Maple Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Stout
 

Review Date 08/12/2025  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Pumpkin Ale   Brewery: Southern Tier   Country: USA   State: New York   $ Per OZ: $.35 (B)   ABV: 8.6%

There’s a new Warlock in town! That’s right, I’m talking about Southern Tier Maple Warlock, a variant of the classic Southern Tier Warlock Imperial Stout Brewed with Pumpkins, which is in turn a cousin to the even more classic Southern Tier Pumking. Now, Pumking has a few variants, but as far as I know Maple Warlock is the first twist on Warlock.

Maple Warlock is so new that it is not yet listed on the Southern Tier website. I did find this, though, on their Facebook page:

A new force has emerged from the shadows- Maple Warlock has arrived! This imperial stout weaves rich maple and pumpkin pie flavors with dark chocolate and roasted coffee notes, luring you in for a spellbinding sip. The Dark Side just got sweeter.

I was talking to a friend one Saturday in early August, and he mentioned that he had just picked up some fall beers (pumpkin and Oktoberfest) at Total Wine. One of the beers he was excited to try was Maple Warlock. He lives a few states away, so my Total Wine is not the one he visits, but I figured I would take a ride and see what they had. It’s a good thing he mentioned the Maple Warlock, because passing a Pumking display I inspected the stacks carefully and sure enough, found the Maple Warlock.

Southern Tier Maple Warlock has an alcohol content of 8.6% by volume and I paid $16.99 for a 4-pack of 12-ounce bottles at Total Wine, which is pricey indeed. Clearly, though, it did not stop me from buying it. My bottles are marked on the label as BEST BY 07/01/27.

Southern Tier Maple Warlock pours to a jet-black color with a tight tan head of creamy foam and an absolutely intense maple nose. Indeed, I could smell the maple while pouring the beer out of the bottle into my glass, it’s that intense. Taking a sip, the beer is smooth and full in body as I have come to expect from Warlock. The burnt caramel notes are here, though I am not getting the pumpkin, but there is drying spice, toasted nuts, and a whole lot of maple. The sweet finish has warming alcohol, and more maple.

You could pour this on your pancakes and never miss your syrup. In fact, I plan to try that with my next bottle. It’s like a mplae tree blew up in my mouth, there’s that much maple. You want maple? You can’t handle the maple!

Another winner, Southern Tier.