Fall is a time when pumpkin lovers come out of hibernation and excitedly consume every kind of pumpkin product before it goes out of season again. We are among this elite group of pumpkin enthusiasts, so we know alllll about it. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin lattes and pumpkin bread… all great stuff. But pumpkin beer? Yup, that’s the best. Here’s our expert evaluation of a few popular brands:
Shipyard Pumpkinhead
This beer is sweet. If you’re looking for a pumpkin pie beer than you’ll love it. Cinnamon smell and flavor and overall fairly light. Seems like a beer for people who don’t like beer, and that’s not us.
Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale
You can actually taste the pumpkin in this ale as opposed to just “pumpkin-ish” flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg (although those are present as well). It’s medium-bodied, pretty smooth and overall quite nice. Definitely above average – our fav out of this group.
Harpoon UFO Pumpkin
There are some really good flavors happening in this beer with a hint of brown sugar, cinnamon and clove. The carbonation is very light and it’s medium-bodied. Not the best; we’d say it’s pretty average.
Blue Moon Harvest Moon
This ale smells better than it tastes. Really delicious spicy aroma, but the taste itself is a little blehh. It’s not a bad flavor, just too subtle. We’d drink it if someone gave it to us, but we wouldn’t buy a 6-pack.
A lot of brands produce a pumpkin version of their beer in the fall – which ones are your favorites? We’ve enjoyed a lot of different takes on pumpkin beer, but we haven’t found one that will make us commit.