Pumpkin Hunter
Devils Backbone Brewing Company

Pumpkin HunterPumpkin Hunter
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From:
Devils Backbone Brewing Company
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
Pumpkin Beer
ABV:
5.1%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.52 | pDev: 14.2%
Reviews:
32
Ratings:
149
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 02, 2021
Added:
Aug 09, 2014
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  51
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by woodchip:
Photo of woodchip
Rated by woodchip from North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -0.6%

Oct 16, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

3.52/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Taken from notes, fall 2017

Pours amber in color with a one-finger foamy white head that has decent retention. Smells malty up front, with some pumpkin flesh, the spices are there but subtle compared to most pumpkin beers. Taste is slightly sweet and toasted malt, followed by undertones of cinnamon and nutmeg. Medium body with moderate carbonation, foamy mouthfeel and finish
Feb 02, 2021
 
Rated: 5 by DBbeer_Lauren from Virginia

Jul 06, 2018
Photo of chinchill
Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12 oz bottle with a September 2017 bottling date stamp.
This is a mainstream pumpkin spice beer. As such, it has rather high levels of spicing and low levels of hops. Still it ends up just slightly more bitter than sweet. Over spiced nose but the taste works well.
Fine looking clear, dark amber body with lots of rising carbonation and a good beige head.
Medium body with prickly carbonation.
Jan 30, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Dec 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.81 by Ochs0314 from Virginia

Dec 15, 2017
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.59/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a bronze color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of pumpkin, molasses. Taste is malty, mild pumpkin, hints of caramel. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer, although it doesn't bring out the essence of pumpkin pie like many of this style does.
Nov 25, 2017
 
Rated: 3.44 by Stofko1992 from Pennsylvania

Nov 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.04 by kkmiller76 from New Jersey

Oct 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.47 by Hopfenpeter from Maryland

Oct 29, 2017
 
Rated: 3.57 by dbrauneis from North Carolina

Oct 14, 2017
 
Rated: 3.56 by sisterofba from Maryland

Oct 13, 2017
Photo of tempest
Reviewed by tempest from New York

3.15/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
Flavor has a good mix of doughy and caramel malt, and the pumpkin spice isn't overpowering. If you want a solid, well-rounded pumpkin beer, here's a great option. I get a slight cheesy sick note in the aroma though.
Oct 09, 2017
 
Rated: 3.07 by VeganUndead from Virginia

Oct 03, 2017
Photo of Pantalones
Reviewed by Pantalones from Virginia

3.65/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle #5 from the six-pack. Bottling date of September 12th, 2017 so this is less than a month old. Looks like DB is an exception to the rule of "pumpkin beers always come out too early" -- bottled not in July but September!

Appearance-wise it's a very pleasant beer. Nice dark amber/light orange color, clear, lots of rising bubbles, neat little densely-packed layer of off-white foam on top. Foam seems to stick around better than some of the Devil's Backbone lineup, I've drank many out of this very same glass and a lot seemed to have a barely-present head compared to this one.

Smell is not as "pumpkin spice" as you'd expect -- the strongest aroma going on is a sort of roasted/toasted thing, with a bit of actual pumpkin (as in the squash) hanging out behind it. On a second sniff I can pick up some of the pumpkin-pie type spices, standing out a bit more than I remember from other times I've had this beer. The roasted thing at the beginning is a tad stronger than I'd like and has something odd about it that I can't quite put into words, but the way the pumpkin and spices are popping out is really nice!

Taste is, as the smell, beer first and pumpkin/spice second. The strong medium-roasted/toasted thing in the smell is not as strong or as odd in the taste, thankfully -- pleasantly malty rather than weird. Pumpkin is also present in the taste -- I'm reminded a bit of carving pumpkins as a kid, the smell that's always in the air as you're pulling the innards and seeds out. There is definitely some actual pumpkin going into this beer rather than just the pie spices. The spices are present but pretty mild -- you will find no explosions of cinnamon and nutmeg here. Malt comes first, then pumpkin, with hints of the spices in the background. Toward the end of the glass I'm noticing a very slight caramel-y thing going on. It's a nice addition to an already pretty tasty beer.

The feel is pretty good overall -- just doesn't stand out much. It's kind of light, but not unpleasantly so; not quite a light crisp summery beer but definitely not a thick hearty cold-weather beer either. Pretty drinkable, I could probably have several in a row if I was really in the mood for a pumpkin-y beer.

Overall, I think this one may have grown on me since my first bottle out of this six-pack -- I wasn't the biggest fan at first and actually put off drinking any more for a while because that roasted/toasted malt smell and flavor was just a bit too much, but now it seems like everything fits together pretty nicely, with the pumpkin itself standing out more than I would've expected (usually pumpkin ales are more "pumpkin spice ale.")
Oct 02, 2017
Photo of hdf561
Reviewed by hdf561 from Virginia

2.92/5  rDev -17%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Poured from a bottle into a mug...amber clear color lacing that lasts and initially head that formed on pour but dissipated

I can smell a little pumpkin but none of the spice as advertised.

The taste is the same very little pumpkin and spice but it is a good flavor and very smooth!

The only reason I am even rating this beer a little lower is because when you name a beer pumpkin hunter I was expecting a lot of pumpkin flavor and got very little. Other than that another solid offering from Devils Backbone a drinakable smooth fall beer
Sep 30, 2017
Photo of JPVanderbilt
Rated by JPVanderbilt from Virginia

3.05/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.75
Either my taste buds are broke or there just ain't no pumpkin or spice flavor in this beer. Taste more like an average märzen.
Sep 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.41 by Adam1993 from Maryland

Jan 14, 2017
Photo of dwillie733
Reviewed by dwillie733 from Illinois

2.58/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Not the best pumpkin I have had. This more of a dark ale than a pumpkin. No pumpkin smell or taste. Would not get again if I was looking for a pumpkin.
Nov 17, 2016
 
Rated: 3.27 by Cpmitchno1 from Virginia

Oct 23, 2016
Pumpkin Hunter from Devils Backbone Brewing Company
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 149 ratings