Pumking
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Best Pumpkin IMO

 

 

 

Bourbony circus peanuts is the first thing that came to mind as I poured the light pumpkin orange translucence into the glass and it settled under two fingers of fast-dissipating cream-colored foam. A closer sniff said something closer to overripe bananas foster with a hint of nutmeg. Nutmeg comes up first from a fairly rough mouth feel, then something boozy and a little dry that overpowers any fruitiness. Now, it is certainly possible that this has lost a step since it has been sitting in my fridge for a couple months while I abstained from alcohol. While not the pumpkin beer I was looking for, I will give it another go later this year with a fresh bottle.

 

 

Delicious, elegant, complex, smells great

 

 

Beautiful amber orange with a tight-bubbled thin head.
Light pumpkin with notes of cinnamon, brown sugar, and strong nutmeg.
Beautifully creamy and smooth nutty pumpkin taste with a very natural pumpkin and cinnamon finish that sits warmly on the palette.
Light body with low carbonation, thin ale.
Served in a snifter at world of beer; beautiful look and complex and well-balanced flavor.

Well within its generous date range, poured from a 12-oz. bottle into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint glass.

Appearance: Pumpkin golden, one-inch head that dissipated only gradually, adequate lacing.

Nose: Sweet pumpkin and pumpkin spice, inviting.

Mouthfeel: Medium heavy.

Attack: Pumpkin spice nicely balance by hops, carbonation and alcohol evident.

Finish: Medium hop bitterness.

Overall: This won a taste-off I hosted of various pumpkin ales a couple years ago, and I have every confidence it would again. The only pumpkin ale I’d rate more highly is Avery Rumpkin (when you can find it), but it’s really in a whole different class.

Light caramel in color with a slightly white head. Can't discern too much immediate pumpkin notes that makes me think this is pumpkin pie in a glass. Definitely some enjoyable cereal grain malt notes. It comes off as fairly boozy and at 8.6% it definitely is.
I think this is a good beer but it's not "pumpkin pie in a glass" as advertised. Clove, some nutmeg, but lots of cereal grains and intermeshed bitter notes. I'm not sure what's going on because a lot of reviews are saying this tastes extremely pumpkin pie like and others are decrying it as being watered down. I'm definitely in the latter camp because this is coming up pretty short in the sweet pumpkin pie regard. It is a good and strong imperial beer but comes off closer to a barleywine than a pumpkin ale. Frankly there might be some quality control issues somewhere in the manufacturing or supply chain that are creating such a variance in assessments of this beer.

I'm not real wordy but this is good stuff. Not a sweet as Quaff On. Tastes just like Pumpkin Pie, slight bitterness. No head, slightly cloudy. Good stuff! I would buy again

 

 

It came in a clear pint glass, from a tap, without any head. That's not a negative, just the Philadelphia way of pouring a beer. There's a little white fringe on top of a bright, but light copper-amber liquid. It's fairly translucent. The aroma of pumpkin pie spices hits with good malt and hop balance. Without a rich body, like the best of this breed, it is outstanding for one reason, balance. No spice dominates, they just come with great balance. The malt adds just about the perfect amount of sweetness. There's just enough hopping to establish this definitely as a beer. Glass lacing is as absent as the taste of the 8.6 percent ABV. Again, there are a few within this style that provide a better body. As for taste, this ranks with the best.

This used to be my favorite Pumpkin beer with me not being a fan of pumpkin beers whatsoever.
I don't know if my tastes have changed or the beer did, but I find it absolutely horrible now.
It still looks good, but that's where the fun stops.
I will not be drinking this one again in the future. Nor any pumpkin beer for that matter.

 

Clear amber appearance with a large, fast fading white head and modest lacing. Appropriate pumpkin spice aroma along with the pie crust as well. Tasting all those seasonal spices, like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg while set against the pale malt backbone, Crisp, spicy, medium-to-full bodied, nicely carbonated mouthfeel. Haven't rated enough pumpkin beers to feel how this one stands among the pack but first impressions are very positive.

 

Whoa whoa whoa hold the phone. This beers recipe has most definitely changed. Why would you do such a thing? I came back to revisit the extremely buttery sweet pumpkin pie in a glass feeling and all I got was the obviously new recipe. It tasted like a watered down knock off version of the original recipe. I would not recommend this beer anymore to anyone. Maybe if they have a special release or a tribune release to the original design, I would consider it again. But a hard pass on this beer going forward! why Southern Tier?!

 

Slightly hazy, translucent amber color with a creamy white head. Good retention and a little lacing.

Smells like a pumpkin pie scented candle. Sweet, buttery, biscuity, heavy vanilla notes, cinnamon and other spices.

The taste follows the nose. Sweet, heavy on vanilla cream and toasted bread/pie crust; cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, and ginger tie it all together, and the spices balance out the rich vanilla and pie crust brown sugar sweetness.

The mouthfee is slick but not syrupy, medium-plus bodied, well carbonated, shockingly drinkable for its abv and sweetness.

I've never been a big fan of pumpkin ales, but this is still the best I've ever tried. Bravo. Liquid pumpkin pie.

 

The bottle is a bit boring.
The smell is explicitly pumpkin. Which is a good thing because that’s why I bought it.
The taste is also very pumpkin, but there’s a smooth butteriness in the aftertaste which is super nice.
The feel is also buttery smooth.

 

 

12oz bottle Best By 05/23/24 poured into a small mug at fridge temp 8.6% ABV. The beer pours mostly bright light amber with off white head. The head recedes to a thin cap. The aroma is sweet pumpkin and pie spice. The taste is semisweet pumpkin pie filling. No bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, good pumpkin beer, if you're into that type of thing which I'm not...

 

12 ounce bottle poured into a tulip glass. Best by Jun 14, 24. So REALLY in date.

L---Crystal clear, light orangey amber color. Fluffy white head faded quickly to a ring and left very nice lacing.

S---Strong pumpkin pie spices. Nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon.

T---Pumpkin pie spices as in the nose, but also noteable pumpkin. This is what I want.

F---Medium/full bodied. Mild carbonation.

O---An excellent pumpkin beer.

Tasted artificial I didn't enjoy the after taste.
Normally I love a pumpkin beer but this one did not hit the right spice notes for me. probably would not buy again

One of the beers I look forward to the most during this season. The look of the beer is what you would typically expect from the style. The nose on this beer is one of the best in pumpkin beer. It's vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie and an earthy maltiness. The flavors just explode as you drink it. The higher abv really helps bring out these flavors. If you haven't had this one, get it. You won't regret it.

This is reaching close to the max of what a pumpkin beer can achieve. The pumpkin taste is deep and natural. The mulling spices are quite nice. So if what you want is a pumpkin beer, then have a Pumking. It doesn’t surprise me at all that this is the most rated pumpkin beer on the site. If you don’t want a pumpkin beer why are you drinking it and giving this a low rating? For the style it’s great.