Fall is my favorite time of year, for many reasons. Football is back. Halloween is lurking around the corner, which means that there’s usually a zombie movie, show, or videogame on my TV. And, of course, you can’t enjoy football and all things zombie without a good pumpkin beer in hand. If I could watch The Walking Dead while watching a football game, playing Dead Rising, and chugging a good pumpkin beer, I would be in heaven. But what makes a good pumpkin beer? Which ones are worth your hard-earned dollars? Lucky for you readers, I spent my September weekends sampling various pumpkin beers and ranked them. Don’t thank me, it was my pleasure. — Pedro Moreno
11. America’s Original Pumpkin Ale – Buffalo Bill’s Brewery, Hayward, CA (5.2%). This beer is awful. It tastes like Miller Lite with some pumpkin syrup poured in. It’s also super-carbonated.
SCORE: 1.0 out of 4
10. Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat – Shock Top Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO (5.2%). I’m not a huge Shock Top fan; I think the regular beer tastes like cheap Blue Moon. Thus, I didn’t really expect to love their Pumpkin Wheat. It pretty much tastes like a cheap Blue Moon, with a bit of orange flavor added. There was no pumpkin to be had.
SCORE: 2.0 out of 4
9. Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale – Blue Moon Brewing Co., Golden, CO (5.7%). Speak of the devil. Blue Moon’s pumpkin is a step up from Shock Top’s, though not significantly so. There is very little pumpkin taste. Otherwise, there is a clean, crisp taste and a hint of spice in the finish.
SCORE: 2.5 out of 4
8. Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale – The Boston Beer Co., Boston, MA (N/A provided). Samuel Adams is one of the first large breweries to get into the pumpkin beer market. I generally enjoy Samuel Adams; therefore, I was somewhat disappointed with their pumpkin beer. It’s not bad. It tastes like regular Samuel Adams with a hint of pumpkin flavor. Starts strong and has a clean finish. Still, I expected more.
SCORE: 2.5 out of 4
7. Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout – Cape Ann Brewing Co., Gloucester, MA (N/A provided). Fisherman’s is the first pumpkin stout that I have tried. It’s pretty good. It has a slightly chocolate taste. Unfortunately, there really isn’t much pumpkin flavor. If you’re looking for a different type of stout, give FIsherman’s a try, but don’t expect much pumpkin.
SCORE: 2.75 out of 4
6. Uinta Punk’n Harvest Pumpkin Ale – Uinta Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT (N/A provided). This offering comes all the way from the land of Jazz and Mormons. It has a distinctive fall harvest taste (trust me). The pumpkin flavor was secondary to the fall vibe, which will immediately have you seeing gold and red leaves. Not a great pumpkin beer, but a pretty good fall beer.
SCORE: 3.0 out of 4
5. Schlafly Pumpkin Ale – The Saint Louis Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO (8.0%). Schlafly is a brand I’m not familiar with. Their pumpkin beer is pretty good, though. It has a great dark amber color and is velvety smooth to the palate. The beer is unique; it has a roasted pumpkin taste and smell. It’s almost as much fun to smell it as it is to drink it. Like Dogfish, Schlafly packs a punch.
SCORE: 3.0 out of 4
4. Saranac Pumpkin Ale – Matt Brewing Co., Utica, NY (N/A provided). I also enjoy Saranac’s fall offering. The vanilla taste makes it stand out from other pumpkin beers. There’s also a nice aftertaste and subtle pumpkin spices. Not the best pumpkin beer, but it’s better than most.
SCORE: 3.0 out of 4
3. Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale – Elysian Brewing Co., Seattle, WA and Fort Collins, CO (5.9%). Another brand that I’m not familiar with. Elysian is similar to the Schlafly. It has a roasted pumpkin taste that likely comes from being brewed with pumpkin seeds. When you think of pumpkin ales, you think pumpkin pie. But not the Night Owl – it tastes and smells like a roasted pumpkin. A really delicious roasted pumpkin. I give the slight edge to Elysian due to the larger bottle and the slightly better smell.
SCORE: 3.25 out of 4
2. Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale – Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, PA (8.0%). Weyerbacher reminds me of a poor man’s Dogfish Head. That’s not a bad thing; Dogfish Head is the king of pumpkin beers. The Weyerbacher has a hint of pumpkin flavor, but it lacks that sweet pumpkin pie taste. There is a lack of spice at first, but it catches up at the end and has a nice finish.
SCORE: 3.5 out of 4
1. Dogfish Head Punkin Ale – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE (7.0%). Dogfish Head got me into pumpkin beer a few years ago and has been my favorite ever since. There is a strong pumpkin spice flavor, with distinctive brown sugar and cinnamon flavors. This is a very clean tasting beer and has a great aftertaste. Best of all, the smell of the beer as you draw the glass to your mouth is like a warm pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.
SCORE: 3.75 out of 4
C’mon, buno that Sam Adams up from #3! Love the list…great job Icon vs Icon!!!!
Sorry, man. I just expected more from Sam Adams and I felt like it was kind of a cop out. It tastes like they took Boston Lager and used some of that pumpkin syrup Dunkin Donuts puts in its pumpkin latte.
I picked up the Sarnac Pumkin Ale tonight. The selection at my store was a little limited but I figured it was in the top 3 so it was worth gettin!
I love this time of year! So many new things to try! Great suggestions for holiday gatherings!!!
I was listening to Big O and Dukes from the Oakton Wine Shop and the owner said that pumpkin beer is generally out for a few weeks only. I think that’s ridiculous. Brewers can’t wait to push summer and winter beer and fall beers get the short end of the stick. Hopefully as the fall beers grow in popularity, they will be available longer. In the meantime, I shall continue my quest for the elusive Southern Tier Pum-king Ale!
Where is shipyard pumpkinhead… That beer is the best.