Pumpkin beer power rankings

pulse

Well-Known Member
Mar 24, 2006
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Friday Pumpkin or should I say Punkin Beer of the Day. I think this is the 1st pumpkin beer I had ever heard of a few years ago. My immediate and thought ever since on the idea of pumpkin and beer was one of revulsion, until a few days ago when I decided to do undertake the week long quest. I've heard great things about this beer for years. I must say it was a huge letdown. It isn't a bad beer, its perfectly fine, its just not as pumpkinny (new word) as I would expect after tasting the 2 previous beers.


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roundball

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Dec 8, 2013
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Hello gentleman, roundball here. If you're a fan of pumpkin/"fall" beers, you might enjoy New Glarus Brewing's Apple Ale, which I tried a few weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised...it was great! It was almost like a cross between cider and beer, though I'm not much of a cider drinker.

Another that I tried at the same time was their Spiced Ale, which isn't rated as highly on BeerAdvocate, but I thought it was just as good.

Happy drinking, and enjoy your weekend. BEAT IOWA!
 

StClone

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Dec 17, 2009
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The Shock Top, I've had before, and remember it being kinda "meh."
Shock Top is not a micro Brew - it is Anheuser-Busch gimmick brew, yes meh.

I tried the Pumpkin Ale brew by Shipwrecked up in Egg Harbor, Door Co. WI - not bad, not great but fun for a day.
 

pulse

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Mar 24, 2006
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The football game is depressing me, but fortunately Saturday brings me to Howe Sound Pumpkineater. Wow, this is some good stuff. An "Imperial Pumpkin Ale" around 8%. Good flavor and spice. This liter bottle is definitely going down by the end of the halftime. Has a nice swing cap too.



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ILikeCy

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Dec 16, 2008
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The football game is depressing me, but fortunately Saturday brings me to Howe Sound Pumpkineater. Wow, this is some good stuff. An "Imperial Pumpkin Ale" around 8%. Good flavor and spice. This liter bottle is definitely going down by the end of the halftime. Has a nice swing cap too.
I hope you had a second one for the second half. I bet it would have tasted even better than it did in the first half.
 

pulse

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Mar 24, 2006
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I hope you had a second one for the second half. I bet it would have tasted even better than it did in the first half.

Ha ha unfortunately it was like 15 or 20 bucks for the bottle, can't remember exactly, so I only bought one. Maybe I'll have to get another for the next game!
 
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pulse

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Mar 24, 2006
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Finding pumpkin beers has become more difficult, but after hunting today this is what was come up with. Anderson Valley Fall Hornin'. The darkest so far, but not heavy, and quite malty. 6%. Pretty decent, for the malt fans.


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pulse

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Mar 24, 2006
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Headed towards the end of Pumpkin Week, but the beginning of a new week, Monday brings about Terrapin Pumpkinfest, which you can chalk up another reason why people don't like Mondays. The initial aroma was fine, but then my completely flawed/opposite logic of getting a beer made in a college town (Athens, GA) hit me. I thought "hey this could be good". Wrong, college towns drink cheap beer, and this was like Old Milwaukee Amber if there was such thing (maybe there is).


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pulse

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Mar 24, 2006
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With all the talk of bear meat, today we have to go with Pumpkin Hunter! Has a medium taste, not much spice, and seemed pretty flat. Around 5%. The bottle looked cool, but that was the high point.

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roundball

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Dec 8, 2013
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I tried the Southern Tier Imperial Pumpking tonight...outstanding. It's a lot different than any other pumpkin beer I've had, in a good way. Highly recommended.

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pulse

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Mar 24, 2006
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Well its the end of a week-long pumpkin beer tasting, so I guess I should power rank them like the thread title says. We'll use the diamond ratings (since I don't see any characters for stars). My ratings are just as reliable as sites that use stars for recruits, as those are entertainment sites and this is a beer entertainment ranking.

1. Howe Sound Pumpkineater. ♦♦♦♦♦ If CFH recruited beer, he'd get this one. Fantastic taste. Hands down the best.

2. Alewerks Pumkpin Ale. ♦♦♦♦ Definitely recommend this pumpkin beer too, very good.

3. Saranac Pumpkin Ale. This is interesting, if you're a Bud Light / Miller Light kind of person and that is your nectar, then this is for you. You'd say ♦♦♦♦, people who like richer flavor probably would say its like water. This is the type of beer if you're looking at a night game and have a long day of tailgating ahead. It won't fill you up and you can drink it all day. Personally I liked it, probably ♦♦♦½.

4. Anderson Valley Fall Hornin'. ♦♦♦½. Malty like I said before. Worth getting.

5. Dogfish Punkin Ale. ♦♦½. Didn't have the spice of others so it didn't give as much of a pumpkin feel. Kind of meh.

6. Terrapin Pumpkinfest. ♦. Based on the number of diamonds as people like to say, "Don't want."

7. Pumpkin Hunter. ♦. This is not a diamond in the rough that Paul Rhoads found and is going to make into an all-pumpkin-beer candidate. Ever.
 

timhisu

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Jul 29, 2010
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Picked up a 6 pack of the Schlafly Pumpkin Ale....WOW. You guys weren't kidding. This stuff is amazing. Probably No. 1 on my rankings right now.

If I'm able to find some Steven's Point Whole Hog Pumpkin, I'll save a couple for you. It's on par.