Die Kreuzen Imperial Pumpkin Porter
 

Review Date 10/312015  Last Updated 10/27/2017  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Pumpkin Beer   Brewery: Burnt Hickory   Country: USA   State: Georgia   $ Per OZ: $.13  (B)  

ABV: 8%

Here’s a beer I’ve been wanting to try for quite some time: Burnt Hickory Die Kreuzen Imperial Pumpkin Porter. Maybe you don’t know (or maybe you do), but I just love pumpkin beers, and since Burnt Hickory has a way with strong beers, I just knew that their imperial pumpkin porter would be a good one. The brewery only recently began bottling, though, and I hadn’t been able previously to find it on tap or in growlers.

Part of that’s on me for not getting outside Canton enough, so OK, I’ll own that. Be that as it may, I’ll add that the beer is named for the Milwaukee rock band Die Kreuzen. To be quite frank, I’m not familiar with them or their music, and had to rely on Wikipedia to learn about them. The label got me started (it says “Brewed and bottled for the band and their fans); my knowledge of German tells me that “Die Kreuzen” means “the crosses”. Except the Germans don’t use an “N” on the end….

Anyway, I can further tell you that Die Kreuzen Imperial Pumpkin Porter has an alcohol content of 8% by volume, is described as “ale brewed with pumpkins”, and I paid $8.98 for a 22 ounce bomber bottle at Sherlock’s in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Burnt Hickory Die Kreuzen Imperial Pumpkin Porter pours to a dark brownish black color with a medium tan head formation and an explosive spicy notes of clove, ginger, mace and dry nutmeg. Taking a sip, the beer has a medium body with a moderate roastiness and light chocolate up front with bits of squashy stringy pumpkin underneath and then waves and waves of spice, really very dry spices detected in the nose, the mace, the ginger, the nutmeg, cloves and perhaps some cinnamon. The beer finishes dry from spice, not from hops, amazingly dry really.

I have to say that not only is this the best new pumpkin beer I’ve tried this year, it’s also up there as one of the best new beers for me in 2015 period. I just love the interactions between all the spices and the pumpkin and the dark but subtly roasty malts, and the hint of warm alcohol in the finish. Pumpkin beer season seems to run from August to end of October these days, but this one would be great I think through Thanksgiving and on into Christmas as well. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must be going. I’m off to pick up some more of this wonderful beer.

Update 10/26/2017: Die Kreuzen is back, and for 2017 it's in cans! A rich roasty porter is the perfect base for this pumpkiny treat loaded with heavy clove, nutmeg and cinnamon. A sheer delight, and a better deal than ever at $9.49 a six-pack at my local Target.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??