Pumpkin Beers: Squashy vs. Pie Flavors

I'm generally majorly turned off by too much spice in any beer, especially fall/winter. The majority of pumpkin beers just taste like sweet messes, a cinnamon accident, or both! A few have surprised me (Good Gourd), but most are disgusting to me. In fact, my favorite Pumpkin beer to date is Allagash Ghoulschip. Pumpkin puree, toasted pumpkin seeds, and molasses. No spices!

 

The difference between Pumking and Warlock is very subtle to me. They taste almost exactly the same.

 

I have a hard time squaring this opinion with your appreciation for RAD, berliner weisse, and multiple blueberry beers.

 

Another vote for Whole Hog! Just as good as Pumking in my opinion. I haven't had Good Gourd, Schafly, or Williamsburg but I've heard they're great.

 

I prefer Pumking (and yes it did seem better a couple years ago), Good Gourd, and Schlafly. To me they have a nice balance between the spice notes and flavors of pumpkin flesh.

 

Like both but lean more towards the pumpkin pie variety. Those spices remind me of fall and make me feel cozy

Wish we had more representations of this style in Quebec.

 

Drinkin a Schlafly right now. Its spicy, but also squashy and not over the top sweet. Diggin it.

 

Lakefront Imperial Pumpkin is the clear winner!

 

I just bought this one the other day and really like it because it isnt overly spiced. While I do like that in some pumpkin beers..a few that I have had have been a little much. The UFO Pumpkin is a good "pumpkin" beer and not so much a "pumpkin pie" beer, imo.

 

Men can like pie

 

Definitely ST Pumking and Warlock. Schlafly does not distro to PA.

 

Heh, I count 10 votes for Schlafly, but I'm amused that of the 9 that explained why they liked it, 3 thought it was pie-leaning, 3 thought it was squash-leaning, and 3 thought it was perfectly balanced between the two. So Schlafly is so good that you taste whatever you want in it?

 

It must be brewed by Willy Wonka.

 

Funny, because I'm the exact opposite. I have little to no patience for beers that try to cover up and replace a shitty base beer with inordinate amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg.

This would explain why the only pumpkin beer I've ever found myself craving is Smuttynose Pumpkin. Very understated in the spice department, considerable and easily recognizable pumpkin flavor, and underneath it all, a legitimately well-made ber.

Simply the perfect pumpkin beer

 

It should. It reached northwestern NJ.

 

I genuinely despise pumpkin but Lakefront Imperial Pumpkin is the bees knees!

 

Geography only sort of matters in distro, and Schlafly does skip PA to hit MD, DE, NJ, and NY.

MD often gets the short end of the stick, with Founders, Bells, Great Lakes, Cigar City and others hitting PA and VA but not MD.

 

Pumking is the most 'pumpkin pie-y' beer out there. Or at least out of the 50some pumpkin beers I've had.

 

My favorite pumpkin beer is Almanac's Heirloom Pumpkin Barleywine.