Glassware: The aroma of good pumpkin ale is one of its most alluring qualities and glassware that captures that is an absolute must. A tulip, snifter or Willi Becher pub glass would be the best choices forgetting the most out of this delicious beer.
Description: Devious Imperial Pumpkin pours a deep bronze amber hue with wispy off white head that leaves little lacing behind on the glass. The aroma is filled with those familiar pumpkin spices including ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and of course allspice with backing hints of sweet caramel malts. The taste follows the nose with the wonderful spicing up front followed by a rush of smooth and sweet malts that linger long on the palate and allow the flavors to fully settle. The spices and malts are in balance with one another without either dominating and there is a slight touch of alcohol heat on the back end to remind you that this beer is 9 percent ABV. The medium body and moderate carbonation give this beer a smooth mouthfeel perfect for the sweet malts. Devious Imperial Pumpkin is a great pumpkin ale and is brewed right here in PA.
Food pairing: The sweet malts and rich spicy character make Devious Imperial Pumpkin a great beer to have with hearty meats and desserts. Pairing with barbecue brisket or short ribs will make for a heavenly match. The malts will melt into the natural sweetness of the meat along with the brown sugar within the sauce and the spices will add more flavor depth and make a perfect summer dish into the perfect fall dish. However, this is a perfect beer for a wide array of desserts. The caramel malts will gravitate toward sweet dishes. Try pairing with apple butter spice cake with melted caramel on top for an out of this world matchup that will truly make you feel like fall has arrived! The most obvious dessert pairing would be with anything pumpkin and during the fall there are plenty of desserts that fall into this category. Devious Imperial Pumpkin is great with pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spiced cake and pumpkin torte. There are of course seemingly hundreds more of great pumpkin desserts that will pair perfectly as well so try them all.
The Final Word: Now that fall is beginning to nestle in around us it is time to start enjoying pumpkin beers. While some of us may have been holding out to enjoy them others may have jumped in mid-summer when they first started to hit shelves. Regardless of where you fall on the release date debate for pumpkin beers one thing is certain, Devious Imperial Pumpkin is a delicious entry into the pumpkin beer category. Some pumpkin beers can lean toward the thin side of the spectrum, but Devious is firmly in the imperial category with a full sweet malt backbone perfect for the style. The warming 9 percent ABV makes this a great beer to have on hand for the approaching cool fall nights. The time is nigh for enjoying pumpkin beer so all the holdouts can now come down from their towers and partake of this year’s harvest.
