound to be some pumpkin there.... I hope!

There we go! Right away you get sweet pumpkin. Really glad it's there. That pumpkin character coats the entire palate with it's richness. Right behind that initial blast of pumpkin you get those spices, lots of brown sugar, maybe even a bit of a buttery note. Sides of the palate you get a little more of the brown sugar, some of those dark fruits come through too. Back end of this you more creaminess, more pumpkin, sweet caramel shining through, little bit of earthy tones. As I let the flavors linger a bit and the beer warms a tad, those oak characters really start to make their appearance. Big woody notes. Really plays well off the pumpkin here.

So overall, this beer is pretty good. I'm still not sold on Pumpkin beers and this is really the 2nd one I've had this season with Fat Jack from a week or two ago being the other. Comparing the two I'd have to lean more towards the Fat Jack. It's a bit more balanced and a bit more true to what I'm looking for. Saying that, the Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin is solid, bordering on good. Really surprised not to get much pumpkin on the nose and I think that might be why the Fat Jack was a bit better for me. Either way, get this one if you can and give it a try. Chances are, the bottle you get will already have about a year on it.

Rating: B

Samuel Adams - Fat Jack

Evening everyone! So Fall has finally arrived here in San Diego and I just so happen to have a fall type of beer in my fridge. I've never had this one and I'm really happy to have found it this year. I tried to get it last year and came up empty. 

So tonight I'm drinking Samuel Adams Fat Jack which is an 8.5% abv Double Pumpkin ale brewed with pumpkin and spices. That's right! It's time for a Pumpkin beer! I'm going to throw this out right now, but I'm not a fan of pumpkin beers. I've never had one that has made me want to buy it again. I've had a few and they're OK but just not really my thing. But enough intro, let's get the Fat Jack poured and see if this is a Pumpkin beer I can fully endorse.

Fat Jack pours out a pretty clear ruby red color, maybe amber but definitely leaning more towards the red category. There's a nice little bit of a very steady carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. There was about a finger of egg shell colored head, fairly foamy with a lot of tight white bubbles. It doesn't stick around too long and leaves behind a somewhat sea foam-esque lacing. This looks like a pretty nice beer, definitely reminiscent of fall with the red/amber tones. Let's get the nose.

First thing I get is brown sugar. Lots of sweet brown sugar. I'm picking up some nutmeg and some cinnamon. The cinnamon is a little on the subtle side. It's more hiding in the background, lurking, stalking.... you know it's there but it's not overbearing. A nice bit of pumpkin pie coming through as well. From the pumpkin filling to the buttery crust. There's also a little bit of dark fruits. Raisins and dates are present but very much in the background like the cinnamon. Some bread like characters here as well. Genuinely a really nice smelling pumpkin beer, very much reminds me of a slice of pumpkin pie. Only one thing left to do now. Let's drink! 

Wow. This follows the nose perfectly! Right away there's some sweet brown sugar on the front of the tongue. Immediately followed up with some creamy pumpkin pie filling with nutmeg, cinnamon and maybe even some vanilla, or vanilla cream. Sides of the palate you get more of that pumpkin, more brown sugar, a nice bit of a buttery crust. Back end of this you get a little burst of bitterness, some more spice, cinnamon is more noticeable here. As the flavors linger a bit you get the dark fruits especially the raisins. This is just a really nice, enjoyable pumpkin beer.

So overall, this beer is fantastic. I came into this expecting nothing. Honestly, I expected this to be OK and maybe a bit difficult to finish a full bottle. I was wrong. This is exactly what I want in a pumpkin beer. Good spices, nothing too overpowering, full pumpkin flavor, great mouth feel. It covers everything I look for in a pumpkin pie all while still keeping that integrity of being a beer. If that makes sense. Basically, this isn't a pumpkin syrup nightmare. Get this if you can. I think it's highly enjoyable and very much a fantastic early fall/late fall beer.

Rating :A