Top 10 Best Pumpkin Beers
When I started homebrewing, I found Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale, but I couldn’t find any other similar beers, so I brewed my own. My Great Pumpkin Ale has become a favorite with family and friends, partially because, until the last 7-10 years, there were few other commercially available pumpkin beers. However, with the craft beer boom, many more craft breweries have introduced pumpkin beers.
It’s a divisive style – either you love it or hate it – and I fall into the love it camp. Therefore, I’ve tried just about as many pumpkin beers as we could get our hands on. I will admit I’m pretty critical, since it’s one of my favorite seasonal styles, but here are my favorites:
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10. New Holland Brewing – Ichabod
Initially, they score points with me for coming up with a more unique name than just pumpkin ale. We had this beer last year, and the body was light, and there was plenty of carbonation in it, giving the spices a bit of a sharp bite. The pumpkin flavor and spices had a good flavor, but the carbonation makes it a bit sharp. If they dial in the carbonation better this year, it’ll move up this list. |
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9. Clipper City Brewing – The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale
It’s big and full, but very smooth and creamy, with a slight pumpkin flavor and plenty of spiciness. It’s more like a pumpkin spiced beer than pumpkin pie in a bottle. It’s a big beer, so give this one some time to age until Halloween to let the cinnamon and spices mellow, and then let the 8% alcohol content warm you up on a cold fall evening. |
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8. Shipyard Brewing – Smashed Pumpkin Ale
Another big pumpkin beer, coming in at 9.0% ABV, it has a thick creamy head with incredible retention. While it’s a pumpkin beer, it has a maltier flavor than any of the other pumpkin beers. The caramel malt flavor combines with a complex mix of spices in the finish. With the very light pumpkin flavor and big ABV, this one could also make for a great tasting winter warmer.
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7. Samuel Adams – Fat Jack Double Pumpkin
It has a deeper caramel-amber brown color than other pumpkin beers, with aromas of pumpkin and spices such as nutmeg and allspice. The spices come through on the palate along with pumpkin and mild, background hops to balance the hearty malts. Finishes off-dry and smooth.I thought this was a flavorful pumpkin beer, and it had a good amount of richness at 8.5% ABV, |
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6. Dogfish Head – Punkin Ale
After winning a homebrew competition, this beer is what inspired Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione to start a brewery. A crowd favorite, this one is nice and creamy with a brown sugar sweetness up front before a nice mix of pumpkin pie spices kicks in and covers a bit of alcohol warmth in the finish. While the pumpkin flavor is a bit muted, the mix of spices has a very nice flavor. It’s a good pumpkin beer, but it’s also about $10/4-pack. So, for my money, I’d look lower down on this list. |
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5. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Pumpkin Ale Special Release
A favorite of my hometown, this one has a big mix of cinnamon and clove spices, adding to the aroma and flavor. It also has a bit of alcohol warmth in the finish, covered up by the spices. The character changed a bit over time last year, with a bit too much spiciness when it was first released in September, but was perfect by mid-November. |
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4. O’Fallon Brewery – Pumpkin Beer
Another St. Louis pumpkin beer, many locals debate which one is better, but based on a consistent experience, this one edges out Schlafly. From the pumpkin pie like aroma to the pumpkin and cinnamon flavors, this one is pretty darn close to pumpkin pie in the bottle. It’s also light, crisp, and very drinkable for those nice warm fall days. |
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3. Big Muddy Brewing – Pumpkin Smasher
From this brewery out of Murphysboro, IL, this is definitely one of the best pumpkin beers I’ve had. It’s the closest thing to a slice of pie in a glass, and the spices are balanced perfectly. This is pretty close to the O’Fallon, but harder to find, so it edges out the O’Fallon in my rankings. |
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2. Southern Tier Brewing – Imperial Pumking
Not only does this beer pack a ton of pumpkin pie flavor, but it does it with a warming 9% ABV in a 22oz bottle. There’s a lot of flavor in this beer to match up to that big of a malt bill. The maltiness is matched nicely with a true pumpkin pie like flavor, followed by a good amount of spices in the finish. My favorite part however, is the combination of the full flavors with the warming effects on the alcohol on a nice cool fall evening. |
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1. Stevens Point Brewery – Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale
I was pretty skeptical of this beer, coming from Stevens Point – a large contract brewery. While my expectations were low, this is probably the best commercial pumpkin beer I’ve ever had. Overall, it has a great mix of sweet maltiness, true pumpkin flavor, and a perfect mix of spices. It truly tastes like a slice of pumpkin pie in a glass. It was a bit pricey for a four pack, but definitely worth it. |
A Word of Warning on Pumpkin Beers
While many brewers brag about the amount of pumpkins used in making this type of beer, it’s actually the spices – allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. – that give this beer its flavor. The pumpkin actually provides very little flavor in the beer. Spices can be extremely tricky to preserve once they are in the beer. It’s been my experience that brewers often initially put too much cinnamon (and some other spices) in their beers, knowing that the spice flavors will fade over time. Therefore, with pumpkin beers in particular – timing matters. If you buy a 6-pack of pumpkin beer, try one, and if you find the flavors a bit cloying, let rest sit for a few weeks and you might find you have yourself a great beer after the spice flavors fade a bit.
