Pumpkin beers of 2017

I'm on the lookout for 2 by flying dog. The Fear pumpkin ale and their gourd standard pumpkin ipa.

 

You will find a lot of Pumpkin beer naysayers here. I'm on the fence - I love pumpkin pie, and pumpkin anything. So - I have been on the lookout for good pumpkin beers and although I've tried every one in distribution here, I have not found one better than OKish. A lot of them have very little discernible pumpkin taste, some are bitter, and others taste like squash. Granted, pumpkin IS squash, but I'd also expect a bit of sweetness and pumpkin spice. That said, I am looking for;

• Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
• Avery Rumpkin
• Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
• Hoppin Frog BA Double Pumpkin
• Stevens Point Whole Hog Punkin
• Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

 

I despise pumpkin beer, regardless of the month (it is damn July!) but people I respect like @Mipper say you cant miss Selingrove's version. I know you're nearby so I would seek it out if I was you.

 

I'm somewhat fortunate when it comes to pumpkin brews. I don't care for any of them but the kids like them all so it doesn't matter which one I buy.

 

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale.
RIP SA Pumpkin Batch.

 

I'm usually excited for them in August, purchase them, and then immediately regret it.

 

Saw a pumpkin ale on the shelf yesterday and did a double take. It's fucking July!

That said, I do enjoy Southern Tier's Warlock and generally enjoy Dogfish's Punkin Ale (Although it tastes different to me every year).

 

Actually just saw Weyerbacher's imperial pumpkin ale which was bottled in late June on the shelf. Seasonal creep is real.

 

They started showing up here at the end of May. Yup, too soon, particularly since many of them would not keep until Fall.

 

Just cannot get into pumpkin beer anymore, but If I wanted one it would be Schlafy.

 

Can't wait for Schlafly and Pumking. I enjoy them late Summer through Fall. Drinking them now reminds me cool weather is coming. I am looking for Rumpkin this year after finally tracking down PumKYn. I also need Pumpkinator in my life and want to see more pumpkin stout/porters.

 

No pumpkin for me but I will purchase a Southern Tier Warlock. It's a great brew but not cheap.

 

I wonder if they'll have a pumpkin in their sampler pack this Fall?

 

Pumking is the only one I buy

 

Fall is for Oktoberfest. I can enjoy a spiced beer at Christmas.

 

Same here. Buy last year I had 2 that were awesome. Lancaster Baked and dogfish punkin

 

I saw a pumpkin sour that was like $34 a bottle! What in the world?

 

The worst beer I ever had was Funky Pumpkin, only because I haven't had Funkier Pumpkin. Normally I like Boulevard, but here they funked up.

 

No need to buy these in my view. They don't taste like pumpkin , just spices.

Pumpkin has a very subtle flavor and I would love to try a beer w/o spices but I'm sure it would get ripped here.

I had a local squash saison a few years back that was so good and earthy. Very mild squash in the finish

Spices no, straight up gourd I'm in.

Enjoy

 

I don't want any until the first cold snap.

 

I don't think they (BBC) did last year, although they did brew a pumpkin beer (20 Pounds of Pumpkin). I didn't like this nearly as much as I did Pumpkin Batch, which was a saison brewed with pumpkin and spices. It was really well done.

I like Pump[KY]n, but at that price, ABV, and calorie content, I have serious commitment issues.

 

A fine point. Perhaps we should call them "Pumpkin Pie Ales"?

 

i LOVE pumpkin pie but HATE most pumpkin ales

every year i plan on trying a few and every year none of them are enjoyable. Southern Tier's Pumking and Warlock are enjoyable as bombers so i stick to the bombers regarding these beers

 

Yeah, no pumpkin in their pack last year. I'd like to see one return. Pumpkin Batch would be great. It was my favorite non-imperial pumpkin from them. I'm hoping someone comes along with knowledge about Sam Adam's Fall pack. The Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest thread (and now this one) has me ready to pick up some Fall beers.

 

You have to be careful what you wish for. A couple of years ago, Starbucks ruined their pumpkin coffees and fraps IMHO. Some Einstein decided they could improve upon their popular pumpkin drinks by adding authentic pumpkin vs the pumpkin flavors and spices they had before. Problem is that authentic pumpkin is squash, and the squash taste overpowered the spice taste. Not sure if they ever fixed it or switched back.

Anyway - same problem with beer. Most people associate pumpkin with pumpkin pie, which has overpowering spices and only a moderate squash taste. Another issue is that to mimic pumpkin pie, it needs to be sweeter than most folks want a beer. Catch 22 - if it tastes like pumpkin pie, it won't taste like a beer.

 

Kind of lost my zeal for pumpkin beers over the years but will keep an eye for a local - Venetucci Pumpkin Ale put out by Bristol Brewing...

 

I dig pumpkin beers...and by that i mean pumpkin 'seasoning,' whether or not they use real pumpkin is almost irrelevant to me.

Weyerbacher and Schlafly are always my favorites. I'll inevitably pick up some Pumpking b/c of non-craft-loving friends randomly liking this beer.

Its less about the taste of these beers, and more so that they are released/on the shelves when I'm getting sick of summer and waiting for the seasonal change. And I love the onset of the fall in particular.

 

If I see a new pumpkin beer I haven't had yet, I'll grab this year. Warlock will definitely be a go-to when available at restaurants... I have a love/hate thing going on with Pumking right now, half of every sip is awesome, the other half is straight band-aid

 

Schlafly is my must-have, then I pick up a few singles of whatever I come across. I usually get some Pumpkin Smasher from my local Big Muddy Brewing, featuring one of my favorite beer labels:

 

I honestly can't believe people drink ST Warlock or Pumpking. Those are so atrocious. Taste like fake engineered pumpkin flavoring, and so cloyingly sweet.. Seriously awful.

 

I was going to say "be careful about threads like these....you'll get slammed by the season creepers"

Too late

 

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale is definitely my favorite pumpkin beer. Way more restrained than other pumpkin beers I've had.

An underrated pumpkin beer is Midnight Sun TREAT

 

One word for you - Shipyard. That is even worse than either of those two - but it's by far their biggest seller every year. No accounting for taste, I guess.

 

Saw Southern Tier's Warlock at the local grocery store. Might have to try it just because.Although I think sweet potatoes or yams would make a better tasting beer.

 

I've now rated 57 pumpkin beers. I love buying them and enjoy the fall (other than raking leaves), but I tend to find that there are few pumpkin beers I really get excited about after starting to drink them.

O'Fallon right down the road from me always makes multiple pumpkin beers and they have 2 new ones coming this year: Saison de Citrouille (Pumpkin Saison) and Pumpkin Bread Dunkelweizen.

How long until the first pumpkin gose? You know it will happen.

 

I love Pumpkin beers......well good Pumpkin beers. Alot of them are bad. but some of the goods ones I have run into (I have an annual PumpkinFest with a good sampling of Pumpkin beers) are:

St Arnold Pumpkinator
Lakefront Brandy Barrel aged one
Good Gourd
Good Gourd Almighty (the Rum barrel is much better than the Bourbon one IMHO)
Good Gourd Have Mercy - this is freaking fantastic!
Selinsgrove Pumpkin Ale - always on nitro and is the best non-BA pne i have had (thanks for the mention @PA-Michigander )
Punkincinno or whatever it is called is tasty I think
Headless Heron
Caution Made with Real Pumpkins (if you like BW's ....I don't but this one was still good)

There are a few other decent ones..........but I have a few of these already / from last year and I'm interested to see how the high ABV ones like GGHM age.

As much as I like pumpkin beers........bad ones are still bad and taste too much like over the top pumpkin pie spice.

Now if we are talking Pumpkin Cookies........totally different story. I have a recipe for pumpkin butterscotch cookies that are more addictive than CRACK I tell!!