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Pumpkin beer rankings 2009

2009 October 28
by Shawn Horton

As my favorite season (for weather, and for beer) comes to a close, I thought I would share a brief rundown of my findings of the pumpkin beers I’ve tried, to date.

I’ve made a loosely-ranked, numerically score-free list. The bottom of the list does not mean that it is a bad beer; the example happens to be less-favorable than the others I’ve tried.

1 ) Southern Tier Pumking – potent, like liquid pumpkin pie, yet so fulfilling 2 ) Tyranena Painted Ladies – five spices work so well to balance the rich pumpkin body 3 ) Minneapolis Town Hall Petunia – like a fresh, draft version of Tyranena 4 ) DogFish Head Punkin – solid pumpkin body with decent spice character 5 ) Flat Earth Mummy Train – a tad golden for me, needs more pumpkin, spiced just right 6 ) Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin – the first one I’d ever tried. classic example of a pumpkin ale 7 ) New Holland Ichabod – golden in body, but spiced well 8 ) Smuttynose Pumpkin – too bitter and lacking pumpkin body, spices work alright 9 ) Lakefront Pumpkin (Lager) – not bad for a lager, but not spiced enough 10 ) Shipyard Pumpkinhead – tasted like the residue of whipped cream and pumpkin pie crust 11 ) Michelob‘s Jack’s Pumpkin Spice – very artificial pumpkin body, decent spice character

I have two examples in my cellar that I have yet to try: the Schlafly Pumpkin Ale and the Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin (Pugsley’s Signature).

I love the fall/winter interim. I happen to be partial to pumpkin pie as a seasonal dessert staple, so exploring pumpkin beers is very enjoyable for me. Yes, a great deal of pumpkin beers I’ve tried don’t quite make it, but those that stand out are exceptional. In fact, the pumpkin beers I’ve had this season are inspiration to start homebrewing on my own.

Please sound off on the comments with agreement or disagreement to my findings. Are there any must-have pumpkin beers that are off my radar? Let me know. I want to try them all.

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from → journal, review

  • FieldpointeBrew

    Totally agree with you on #’s one and two. The DogFish Head was three for me as I didn’t have the selections that you were able to try. I did have New Holland and Lakefront also. I would also put them in the order as you did.

    I also enjoy the Fall Seasonal offerings. My complaint would be that I would like them to be available up to Thanksgiving. Pumpkin beers seem so appropriate but are unfortunately unavailable then. Most of the Fall Seasonals are no longer available and it’s just the beginning of November. I suppose I could plan ahead and buy more when they are available earlier on but seeing them sitting in the Brew Fridge is too much for me to handle. It’s just too early for Winter Seasonals at this point. Winter lasts a long, long time. Plenty of time for them later.