As much as I love a good PSL, I have found something better: pumpkin beer. There’s nothing like the warmth that fall flavor brings… Of course, that could just be the alcohol talking. But with so many choices, which ones are actually going to satisfy pumpkin cravings? Strictly for research purposes, I teamed up with HC Writer Jessica Knapp to try some pumpkin beers/ales and recommend our favorites. In true fall spirit, we tried to be Pinterest-y and added a caramel and cinnamon sugar rim to the glasses. This step is highly recommended, but not necessary, as ours ended up all over the sides of the glasses in a sticky mess. Maybe just eat it off the glass before it starts to run.
Before we get started, we thought it would be best to state what our favorite beers are so that everyone knows what to expect. Jess is an IPA kind of girl, but her favorite beer is Blue Moon. I like wheat beers (“weissbier”), Belgian whites, and, if it counts as a beer, I really like Angry Orchard. We are not in any way beer experts, but we figured people don’t always understand the jargon that is thrown around on normal reviews and would like an average person’s review!
1. Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale
This had a strong fall feel to it because of the spices – maybe cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves? Despite the spices, there was no harsh bite that usually accompanies cinnamon. It was lacking in the pumpkin flavor, but packed a lot of “fall” into the drink. This was my favorite!
Scores:
Jess: 2/5
Kelsey: 5/5
Would recommend, especially to wheat beer drinkers.
2. Blue Point Pumpkin Ale
This one was definitely had more of a beer taste. It was light, with no spices in it. It had a more distinct pumpkin flavor, but it was still not as pumpkin-y as I would have liked. Not a bad beer, but not fall enough for me to buy it again.
Scores:
Jess: 3/5
Kelsey: 2/5
Would not recommend.
3. Yuengling Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest had only a slight variation from a regular Yuengling. Jess was “overwhelmingly underwhelmed” with it. There was no fall flavor and it was a disappointment. But I don’t like regular Yuengling so I could be biased.
Scores:
Jess: 3/5
Kelsey: 2/5
Would not recommend.
4. Leinenkugel Harvest Patch Shandy
This one was so good it was almost not beer! It struck me as comparable to Mike’s Hard Lemonade in that it had a lot of flavor, but wasn’t as sweet as those usually are. It had a lot of pumpkin flavor and was really light.
*Note the picture shows a large head on the drink, but that’s because I dropped it before I opened it. It’s not normally like that.
Scores:
Jess: 5/5
Kelsey: 5/5
Would recommend, especially to non-beer drinkers.
5. Terrapin Pumpkin Fest
Pumpkin Fest was a strange experience for me. It had a strong wheat presence, medium amount of spices, and a little pumpkin taste. I wanted to like it, but there was a bitterness that I didn’t enjoy. It wasn’t bad, but not something I would get again. Jess liked it a lot, so heads up to IPA drinkers.
Scores:
Jess: 4.5/5
Kelsey: 2.5/5
Would recommend, especially for IPA fans.
6. Post Road Pumpkin Ale
Just when I thought I was doomed to drink average beers, this one surprised me. It had lots of spices, but it wasn’t as strong as the Weyerbacher. It had more of a hard taste, really in-your-face and bold. It wasn’t as “beer-y” as the other ones, which was a nice change of pace.
Scores:
Jess: 3.5/5
Kelsey: 4/5
Would recommend.
7. Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
The Smuttynose was very pumpkin-y upfront, but had a strong bitterness in the aftertaste. It was everything a pumpkin lover wanted, but the bitterness turned me off to it.
Scores:
Jess: 4/5
Kelsey: 1.5/5
Would recommend to only IPA drinkers.
8. O’Fallon Pumpkin Beer
The O’Fallon was the cheapest of the beers, at 99 cents, so we did not expect much from it. It turned out to be the sweetest, and most pumpkin of them all! It was probably artificial flavoring which gave it such a strong taste, but I loved it. It was almost not beer-like in its taste, which I think was due to lack of wheaty-ness.
Scores:
Jess: 4/5
Kelsey: 4/5
Would recommend.
9. Dogfish Punkin Ale
I was recommended this ale by so many people that I just had to include it in the tasting. Dogfish is known for their IPA’s so knew I wouldn’t like it too much. It was not as bad as I was expecting, and I might even order it at a bar, but I would not buy a 6-pack of it. It had a strong wheat flavor upfront, but pumpkin in the aftertaste. I think the aftertaste is the only reason I didn’t hate it. It was definitely a fall beer, which was so apparent in only a few of the others. It was Jess’ favorite, and I’ve heard nothing but good things, but it was not for me.
Scores:
Jess: 5/5
Kelsey: 2.75/5
Would recommend.
Despite the laborious researching that went into these reviews, we are still looking for more to try! Which ones should we try next?
Please remember to drink responsibly.
Image Credit: 1, author’s own