Well it’s that time of year again.  Fall is fast upon us and in Pittsburgh this means Steelers football, back to school traffic, snow on Trick or Treat and a plethora of new Rick Sebak documentaries on WQED.  But in the beer world fall means it’s time for pumpkin beers to hit the shelves.  We swear seasonal brews show up earlier and earlier every year and even spotted a few as early as August. Before you know it, Christmas beers will be on tap and in distributors around ‘tahn.

But the snow’s not flying yet and the leaves are just starting to change, which means there’s plenty of pumpkin beer to be had. Our goal was simple: harness the Charlie Brown in all of us and find The Great Pumpkin Beer. To ensure we met our goal fairly, we sampled a wide variety of pumpkin seasonals. After extensive sampling, we found the brews aligned into three groups: “Was that a pumpkin beer,” “Spicy” and “Tastes just like Grandma’s pumpkin pie.”

Was that a pumpkin beer? These beers are all very smooth and refreshing.  Most have a hint of pumpkin or spice or both, but these flavors vanish quickly in the mouth.  Each brew is a golden amber color in appearance.

• O’Fallen Pumpkin Ale – Sweet aroma with a hint of spice.  The flavor is a mixture of the aromatic sweetness and spice but with very little pumpkin flavor.  A nice light golden color with a strange aftertaste and mouth feel.  Light and drinkable but not much flavor.
• Smuttynose Pumkin Ale – Spicy aroma and same copper color.  Ends in a very sour aftertaste with not much pumpkin flavor.  A very carbonated brew meets your mouth.  If held in mouth to savor, there is a German Oktoberfest woody/earthy aftertaste.
• Jack’s Pumpkin Spice – (AB product, don’t judge a book by its cover) Sweet smell with a good pumpkin flavor reminiscent of a pumpkin cookie, but the taste does not last long.  In fact, the initial flavors seems to disappear with each additional sip.  The aftertaste is reminiscent of most other Anheuser Busch products, aka Bud Light.  (Ok judge this one by its cover.)

Spicy! Brews in this category excel in pumpkin pie spice flavor.  Nutmeg, allspice and ginger all dance across the tongue.  If you really enjoy pumpkin pie spices these beers are for you.  Again, a golden amber color is consistent among the beers below.

• Post Road Pumpkin Ale – A strong spicy aroma rich in nutmeg hits the nose right away followed by mostly allspice but a cloves and nutmeg aroma are also present. Copper in color and slightly darker than the O’Fallon. Like spice cake? This is probably the fall beer for you.  Clove aftertaste lingers and lingers.
• Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale – The aroma is overpowered by the allspice (clove) and hints of banana, maybe even some bubble gum?  I think everyone got the bubble gum aroma face at about the same time and it was a priceless moment. This one has a nice pumpkin backbone with some sweetness but doesn’t contain as much spice as the other brews in this category.
• Saranac Pumpkin Ale – Sweet and spicy aroma pop out of the glass first, followed with a pastry touch, which is attributed to the vanilla.  The appearance is much darker/reddish then all the beers sampled.  To the taste, a touch of pumpkin meets up with allspice and vanilla.
• Shipyard Pumpkinhead – WOW, the aroma is loaded with cinnamon.  This brew is also the lightest in color.  It was really sweet in flavor with allspice and notes of honey.  Some say it reminds them of a spicy mead.  Again, not much pumpkin flavor to speak of.

Tastes just like Grandma’s pumpkin pie! Title really says it all.  A blend of spices, pumpkin and some even had a pie crust aftertaste.

• New Holland Ichabod Ale – Intense floral aroma is accompanied with traditional pumpkin pie spice.  One sip and you realize the pumpkin flavor is nicely balanced with the spice flavors.  A true pumpkin pie aftertaste is a present surprise.  With a slight reddish hue, Ichabod is darker than most of the other offerings.
• Dogfish Head Punkin Ale – Punkin wasn’t big on nose appeal, but the pumpkin flavor more than makes up for it.   This beer had the most pumpkin flavor and it wasn’t overpowered by the spice.  Based on a brown ale, the malt lends a flavor reminiscent of crystallized pie.
• Hoppin Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale – Great pumpkin aroma with some sweetness and an allspice mix. The flavor is bold with lots of in-your-face allspice and ginger flavors, but there is that unmistakable pumpkin underneath it all.  Especially if you savor the aftertaste.  Same golden color, but not entirely clear.
• Southern Tier Pumking – Smells like a fresh baked pumpkin pie.  This brew had something that the others lacked.  It appeared in the aroma and aftertaste.  It was a beautiful blend of pumpkin, spices and pie crust.  This anomaly was consistent throughout the entire pint.

After all beers were sampled, a vote was taken.  The top four selections all came from the “Tastes just like Grandma’s pumpkin pie” group.  In the end there can only be one Great Pumpkin Beer.

If we had to spend our fall season drinking only one pumpkin ale, we’d sit on the porch and watch the leaves change colors with Southern Tier’s Imperial Pumking Ale in hand.

What’s your favorite Pumpkin Beer?  There have been a lot on tap around town this fall.

Related posts:

1. Fall Seasonals Part 1: Pumpkin Ales
2. What We Drank at Beer and Gear…..
3. Great Lakes Brewing