The Maizer

August 19th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^

Southern Tier Pumking and Warlock are must tries as mentioned above.

If you get a chance to try Griffin Claw's bourbon barrel aged version of Screamin' Pumpkin, it will change your life.

reshp1

August 19th, 2015 at 4:35 PM ^

My comment was mostly tongue in cheek, but you can be plenty "creative" with the infinite combinations of those 4 ingredients, all the various mash, brew, and fermentation techniques, etc, without resorting to adding weird shit. 

That said, some non-Reinheitsgebot beers are really good, but so much of it is just gimmicky stuff just to do something different and hoping it catches on. 

 

Rabbit21

August 19th, 2015 at 3:35 PM ^

To each their own, but the pumpkin beer thing is a lot like IPA's.  I can see people enjoying them and commenting on the different flavors and all I get is the devil's armpit sweat. 

Now show me a pumpkin spice latte and I'm there(which has to be more girly than liking pumpkin beers, and I'm only a little ashamed of that).

RockyMtnWolverine

August 19th, 2015 at 3:37 PM ^

Like chile beers, pumpkin beers are good in small doses. I'd much rather look forward to Bell's stout release in November. Not that I can get any of those stouts in Colorado anyway.

ToDefyTheFrizzleFry

August 19th, 2015 at 3:41 PM ^

Pumking is one of the worst beers I've ever tasted, and I like pumpkin beers. It tasted rather artificial and medicine like to me. Maybe I got a bad bottle, but it was digusting and an immediate drain pour.

Pump[KY]n was a helluva beer, but it is a sipper. Cigar City Good Gourd is probably the best regular abv pumpkin beer I've had. 

JHendo

August 19th, 2015 at 3:39 PM ^

I tried to get into the hard Root Beer fad going around, but I'm just not that big of a fan (though I'll get around to the finishing the 3 "Not Your Father's... in my beer fridge).

Pumpkin flavored stuff, most especially of the beer variety, is most certainly a flavor craze I enjor and can get behind.

triangle_M

August 19th, 2015 at 3:59 PM ^

I don't enjoy the pumpkin beers as much as others.  I'd say they are more a test of brand loyalty than one of distinction.  My cicerone club refuses to entertain any idea of pumpkin beer evaluations or tastings, which means that they aren't welcome.   There are a few notable ones that are worth mentioning:

Autumn Maple (yams, not pumpkins) by The Bruery (oak aged, maple syrup added, 10%)

Warlock (really just Southern Tier's overly sweet RIS with overly sweet Pumpking added).  It's one of the few from Southern Tier that I'll drink since I don't really go for all the adjunct sugar that they cannot seem to keep out of their beer.

Spooky (Blue Mountain - white oak rye charred barrel aged, cocao nibs, no pie spice, 8.2%)  Nice barrel notes

 

Fall means we get wet hopped IPAs, which I like much more than the orange horror that has invaded.

ChuckieWoodson

August 19th, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^

and can make the trip down to 3 Floyd's, it is well worth it.  I love me some Shorts, Bells and Founders but FFF is amazing stuff.  Working on a case of Alpha King right now and going to take a dive into a Permanent Funeral tonight. 

BlueinOK

August 19th, 2015 at 4:43 PM ^

My MgoWife just brought this up to me. She loves pumpkin beer. There's a brewery here in Wichita that has the best pumpkin beer. Also I'm so glad I'm with someone who likes to go to breweries. 

a2bluefan

August 19th, 2015 at 5:48 PM ^

I've never been a big pumpkin beer fan, BUT...

Wolverine State Brewing's version, called Cucurbita Smiles, is so delicious that I brought growlers of it to two different tailgates last year. Super tasty, crisp and clean, not too sweet.