Uinta Brewing Company - Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Well, we've reached the month of October and you know what that means...pumpkin beers! Last year, I tried nearly all of the pumpkin beer that I could get my hands on, but there were a few I left behind. One that I really regretted not trying when the season was over was a beer from Uinta called Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale. This beer is part of Uinta's Crooked Line series of beers and is a beefed up pumpkin ale (clocking in at a whopping 10.31%) that has been aged in oak barrels for 6 months. I was pretty curious how the oak barrel treatment would work with a pumpkin ale, so I grabbed this one as soon as I saw it this year.

Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale pours a dark mahogany color with some ruby tinges. A strong pour yielded a thin, cream colored head that left some subtle spots of lace down the glass. The smell was definitely full of pumpkin, but it had a rich sweetness to it, almost like the pumpkin had been soaked in molasses. Under all of the sweet pumpkin smells, I found some brown sugar, yams, nutmeg and a hint of oak chips. All in all, a pretty intriguing smell.

The taste opened on a pretty substantial oaky note with some pumpkin flavor mixed in. I wouldn't call the oak flavor completely overwhelming, but it didn't really allow the pumpkin flavors the freedom to wander over the palate. There were also some hints of cinnamon and baking spices thrown in with a touch of caramel malt. The mouthfeel was smooth without being syrupy and the high alcohol was concealed pretty well. Overall, this is a nice fall beer, but I definitely left wishing there was a bit more pumpkin flavor to it.

Final Grade: B+

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 40