So this just happened. There I was in the mood for a pumpkin beer, and since good old Dave Coulter had just sent me a bottle of Spooky Tooth Imperial Pumpkin Ale from the Fat Head’s Brewery of Middleburg Heights, Ohio, that was the one it was going to be.

So, I poured my bottle into a glass, and as I did I missed the “Imperial” adjective on the label. Thinking this just your average everyday pumpkin beer in strength, I sipped and enjoyed this beautiful slice of pumpkin pie in a glass. So you ask, “Bruguru, what’s the point of all that?”, and I say, well, it just goes to show that Spooky Tooth Imperial Pumpkin Ale doesn’t seem anywhere near as strong as it is. So, be careful, and don’t drive after drinking it.

The beer is delicious all the same, smooth, satisfying, and bursting with flavor.

From the label:

Rich amber color with aroma of sweet pumpkin pie and savory spices with hints of sweet malt. Rich and creamy with a chewy mouthfeel that you can sink your teeth into. Flavors of pumpkin up front then sweet malt, pie crust, spice, hints of brown sugar and a clean finish. We stopped just short of the whipped cream. But we like the way you think.

Ingredients from the website:

YEAST: German Ale  

HOPS: Crystal, Vanguard

MALT: Pale, Munich, Dark Munich, Special Roast, Victory, CaraAmber, CaraAroma, Flaked Barley

KARMA: Brown Sugar, Roasted Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, All-Spice, Mace

Spooky Tooth Imperial Pumpkin Ale has an alcohol content of 9% by volume (I told you it was strong) with 22 IBUs.

Fat Head’s Spooky Tooth Imperial Pumpkin Ale pours to a hazy orange color with a huge head of rocky foam and a pungent pumpkin spice nose. Taking a sip, the beer has rich caramel notes up front, suggestions of squashy roasty pumpkin and sweet brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and at the last dry nutmeg. The latter balances out the beer perfectly.

Well done! I really love the caramel maltiness here, it really balances the brew more towards the true pumpkin pie experience rather than just a beer with spice added. A sipping beer to be sure, Fat Head’s Spooky Tooth Imperial Pumpkin Ale is not to be missed-if you can find it.

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