Pumpkinator
Saint Arnold Brewing Company

 

 

 

L - Poured from a bottle into a generic plastic cup at a party. Dark color. 1 finger light brown head

S - Scent is pumpkin and spices. Slight metallic scent. After warming up, molasses starts to appear.

T - Taste shows definite spice and smokiness/toastiness. I do get a coffee flavor. I do not like coffee. Some cola tastes too. Minimal pumpkin on the taste.

F - Medium-to-full mouthfeel. Cola-like carbonation. Smooths out as you drink it.

O - Overall this is a good beer and worth trying. Note that Pumpkin is only on the scent, the taste is more of a coffee Porter stout with spices used for a pumpkin pie. Because I got a lot of coffee taste, I wouldn’t try this again, but if you’re a coffee fan, this is a winner.

 

For the 2022 release.

Very dark, looks opaque. Pours with a thin tan head that fades quickly.

Smell is freshly baked pumpkin, spices, and doughy crust, with a solid stout background (roast malts). The pumpkin is wonderfully present, and it smells like a pumpkin pie fresh from the oven.

Taste is a bit stronger on the spices than the nose, but still quite good. I would prefer it balanced more toward the pumpkin, but it's just a quibble at this level. The mouthfeel is about medium full, with moderately high carbonation (some carbonic bite present). It's a bit on the thin side for an 11% stout, but it suits the beer fine. The finish is fairly dry, with the spices lingering.

The only pumpkin beer that beats this is their barrel aged version! Lovely beer that isn't just a seasonal gimmick.

Incredible beer that is a rare stout style.Worth all the hype and cult following. I confess I have refreshed Facebook and Twitter trying to make sure I find this every year around this time. I personally think this is original is better than the bourbon barrel aged version. Only negative is that I feel the beers have increased their cinnamon flavor and decreased pumpkin as they have increased production.

An amazing pumpkin stout! I loved it so much I ended up buying another bomber on a few different occasions. Very well done on the flavors. If you like pumpkin you'll love this stout. This is a must have especially in the fall! Looking forward to it again later on this year.

 

 

2021 edition
Poured from a bottle into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a deep brown color with a one finger head of light brown colored foam. The head fades very fast leaving a light level of lace on the sides of the glass. The viscous nature of the brew can be seen upon pouring and swirling in the glass, having a thick and creamy look.
Smell – The aroma is massive of a cinnamon and nutmeg smell mixed with lots of molasses and caramel. Not surprisingly, there are also smells of a big dark roasted malt and a good showing of roasted pumpkin. Rounding it all out is a bit of toast and some wood and char.
Taste – The taste begins with roasted pumpkin and roasted/toasted malt flavor that is matched by a molassas, caramel, and brown sugar sweetness. With these flavors are a good showing of spice, with cinnamon being the strongest, but being complimented by nutmeg, clove, and cardamon as well. As the taste advances in flavor, the spice grows stronger, all while some light earth and wood flavors come to the taste. Toward the end, the alcohol makes itself known, brining a booziness to the tongue, and with a surge of the brown sugar and molasses, one is left with a boozy, roasted pumpkin pie like taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is very creamy and thick with a carbonation level that is low. For the big boozy pumpkin and spice tastes the feel is pretty and creates a slow sipping brew.
Overall – A rather nice big boozy and more spiced pumpkin stout. All in all, a fun slow sipper for the Thanksgiving season.

This is for the 2021 Release

Appearance: Black, tiny almost nitro bubbles, thick head creamy brown head
Smell: apple pie, cinnamon, PUMPKIN, cloves
Taste: cinnamon, clove, allspice, brown sugar, pumpkin, toasted marshmallow
Moutfeel: creamy, smooth, robust and dense
Overall: OK this is the best pumpkin beer possible. I've tried about 12 different pumpkin beers this season to try and build up to this (usually a late release in the season) and nothing else comes close. I wouldn't drink more than 1-2 glasses of this stuff in a sitting, but if you're looking for a pumpkin/Fall beer by the fire (not that we use them here in Houston...) THIS is it.

If you love pumpkin and love stouts... Boom!!

 

One of the two top pumpkin beers. Best of the stouts.

Pumpkin is one of my favorite styles, and I've tried quite a few. This is the best pumpkin beer in my opinion, and therefore deserves a perfect score. I hope it shows up again this year. I'm fortunate to be semi local to this brew.

 

 

I tweaked my wrists from trying to squeeze out every drop from my bomber. This is a delicious imperial pumpkin stout, reminiscent of Good Gourd from Cigar City. The 10.5 ABV is well hidden within a delicate mélange of spices and pumpkin pie goodness. This certainly has a legitimate claim to the #1 pumpkin beer in the land. It smells like the wonder of Autumn - Halloween, football Saturdays, Thanksgiving and trips to the farmers market. This is a fantastic brew by Saint Arnold. Luckily, I have friends from Houston who smuggled me a few bottles through the USPS. The Pumpkinator is a magical concoction indeed!

 

This brew is close if not is the holy grail of pumpkin pie beers. Pours black with minimal head. Smells of dry pumpkin baking spices. With that being said the mouthfeel is a little watery. If it was more chewy to compliment this big bodied beer I think it would be number 1. Hard to get unless you live next door to the brewery!

 

 

 

 

 

2019 vintage, bottled 10/02/2019, drank 1/6/2020

Had this with my wife's fresh baked pumpkin pie and I have to say they both not just complimented each other, they are almost identical in smell, flavor & feel. Solid or liquid its hard to tell the difference. Basically this Imperial Pumpkin Ale is so spot on that it fools the senses. I want to rate it a 5.00 but I have not tried enough of this style to crown it the king of style. Will be back in future to update after trying more of this style

So good . . .

2019 edition

Look: pours a deep brown with small, quickly reversing foam head. Foam head has a lovely pumpkin tint to the dark tan foam.
Smell: nutmeg, all spice/clove, malt
Taste: rich, dark creamy malt, nutmeg/all spice/clove peppers it's way subtle, maybe some chocolate and ironically, not much pumpkin flavor. Tastes like the rich fall spice (that nutmeg/allspice/clove combo) smells and is really well balanced.
Feel: excellent mouthfell, rich and creamy, full body
Overall: really fricken good! Personally, I'd prefer an even deeper, Fuller body and bolder complex full flavors. Thats why I got the bourbon barrel version and based on how great this one is, that one will likely be a top 10 for me. Delicious!

2020 version.
Very much the same as abive BUT I'm getting more of a spicy pumpkin pie in the taste and much more pumpkin in the nose. Still abosolutely amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle shared by Jay. Thanks man.