View & sort all 80+ pumpkin beer reviews
Dark Pumpkin Sour – Almanac Beer Co: 8/10
Max abstained from this tasting because he doesn’t care for sour beers in general. Great flavor, though not very pumpkiny. It was flat and full of sediment though, so it seems like we got a dud bottle. Will try again and revise! Edited (original rating 6/10): Kristan’s second bottle was a perfect sour. The first bottle was indeed a dud.
Fermentation Without Representation – Epic & DC Brau Brewing Co: 6/10
Kristan liked it more than Max. Good, but not great. Low pumpkin content.
Gore’d (draft) – Avery Brewing (Boulder, CO): 8/10 (7 base points + 1 pumpkin point)
Smooth, well balanced beer with a light nutmeg and allspice aroma. Not a strong pumpkin flavor – more towards pumpkin pie spice.
Gourdgeous – Hangar 24: 6/10
Good imperial porter. But it’s not a pumpkin beer. Molasses beer, maybe….
The Great Pumpkin Ale – Steamworks Brewing Company: 7.5/10
Strangely we found our second Canadian entry right after we drank the first. Same great label info in another pretty design. But onto the beer! It contains several spices, none of which is overwhelming. The style is not too heavy or too light. Overall a solid beer, that’s just not quite as good as its B.C. neighbor.
He Said (Tripel) – 21st Amendment Brewery / Elysian Brewing: 4/10
Too strong, not pumpkiny, not even really spicy. Bland strong beer. Really wanted it to be better.
He Said (Baltic Porter) – 21st Amendment Brewery / Elysian Brewing: 4/10
Better than the Tripel in that the style seemed more “fall”, but we ended up using most of it to put out a campfire.
Pinchy Jeek Barl – Anderson Valley Brewing Company: 8/10
Wow! If this is what happens when you age beer, I can’t wait to age beer. Or cocktails. Or cats. But seriously, this was some great beer. Maybe not great pumpkin beer, but great beer. And that 8.5% was appreciated.
Pumpkick – New Belgium Brewing: 8.5/10
Smooth, drinkable. A little tart, presumably from the cranberries. Very good!
Five more from Southern CA Whole Foods
Pumpkin Ale – Bootlegger’s Brewery: 4/10
Max didn’t like this at all, but Kristan drank most of the bottle. But she agrees, it’s not great. There’s a taste that we can’t place that reminds Max of cleaning products.
Pumpkineater – Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Company: 8/10
Our first Canadian pumpkin beer! Amazingly drinkable for an 8.2% beer. Not particularly pumpkiny, but a nice spicy flavor and a full body. Good with friends given the liter bottle! Great label design with a lot of info- maybe that’s a Canadian thing, but we wholeheartedly agree that IBUs, color, hop variety, etc. should be on bottles!
Saranac Pumpkin Ale – Matt Brewing Company: 5/10
Somewhat flat, not very flavorful.
Smoked Pumpkin Cider – Tieton Cider Works: 2/10
Reminiscent of orange soda. In a bad way. No discernible pumpkin or spice or smoke.
Superstition – Black Market Brewing Co: 5.5/10
We couldn’t decide if we did or didn’t like this one, but we did manage to finish 22oz. Neither pumpkiny or spicy, Superstition had a caramel flavor with vanilla notes on the finish. Not bad, but unexpected for a pumpkin ale.
Treat – Midnight Sun Brewing Co: 5/10
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a porter. Unfortunately, one with no discernible pumpkin or spiced flavours.Maybe we’re just sick of pumpkin beers at this point — this was our second to last taste for 2014.
Trickster – Midnight Sun Brewing Co: 4/10
Bitter and one dimensional
Witch’s Hair Pumpkin Ale – Twisted Manzanita Ales: 9/10
Fantastic! Somewhat sweet, but very drinkable for the ABV. Good pumpkin flavor, some spice elements as well
14 in 2011 | 3 in 2012 | 15 in 2013 | 17 in 2014 | 25 in 2015 | 9 in 2016