You may not remember it this way, but Linus had a good reason to hide in that pumpkin patch. What with Lucy pulling that damn football away every time Chuck tried to give it a boot, not only was he stressed out but probably had a severe back-injury before it was all over. Linus had a possible cure, and he was a beer brewer. Yep. And he wanted to make a pumpkin beer, of course to save until he turned 21. Because nobody drinks beer before they're 21. Right? And let me tell you if I got a f'n rock in my bag at every stop on Halloween I'd have started hitting the brew much younger too. So what's the best way to make a good pumpkin beer? Slaughtering the Great Pumpkin and using his insides to brew a batch. And so it began. Lucy drove Charlie to drink and it all started with pumpkin beers, possibly even causing the swelling of his giant noggin to the size you see now. Look like a pumpkin to you? Thought so.Personally I really like pumpkin beer. It's a nice novelty and I drink quite a bit of it during the Halloween season, as you can look in my fridge at the moment and see. I went to the wonderful beer ratings site I use, BeerReviewsOnline.com, and looked up all my comments and ratings for some pumpkin beers so you can pick you own.
The ratings are over the last 4 years though, and my tastes have changed and continue to, but you'll get the picture. It should also be noted that a majority of them just begin to taste a like after a while. It's hard to get this style to really stand out. I look for a nice pumpkin flavor, good mouthfeel and a little bit of spice to make me happy. Your tastes may (and should) vary. But start here if you want.
And, being a big Halloween lover and jack-o-latern fan, some of the labels of these are just awesome. I'll post a few of those as they've some of my overall favorite beer labels.
I'll start with my current favorite:Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
Rating: 8/10
A very nice, sweet caramel taste with slight alcohol hints... good cinnamon and nutmeg notes. Some bitterness too but all nicely balanced. A damn fine pumpkin brew from the St. Louis brewery.
Saranac Pumpkin Ale
Rating: 8/10
I found this to be a very satisfying pumpkin ale. Lots of flavor, big pumpkin spice.
Arcadia Jaw-Jacker
Rating: 7/10
The taste is a very nice spicey nutmeg and cinnamon combo, almost like a good pumpkin pie. I sort of wanted vanilla ice cream with it. Love the name and label. Solid pumpkin brew.
New Belgium Lips of Faith Kick
Rating: 7/10
A bit different, as the taste is sour/tart with a lot of cranberry but I thought a bit light on the pumpkin for what I was expecting. Had some spice but not overdone. At 8.5% ABV this one isn't for lightweights.
O'Fallon Pumpkin Beer
Rating: 7/10
I think they got the spice right in this one and just about the right amount of pumpkin so you can taste it, but it's not overpowering.
Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin AleRating: 7/10
Nice pumpkin flavor with some spices, maybe cinnamon or ginger (or both?). Body was a bit thin perhaps, lowering my score a little, but this is a fine, easy-drinking pumpkin ale.
Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale
Rating: 7/10
I definitely got the pumpkin flavor from this one unlike some of the others. A bit of spice too.
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin
Rating: 7/10
The pumpkin isn't overpowering as it all comes out much more spicy like a Christmas beer I thought. Good though. Hides the fact that it'll knock you on your butt pretty well. At 9% ABV, it's a big boy.
Dogfish Head Punkin'
Rating: 6/10
A nice mix of pumpkin and beer. It's got good spice to out weigh the sweetness. I sort of wanted more pumpkin flavor though. It's been years since I've had this one though in all fairness.
Southampton Pumpkin Ale
Rating: 6/10
Hints of spice but underwhelming.
Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
Rating: 5/10
It really doesn't have much of a pumpkin flavor for what it's supposed to be. Not horrible or anything just doesn't stand out in the patch.
Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin AleRating: 5/10
Doesn't really have that pumpkin pie sort of thing I was hoping for. Didn't mind it too bad at first but as I got on through the bottle it just became really "meh" and bland.
Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale
Rating: 5/10
Very average.
Not a big range of ratings, I know, but really if you make a decent ale and add some pumpkin and spices I'm going to like it somewhat no matter. And if you gave me a blind taste test on any day with all these lined up I might have totally different ratings, but I think I could pick out the excellent Schlafly and Saranac versions. The Kick would stand out too.
There are a whole pumpkin patch full of others that I haven't gotten to try. A quick look at BeerAdvocate.com says their highest rated ones are from Elysian Brewing, Selin's Grove and the Schlafly one I listed above. I'd love to try those top 2. One of the most often rated and highest at the same time is Souther Tier Pumpking, which I haven't found any where either. Here's their top 10:
So go! Seek! Find! Drink! And report back. And don't let Lucy fool you into trying to kick the football, even after a 6-er.
