How do you feel about Pumpkin Beer?

like a lot of pumpkin beers. don't think too many are very good, but think there's a lot that are at least decent. wife also likes them and will even watch some football if we pumpkin beer.

 

I want my pumpkin beer to taste like pumpkin pie, not like pumpkin! Contrary to popular belief, Pumpkin Spice was not the redheaded Spice Girl!

 

I don't like pumpkin spice beers. If the spices are an accent, not the main show, and I can actually taste squash, and there is a supporting malt character, they're alright. Don't find that too much anymore. Nowadays, the spices are too upfront, there may not be any winter squash in the mash, and they just underattenuate to get sweetness with no real toastiness or complex caramel.

 

I only look for Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale and if I don't find it, usually it's zero Pumpkin Ales for me. Was able to find it on tap this year for the first time. I'll admit it tastes like Pumpkin pie, but at least the Pumpkin is there and not just the spices.

 

Got a 6-pack of Whole Hog Pumpkin gifted once, and it's my standard-bearer for what I'm looking for in a pumpkin beer! I hear Schlafly is right there too!

 

Good question.
I don't like beer that tastes like Grandma's potpourri candle.

Pumpkin is a relatively neutral adjunct. Pumpkin is useful as a replacement for malt, but you know, only if you have more pumpkin than malt.

The problem of course is the spice. A little goes a long way.

I do not think many, most, brewers have figured it out.

 

I said this to a colleague a few days ago, may be a hot take, but it still stands with me a few days later: I would rather have a pumpkin beer I've never had before than a Ofest/marzen I've never had before.

My reasoning: Ofests largely stay the same... unless its an impy Ofest. But pumpkin is in everything: pumpkin browns, pumpkin ale, pumpkin lager, pumpkin stout...

 

I think I’ve had only one good pumpkin beer in my life and it was a Vanilla Pumpkin Porter at a local brewery. I think most beers mess up by putting way too much pumpkin flavor in it. I like pumpkin coffee and pie, but too much of it in beer is not good for me

 

Just bought 2 that I've not had/reviewed before ,
Stanley Park Brewing 'Crow's Hollow' @ 5.1%
& Yukon Brewing 'Pumpkin Spice Ale' @ 6.7% , both served in 473 ml can's ,
it's a Autumn treat that you like or dislike so at 40 beers tried
#1) Elysian Brewing 'The Great Pumpkin' Imperial @ 8.0% rated by me at 4.25
#40) Buffalo Bill's 'America's Original' Pumpkin Ale @ 5.2% rated by me at 2.65
prost

 

It is not at all enticing, so I have never tried one.

 

In fact it's not my favorite kind, but in autumn I always take some almost out of habit.
Also because often in addition to pumpkin, there are other spices that sometimes I like, sometimes I find harmful.
The two Italian Pumpkin Ales that I like most and that I often buy in their season are there
ORANGE POISON from Birrificio Pontino (Mantuan pumpkin - a fine quality - mustard and pepper)
and the OCTOBEER from the Birrificio Ibeer (with the addition of cinnamon, but in a dosage that I like).
At the next big event, EurHop festival (6-8 October), new ones will surely be presented.

 

I tried a pumpkin beer many years ago long before I even knew Beer Advocate existed. Didn't like it. To date, Pumpkin Beer is one of the few styles remaining on my list of beer styles I haven't had. I'll find a single so I can check it off the list and currently there are probably much better examples. Maybe not.

 

I haven’t tried one since I don’t like pumpkin. My wife likes it so I brew a pumpkin stout for her.

 

love it. very much so. but, i acknowledge the way they're made can vary and that pumpkin itself doesn't have much flavor.

 

Given that this beer's flavor profile will be dominated by dark malt flavors, can you really pick up the flavor of the pumpkin in this specific beer?

Cheers!

 

Well I haven’t had any but the wife says it is more of the spices than the pumpkin.

 

I had Pumking once in my life. It was the first and last time I'll have a pumpkin beer

 

If you need one for the tick, you could likely find a single of Southern Tier Pumking

 

Thanks! I'll consider that. I think perhaps I might like something that's pie-like. Creamy, silky, the whole lot. Let's go all the way.