It’s that time of year again, and pumpkin is everywhere, including beer. Here are my favorite pumpkin brews right now.
Pumpkinhead Ale – Shipyard
Shipyard Pumpkinhead is my go-to pumpkin beer. It’s easy to find in this part of the country (on draft and in a bottle), and it’s a good, quality pumpkin beer that never lets me down.
Shipyard Pumpkinhead is a crisp and refreshing wheat ale with hints of pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The pumpkin flavor is upfront, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s actually quite light for a pumpkin beer and not hoppy at all, so it’s really easy to drink. I usually drink more than one when I’m around Pumpkinhead.
Punkin Ale – Dogfish Head
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale is a full-bodied brown ale with hints of pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices. Sounds delightful, right?
Punkin Ale is another one of my go-to brews, but I need to be in the mood for it since it’s strong (7% alc. by vol.) and hoppy. It’s a beer I’ll drink on a Friday night when I’m sitting on the couch catching up with my DVR (or during an ice bath after a 15-mile run).
Pumpkin Ale – Saranac
Saranac Pumpkin Ale is a new favorite. I’m generally not a fan of Saranac brews, so I originally didn’t jump at the chance to try it until it was on draft at the Blogger Bash last week. As soon as I took a sip, I liked it immediately, especially with a cinnamon-sugar rim.
Saranac Pumpkin Ale is brewed with pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and vanilla, so it has a great mix of flavors. It’s full-bodied, but not too heavy or hoppy.
Imperial Pumpkin Ale – Weyerbacher
I first tried this beer on draft in Philly back in late August, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since. It’s pretty much the king of all pumpkin ales. It’s heartier, spicier, and more pumpkin-y than most other varieties. Surprisingly, even though this beer is fairly spicy and boozy (8% alc. by vol.), it’s really smooth to drink. Both the spice and alcohol come through, but neither are overpowering or overdone. The Imperial Pumpkin Ale is a must-try for any fan of pumpkin beer!
Post Road Pumpkin Ale – Brooklyn Brewing
Post Road Pumpkin Ale is an all-around quality pumpkin beer. It’s light-bodied, not too hoppy with flavors of malt, spice, and pumpkin. The taste upfront is mostly sweet/malty with a little bit of hops and then finishes with a crisp, spicy taste of cinnamon and nutmeg. It doesn’t have the strongest pumpkin flavor, but it’s still a good one.
Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale – Anheuser- Busch
I haven’t recently enjoyed Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, but it’s been one of my favorites in years past. It’s sweeter than other pumpkin beers, but I like that sometimes. Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale has nice, rich flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, and I love drinking it from a glass with a cinnamon-sugar rim. It’s another one of those easy-to-drink beers.
I’m always looking for new and delicious pumpkin beers to try, so if you have a recommendation, please share them!
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I love Weyerbacher’s – it is by far my favorite pumpkin beer. But I also like Uinta Brewing Company’s Punk’n. And I hate Southern Tier’s Pumpking – tried it on draft and it was not good. I know a lot of other people love it though! Like you, I am always looking for more pumpkin beers, so thanks for the post!
I just tried the Post Road Pumpkin Ale over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. It was tasty, but I was expecting more of a pumpkin flavor. Next time I head out for a beer run I think I’d like to try the Pumpkin Head Ale by Shipyard. Thanks for the reviews.
I usually do wine, not beer but all of these sound amazing! Thanks for the tips!
I’m not normally a beer drinker, but I’ve been dying to give pumpkin beer a try!
I’ve had the Shipyard, Dog Fish, and Anheiser Busch ones. Love them all, but just tried Shipyard and like it the best! I’ll have to track down the rest…we probably don’t get them down here though!
Love the season of Fall, mostly because of Pumpkin Beer. I love this post! As a Beer alternative I have found Pumpkin Pie Soda, its just amazing with black rum, just like a Dark and Stormy, instead it’s a Pumpkin Stormy! – Cait @ ATwistAndAShake
I’ve had the Shipyard one in the past and really liked it. I like a good pumpkin flavor that’s lighter on the nutmeg. Sometimes it’s too prominent and kills the pumpkin, for me at least. Or maybe I’m just not a huge fan of nutmeg. Yeah for fall!
i’m really loving Buffalo Bill’s pumpkin ale right now!
heh, my friends and i did a massive bracket-style pumpkin beer tasting the other night. check out the results! http://vickyj.org/post/11285232178/the-results-of-the-spiced-sixteen-it-came-down-to
i love pumpkin beer! I don’t know if Elysian distrubtes on the East Coast but I love Elysian breweries Night Owl Pumpkin beer. So good
I was disappointed with Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin. That’s a pass! I’m glad you didn’t review it here
I do like the Dogfish Head Punkin!
@Chase – the CHASE project: Me too! It’s definitely not my favorite pumpkin beer.
Ditto on the blue moon and I bought a 12 pack – wtf?! It kind sucks. Boo!
Great list. I hate pumpkin pie, but enjoy pumpkin beers, strange? The Punkin is my favourite from those. If you ever get a chance to try St-Ambroise Citrouille from Montreal it is amazing.
Bluepoint Brewery Mother Pumpkin Ale!!
@Danielle: A bunch of people mentioned this one! I need to try it!
Thanks for posting this! I’ve been intrigued by all of the pumpkin beer you have been posting, but wasn’t sure which one to try–now I’m on the hunt for the Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale and Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale!
Hi Tina,
first can I say I love your blog, and your dog! I live 20 mins outside Boston and its fun to see all the local places/runs do!
If you havent, and I am sure you have, you must, must try UFO pumpkin!
Its not sweet, and is really smooth and spicy tasting.
I cannot get enough of it!!
Pumpkin beers are mostly a East Coast thing but you are been raving so much about them that I looked up some breweries in Oregon that brew them. I think I need to pop over to some of their brew pubs and try them out! For other Portland, OR readers: Laurelwood, Breakside, Deschutes and Rogue all have pumpkin beers on tap.
One you should try if you can get a hold of it is New Holland’s Ichabod. It’s delicious!
I LOVE that you include (good) beer into your healthy living!
You MUST try Screamin’ Pumpkin by Michigan Brewing Co if you ever get a chance. It tastes like pumpkin pie in a bottle. And Southern Tier’s Pumking is good if you are looking for something a bit heavier.
@Jennifer: Mmm! I bet I would love it!
Jennifer, I was just going to post about Screamin’ Pumpkin! I’m biased because I live in Lansing, MI and we have the MBC Pub downtown and it’s only a short drive to Webberville, where MBC brews. Also, the MBC taproom will mix 1/2 Screamin’ Pumpkin with 1/2 of their Nut Brown Ale and they call it a “Windmill Cookie” – it’s AMAZING!
@Katie: Oooh that mix sounds delicious!! You can also make something similar to a Irish Car Bomb using Screamin’ Pumpkin, vanilla vodka, and Baileys. It’s yummy
I’m in Michigan as well and I made sure to stock up on Screamin’ Pumpkin this year, because last year every place was out of stock by mid-October! I think it’s underrated and needs to be added to all of those “best pumpkin beer” lists floating around on the internet.
@Jennifer:
Sadly, Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale, is no more.
@Josh: I am bummed. I order the Screamin’ Pumpkin and was told that they will not have it this year but somebody has picked it up and will be brewing the screamin’ pumpkin next year, 2013. Does anybody know the closest pumkin beer in comparison to Michigan Brewing Company’s Screamin’ Pumpkin?
I just had the Weyerbachers a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it. I also like the Harpoon UFO Pumpkin, although it took me a couple of tastes before I liked it. If you like a sweeter ale, try Blue Moon Pumpkin.
For those in NC, the Catawba Valley King Don’s Pumpkin Ale is the best pumpkin beer I’ve ever had! Thanks for this post Tina – my goal this fall is to try as many pumpkin beers as possible
thanks for this! we have a great store near us, Total Wine, which sells tons of great beer. i want to go get one of each of these you mentioned and do a taste test
sounds like a good friday night to this girl!
I’ve never liked any of the pumpkin beers I’ve tried in the past. Never had these, though. I’ll have to give them a shot if I see any in the store.
Being from Vermont, I have a bit of a bias. I have tried a number of pumpkin ales and my favorite is made by Wolaver’s Organic Brewing company, which I think is part of Otter Creek Brewery. The beer is actually brewed with pumpkins, not just pumpkin spices/flavoring, so it isn’t produced in mass quantities and makes it hard to find. I actually first tried it at Sunset Grill and Tap in Allston. Served with a cinnamon sugar rim, it had me at my first sip.
I bet I would love those!
Now this research sounds like fun! I tried my first pumpkin beer over the weekend…Harvest Pumpkin Ale by Blue Moon. Blue Moon isn’t even remotely one of my favorite breweries, but the pumpkin ale was enjoyable. Since it was my first I don’t really have much to compare it to, so there’s my disclaimer.
Dogfish Punkin Ale is by far my favorite! I don’t like dark beers, and it’s so flavorful and pumpkiny that it beats all the others by a landslide.
You have to try Shlafly ( spelling?) best pumpkin beer ever!
No pumpkin beers in Australia!
Semi-new reader… I love your blog!
Have you tried Shipyard’s Smashed Pumpkin? You can get it at the Yardhouse on tap or buy a big bottle at Curtis (which is what I did when I saw your Wacky Wednesday post). It’s delicious, but stronger than their regular one.
Also, have you tried a Black O Lantern? It’s like a black and tan but with Pumpkin beer and Guinness instead. Soooo good. I’ve even some people add a shot of vanilla vodka to it.
If you REALLY like Pumpkin Beers, Blue Moon makes a stellar Pumkin Ale. A little heavier on the pumpkin than most and a little less on the spice.
I was disappointed with the Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale – it tasted like Miller Lite! Has anyone tried the Buffalo Bill Pumpkin Ale?
If you like the Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale (I Love it!!!) you will probably like Wild Onion Pumpkin Ale. It is very similar as they both have tons of flavor and spice, my favorite aspect of a pumpkin beer.
I have been picking up different pumpkins and just tried the pumpkin UFO and loved it!
I love DogFish. We have the bar right down the street, so it’s really nice to get Punkin on tap. I’m also happy you like the Saranac. I haven’t tried it yet…but I hope I can find some down here in DC. I’m dying to try the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery’s Pumpkin Ale – but I know I won’t get my hands on that down here.
Had Southern Tier Pumking tonight for the first time and loved it! My new favorite this season is http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/pumpkin_lager.html…also tried Blue Moon and was disappointed. On the hunt for the Shipyard Pumpkin ales. Haven’t been able to find them around here….
Southern Tier Pumpking!!! Sooo good!!!
Mmmm I love pumpkin beer. My hubs hates it, which is awesome because he never steals my stash! Have you ever tried Elysian beer? Their Night Owl is amazing!
Southern Tier Brewing Co. makes an amazing pumpkin ale called Pumpking. It’s more spicy than pumpkin-tasting, but smooth and easy to drink.
I tried Dogfish Head Punkin Ale last week and was really disappointed. To me, it just tasted STRONG with no “hints” or “gleams” of anything. Got to try the rest before the season is over though!
O’Fallon Pumpkin Beer – it’s a MO brewery, so I’m not sure if you could find it in Boston, but it is my favorite! Not too sweet with a cinnamon aftertaste, so yummy!
I love Cambridge Brewing Co.’s pumpkin ale, and Southern Tier’s Imperial Pumking is AMAZING. Tastes just like pumpkin pie!
Have you had the Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale?!?! Sooooo good….my favorite by far!!
Harpoon Pumpkin UFO
I love this post! I live in KC and we can’t get Dogfish. Ever since I saw Beer Wars this summer I’ve been dying to get my hands on some. This weekend I was in Boston and FINALLY got to try Dogfish Beer!!!!!!! I tried the Punkin on tap and it was phenomenal! (and seriously requires all of the exclamation points I’ve used in this post so far!) I also loved the 60min IPA. I brought some Punkin, 60min IPA, and Brown Ale home with me. I also brought some Shipyard Pumpkinhead and Southern Tier Pumking Ale home with me too. I can’t wait to try them.
After reading so much about Marylou’s on your blog I was able to try the Almond Joy iced coffee and it is amazing. You are so lucky to have such a great coffee shop near you, there is nothing like that in KC. I’m pretty sure I can never order an Almond Joy Latte anywhere here ever again because it just doesn’t come close to the taste of Marylou’s. I brought back a pound of the pumpkin coffee with me.
So back to the beer, if you are ever in the STL/KC area give O’Fallon Pumpkin Beer a try, it’s awesome. I’m sure it’s available elsewhere too. Schlafly is good, but I think of it as more of a Dessert beer. The cinnamon and spices really come through and it’s a bit sweet. I can only have 1 or 2 before I need to move on to another beer – or maybe that is where non- beer lovers stop
I recently read that Jack’s Pumpkin Spice wasn’t being made anymore because Michelob was doing away with their “craft beer” line. Instead Shocktop has a Pumpkin Wheat Beer that is not worth trying (it’s worse than the Blue Moon Pumpkin Beer). I also enjoy Saranac; it’s only recently hit the liquor stores near our house. When I was in Mansfield on Friday night I noticed they had Boulevard beer. The sign said Boulevard was new to New England, so I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried it, but Boulevard is a KC brewery and I’d highly recommended it!
This is by far my favorite post ever. LoL! I love me some pumpkin ale. I have to agree that the Dogfish Head is excellent! Luckily they have it on tap at my favorite bar. Actually, like the only bar I ever go to because my husband’s rugby team goes there, LoL. Anyway! Thanks for the reviews! I will look for some of the ones I haven’t had before!
~Ang
Would u believe I’ve never tried a “Pumpkin” beer? I’ve kept saying for years I’m going to but by the time I seem to get around to it, they’re sold out already! This year I’m determined so I LOVE that you wrote this. I’m printing it out to take shopping w/me tomorrow.
BTW… have you tried the Banana Bread Beer? I can’t recall who brews it but it is very good. Different, just a hint of banana bread flavor. It comes from the idea that originally “beers” were referred to as “Liquid Bread” because of the yeast content to create them. Give it a try if you haven’t!
have you tried Cambridge Brewing Company’s The Great Pumpkin Ale??! SO GOOD!
I am a huge fan on novelty brews and the pumpkin flavors have become my latest obsession. This post is fantastic!
I just tried the shipyard pumpkin head beer for the first time the other day and it was definitely a “must repeat” type beer! So delicious!
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