Favorite Fall Beers

Agree with you 100%.

 

If you haven't had Pumpkinator, you guys are missing out.

 

Amen to that. I never thought I'd find a better pumpkin than Schlafly, but Pumpkinator is great, especially with a year on it. Pumpkinator is by FAR the most complex pumpkin ale I've had. The thing is, I can't even put it in the same category as Schlafly or any other amber pumpkin ale. They are just too different. I'm not a big get a new beer category going type of guy. That said, Pumpkinator is an imperial stout and just seems to create its own category for me. Schlafly=best amber pumpkin, while Pumpkinator=best pumpkin imperial sout. I can't wait for my buddy in Texas to send me more.

 

OP, your avatar is my answer to your question. Also love Fire Island Brewing's version.

Dislike Punkin and Pumking, so I am not going to try any of the others on that list you linked.

 

Two me the two that stand out as head and shoulders above the rest are Williamsburg Alewerks Pumpkin and Elysian Night Owl... Hopefully this tier will soon be joined by my recent homebrew attempt at the style... The next tier is headed by Weyerbacher and Blue Moon (yeah, that Blue Moon... For some reason I really enjoy their Harvest Moon).

 

Schlafly and Weyerbacher were the first two that came to mind. They're both absolutely delicious. My favorite non-traditional pumpkin ales are NB Kick and JP La Parcela.

Have to say I was surprised to see Ichabod on the top ten list. I tried that one last year, and thought it had way too much ginger. Would not recommend buying a whole six pack of it.

 

Pumking, while not bad, just seems a little too sweet for my taste. I thought Fat Jack was pretty pleasant though still bordering on too much sweetness. It seems every year i'm on the fence as to whether I really want to buy a 6 pack of any pumpkin beer, but then I eventually cave. This year I'm just brewing a 1.5 gal batch of a pumpkin ale so we'll see how that turns out.

 

Admittedly, I haven't had that many pumpkin beers, but TREAT would be my favorite for sure.

 

My favorites are ;

Dogfish Head Punkin
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin
Sam Adams Fat Jack
Terrapin Pumkinfest

 

That's because - as I'm sure you know - it's made from fresh whole pumpkins, unlike just about every other pumpkin beer. That's why you don't see it in August, which is pretty refreshing.

 

Rumpkin, so far. but i'll be trying several new ones this year. I had Fat Jack a few nights ago and liked it quite a bit.

 

Out of the ones I've had, (and if memory serves me correct)

ST Pumking
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
Cape Ann Pumpkin Stout
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin
Cisco Pumple Rumpkin
DFH Punkin
Harpoon UFO Pumpkin
Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin
Pumkinhead

 

Oktoberfest's and pumpkin beers.

 

not usually wild for the style, but i can get into the spirit.

i was at blue point the other day and they had their pumpkin beer on tap and i was pretty blown away by it. the beer is definitely more malt forward and the pumpkin spicing is in the background but it was pretty tight for a brewery that i consider more or less a B+ across the board...this was a clear highlight. hope it sees bottles.

my favorite is avery's rumpkin.

i dug good gourd last year from CCB.

...and i've always been a fan of weyebacher's imperial pumpkin.

ST and DFH are a bit too intense in the pumpkin vein for me, but i will be sure to try them again this year to see what my ever evolving palate thinks this time around.

 

I've not had very many pumpkins, but the New Holland Ichabod I had this evening was really nice. I liked the balance of real pumpkin and light spice on a solid ale base. It had a nice fall burnt orange color too. It did a nice job of evoking the harvest season for me.

 

it seems that if people have actually had the schlafly, it goes #1. It really is incredible. I can get tons here in st. louis. if anyone wants to trade some local stuff for it, get a hold of me. The grocery stores here have cases on display.

1. schlafly
2. pumpking
3. o'fallon pumpkin
4. dfh punkin (really not impressed by it much)

 

Just got a FB post that my neighborhood spot has Schlafly Pumpkin on deck for the next tap.

 

Wow, surprised at the lack of love for Elysian.

1. Elysian Great Pumpkin
2. Schlafly
3. TREAT
4. DC Brau/Epic Imperial Pumpkin Porter
5. Laurelwood Stingy Jack
6. Elysian Dark 'O the Moon
7. Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale
8. Rumpkin
9. Pike Harlot's Harvest
10. Howe Sound Pumpkineater

 

I was really struck by how the article described Pumpkinhead. I can't see how they tasted plenty of non-existent pumpkin but couldn't pick up the spice notes that much considering it's way overspiced in my opinion. I can't imagine I was drinking the same beer that brought about that review.

 

My favorite is Cape Ann's Imperial Pumpkin Stout. A little different from the traditional pumpkin ales but it is awesome. Otherwise I'd go with Pumking or Weyerbacher.