Once the temperature dips and the leaves start to turn, it’s time to break out the spiced, sweet and toasted brews. While many people spend the months sipping on refreshing hard ciders as a way to round out a day well spent at apple orchards, if visiting pumpkin farms is more your speed, then cracking open a cold pumpkin beer is probably the way you end your day.
There are so many pumpkin beers on the shelves these days that it’s difficult to figure out what’s a trick and what’s a treat. I’ve done the heavy lifting *errr drinking for us all and tried a whole bunch of pumpkin beers to ensure your next six-pack is full of sugar, (pumpkin) spice, and everything nice. Skip the pumpkin spice lattes and slices of pumpkin pie and opt for one of these pumpkin ales instead.
10 Pumpkin Beers To Sip On This Fall
Samuel Adams Jack-O Pumpkin Ale Seasonal Beer
A classic. Samual Adams just does fall brews right. Crisp and refreshing, this pumpkin ale has a faint cinnamon scent that make it an easily drinkable brew. If you like pumpkin pie and beer, this shandy is for you. This is what I would say is a pumpkin ale for beginners!
O’Fallon Vanilla Pumpkin Beer
While O’Fallon credits its Pumpkin Beer as being its most popular seasonal offering, this vanilla-infused amber ale should not be overlooked. Featuring cold-pressed Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, adding the perfect balance of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove flavors.
Dogfish Head Beer Punkin Ale
This ale comes complete with hints of brown sugar and spice, and it’s a true fit for beer lovers — it tastes more like beer than it does overpowering baking spices. Brewed with baked pumpkins, it’s exactly what you want to sip as the leaves change.
Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale
Shipyard suggests you serve this wheat ale “in a pint glass rimmed with sugar and cinnamon,” and that does not sound like a horrible idea. As soon as you pour this cinnamon-infused beer you’re hit with the fresh scent of fall in the best way possible.
Elysian Punkuccino
Pumpkin meets coffee in this brew. This beer is especially delicious if you’re into creamy drinks that are subtly spiced. Enjoy hints of chocolate, cinnamon and pumpkin. Take is as an adult PSL.
Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale
When Blue Moon launched this pumpkin brew, they made sure it would set itself apart from the popular Oktoberfests during this time of year. It has stood the test of time through several sweater-weather seasons since 1995.
Southern Tier Pumking
This beer packs a lot in the bottle: rich sweetness but a dry finish, plus notes of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. Perfect to sip on while you are carving your jack-o-lantern.
New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin
Instead of settling for the traditional pumpkin flavor, the Ranger takes it up a notch by adding a dose of habanero chili peppers. (Don’t sweat it, his skull doesn’t come with crossbones—it’s just spicy enough.)
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin
Tired of those pumpkin ales that leave you wanting more? Shipyard Brewing Co.’s seasonal Smashed Pumpkin Ale, will not do that. Featuring a 9 percent ABV, this “big-bodied beer” is the epitome of fall with is pumpkin and nutmeg aroma.
2 Fools Cider Pumpkin Spiced
Looking for a more local pumpkin inspired drink? Head to 2 Fools Cidery in Naperville, IL and try their pumpkin spice cider. All the spices, none of the pumpkin! Dry spiced cider with cinnamon, all spice, cloves and nutmeg.
What’s your favorite pumpkin beer?
[…] Something that embodies all of the flavors of fall. But until then, you can find me sipping on pumpkin beers and ciders for the next few […]