Pumking
Southern Tier Brewing Company

PumkingPumking
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From:
Southern Tier Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
Pumpkin Beer
Ranked #28
ABV:
8.6%
Score:
90
Ranked #8,192
Avg:
4.05 | pDev: 16.79%
Reviews:
2,075
Ratings:
7,919
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 31, 2024
Added:
Aug 26, 2007
Wants:
  560
Gots:
  2,341
All Hallow’s Eve is a time of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent. It is thought that we harness this magic to brew our powerful pumpkin ale. Not so, but it is with great respect to the magic of their trade that our brewers produce this fine beer. Take a whiff of this complex ale and your journey has just begun. At first sip, a magical spell will bewitch your taste buds, yet another victim enraptured by the Pumking.

19 Degrees Plato
8.8 Degrees L
2-row Pale Malt, Caramel Malt, Pureed Pumpkin
Kettle Hops: Magnum
Aroma Hops: Sterling
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jackie7787:
Photo of jackie7787
Rated by jackie7787 from Maryland

4/5  rDev -1.2%

Dec 17, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by gongfu from Connecticut

Jan 31, 2024
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

4.5/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Review: 2006
Name: Pumking
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing
Location: Lakewood, NY
Style: Pumpkin Ale
A.B.V. 8.6%
Date: Best By Date 12 July 2025
I am drinking Pumking today using a tulip glass. I served it at 46 degrees. The pour created an airy, foamy, creamy, two-fingered, off-white head with above-average retention. The color is amber with reddish hues, charting around S.R.M. 12. The beer is opaque. The dissipation left some lacing on the glass. The appearance is above average for this style.
The aromas are pumpkin, bready, and floral. I thought I would get cloying sweetness with spices and pumpkins when I nosed the glass. I got a massive pumpkin, minus the heavy sweetness and spices. This has intrigued me! Nosing the glass again, I detect honey, floral, green herbs, and caramel. I am seriously not noticing any spices. That is interesting.
I get a light spice profile of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove taste. I was curious where it was; I am glad the brewers did not try to use spices to cover up the pumpkins. The gords are big and bright in flavor. The malts are caramel, toasted bread, and light biscuits. Other flavors are green herbs, soft floral, and honey.
The mouthfeel is creamy with some astringency and finishes warm from the alcohol. The body is medium and has medium carbonation.
This beer has been on the want list for a while, and I jumped at the opportunity to get it. This is an excellent example of what a pumpkin beer should be. Massive pumpkin flavors with light spices and honey accompaniments. The beer is balanced with a high A.B.V. I would love to get a bottle every year to see its changes. I am glad I ticked this one off my list.
Jan 01, 2024
Photo of Lanoke12
Reviewed by Lanoke12 from Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Look is dark amber. Smell is of fresh pumpkin and spice. Taste is of delicious pumpkin pie. Feel is thick and full bodied. This is the pinnacle of the pumpkin ale style and a beer I look forward to each fall.
Nov 30, 2023
Photo of BubbleBobble
Reviewed by BubbleBobble from New York

3.69/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Pours a slightly hazy amber-orange, brief 1" head before settling out to a thin cap, light touches of lacing. Nose is some initial alcohol burn, burned sugar, pumpkin pie filling, baking spice, old cinnamon, cinnamon raisin toast. Appreciate how the aroma does not veer into Frankenfood territory. Taste has big Melba toast vibes to be over anything pumpkin related; spice notes come in mid-palate, but they hit in an old and dusty, abandoned McCormick spice jar kind of way. Burnt sugar comes through more as it warms, along with more brown butter (perhaps this is the pumpkin?). Feel is pretty moderate for the ABV, clean and with some small but crisp carbonation. Drinkable, but doesn't scream "Pumpkin" to me.
Nov 21, 2023
 
Rated: 3 by Norseman_Jd from Pennsylvania

Nov 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.09 by RollDamnTide from Florida

Oct 31, 2023
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Reviewed by dkoehler42 from New York

3.57/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Given that I reviewed it's sibling yesterday, I figured I ought to give the original it's due. It too pours a transparent amber, with a white-ish head. The nose is much subtler, with a faint whif of pumpkin spices. Some of the caramel notes are also present here, but the sweetness is toned down to a moderate level. The pumpkin flavor is briefly present at the end of the taste. Mouthfeel is pleasant, and enjoyable; I'm not wanting for more or feeling like I chewed on taffey.
Oct 29, 2023
Photo of Spade
Reviewed by Spade from Pennsylvania

4.17/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
12 oz bottle. Prominent pumpkin pie smell which is much more subtle in the taste. Some nice alcohol burn in the finish. A well-balanced beer and a great example of the style.
Oct 29, 2023
Photo of Luscious_Malfoy
Reviewed by Luscious_Malfoy from Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
can’t believe i’ve never rated or reviewed this on here. have had it many different times both on draft and from the bottle as i used to get quite into the seasonals. this review is for a 12oz bottle poured into a revolution deep woods tumbler. pours a foggy burnt orange with a thin white foam cap. foam recedes into a collar around the rim of the glass. these style of beers are never super easy on the eyes but this one is lighter in orange color than some others and i think that helps. lots of pumpkin on the nose (obviously) but the thing that was always so appealing and also kind of astounding about this beer is that i don’t get a lot of the affiliated “pumpkin spices” you typically get in these beers. no cinnamon or allspice just pure pumpkin with a hint of malts and yeast. it’s quite nice. that said, it’s fairly one note on the taste but if you’re into pumpkin flavor or are in the seasonal / festive mood then this really hits the spot. it has a thick, full mouthfeel. i couldn’t drink more than one of these in a session but with the huge pumpkin flavor and high abv, it’s hard to knock this beer for that. it’s pretty damn good for what it is.
Oct 23, 2023
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Reviewed by Profundobaso from New York

4.19/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Look - 12 oz bottle poured into stemmed saison glass. light orange in color, just very slightly cloudy. Small head with trace lacing.

Smell - strong pumpkin scent and heavy on the fall spices, including a lot of nutmeg, cinnamon, and some vanilla. the smell is almost overpoweringly sweet and very to close of what I imagine a pumpkin pie in beer form would smell like.

Taste - very balanced. a mix of lightly roasted malts and pumpkin flavor hits the palate first, followed by a nice dose of spices, some sweetness, a touch of hoppy bite, and some warmness in the end. finish is relatively clean with residual pumpkin aroma.

Feel - medium bodied, average carbonation, and relatively high in booze at 8.6%. Alcohol is well masked, outside of the slight warmness in the finish.

Overall - this is a solid pumpkin beer and one of my favorites of the season. the smell might come off as a bit artificial to some (although I like it very much), but it really excels in taste and is an exemplary example of what a pumpkin beer should taste like.
Oct 23, 2023
 
 
Rated: 3.78 by sbradley41 from Pennsylvania

Oct 14, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by craigbelly from Iowa

Oct 10, 2023
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Rated by mpk2020 from Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Bottle
Oct 08, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by db9000

Sep 30, 2023
 
Rated: 4.24 by RalphStanley34 from French Polynesia

Sep 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.04 by Iggy88 from Ohio

Sep 27, 2023
Photo of Squeeb
Reviewed by Squeeb from Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.75
This is the first time that I've ever tried a pumpkin beer and was pleasantly surprised! I truly didn't expect it to taste like pumpkin. I got this one while out at the grocery store with my girlfriend and was sold on the box art. The sweetness is really wonderful, and would say that it almost tastes like ginger ale. My only complaint is that I don't like quite how bitter it is on the front end, which leads to a fairly unpleasant lingering sensation. Otherwise, a really aromatic beer that is fantastic for this time of year!
Sep 25, 2023
Pumking from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 7919 ratings