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I am curious to know what others' experiences have been with pumpkin ales. Christmas ale seasonals may run a close second, but this is, without a doubt, my favorite seasonal. Since I first discovered them four or five years ago, they have always signaled the beginning of fall for me, which has always been my favorite time of year (football also happens to be in the fall, which is nice ).

I have tried five different kinds that I can remember thus far, and I've always found them to be difficult to track down. Here is a list of them and what my thoughts are:

Shipyard's Pumpkinhead Ale
http://www.shipyard.com/

This is far and away my favorite pumpkin ale, and has been for some time now. I first came across it at the liquor store next to the BMV in BG, and I have been in love ever since. It is a spiced wheat ale, but it is very smooth. The cinnamon and nutmeg flavors are profound, but it is a very smooth ale. The one downside to it: Shipyard is a relatively small brewery, so they don't ship very much of it to Ohio (it is based in Portland, ME). For me it's a lot like Great Lakes' Christmas Ale - you have to plan ahead and buy a case or two early in the season, which even then can be a chore.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
http://www.dogfish.com/brewings/Seasona ... /index.htm

This is probably my least favorite of all pumpkin ales, and the reason is simple - the alcohol content is way too high. At 7% it doesn't sound like an exorbitant amount, but it completely overpowers the flavor of the brew. Oh, and its expensive. $8 or so for a four pack. No me gusta.

Jack's Pumpkin Spice
http://www.abwholesaler.com/KLDistribut ... inSpiceAle

This is an alright brew from AB. It isn't nearly as flavorful as Pumkinhead, but it is still drinkable. If there is nothing else available I'll drink it, but I can't help but get the slight feeling that I'm drinking a Bud with some cinnamon and nutmeg mixed in.

Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale
http://www.coors.com/brews_brands.asp

As all Blue Moon brews are, this one is very good. It is a little light on flavor for me, but it is well balanced and reasonably priced. It is also probably the easiest to get you paws on at this time of year. Kind of a last resort for me, but good nonetheless.

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/205/643/

I just came across this one a week ago, and I was quite impressed. I'm not ready to say that it is as good as Pumpkinhead after one six-pack, but I was quite impressed. It doesn't have much body to it, but it is flavorful and smooth. I don't know anything about this brewery, but I have never heard of it before, so I don't know if this is a newer thing or not. Either way, I'm glad I came across it.

Personally, I've always been fond of my own


The only commercial example I've tried is the Blue Moon one, and it was okay. This is not my favorite seasonal style, but if done well they can be quite drinkable. I haven't decided whether or not I'll brew mine this year...it takes me so long to get rid of it, because I just cannot drink more than a couple at a time.

Last year's came out very high in alcohol...like 8.0%. It still tasted awesome though. I use pumpkin in it, and pumpkin pie spice. Tons of caramel malt keeps it nice and sweet. I usually don't start thinking of it until halloween-ish though. Early September is a touch early for me to be thinking pumpkin ale

BTW, I have heard that Great Lakes makes one, that is a brewpub exclusive. You may want to find out if they're going to be brewing it this year and if so, when

I'm a big fan of pumpkin ales that taste like pumpkin and NOT like a ton of allspice. Pumpkin and pumpkin pie are different in my book. Pumpkin pie ale is not something I'm a fan of.

I've had a really good pumpkin ale in the past, but I honestly can't remember it. I've had many that I haven't enjoyed because of the above mentioned spices...

I'll take Hammb's!

hammb wrote:Personally, I've always been fond of my own

Uh, we're all fond of our own, Hammb, but let's stick to the topic of ale here, huh?

Dogfish Head is a favorite of mine. Jack's is nasty. Harvest Moon is lovely as well.

The best I have ever had was at Pollyeye's but I can't remember the brewery.

Pollyeyes used to carry Buffalo Bill's. That's where I got hooked on it at. It's still my favorite... it's like alcoholic, liquid, pumpkin pie. Oh, so good.

I just had my last Pumpkinhead of the year, unless I happen to stumble across it somewhere in the next week or two, which I doubt I will. I've been saving it and thought today would be an appropriate day to imbibe it.

I'm a Clevelander, so I can deal with the loss, but what a sad, sad day, though.

Bleeding Orange wrote: I'm a Clevelander, so I can deal with the loss, but what a sad, sad day, though.

...after loss, after loss, after loss, after loss....

Never had pumpkin beer. I've had pumpkin pie (which I don't like), pumpkin waffles (which were decent), pumpkin burgers (not bad), pumpkin ice cream (meh) and a whole host of other things that they sold at the Pumpkin Show. But never the pumpkin beer. I've had blueberry beer...

McConvey wrote:

Bleeding Orange wrote: I'm a Clevelander, so I can deal with the loss, but what a sad, sad day, though.

...after loss, after loss, after loss, after loss....

Never had pumpkin beer. I've had pumpkin pie (which I don't like), pumpkin waffles (which were decent), pumpkin burgers (not bad), pumpkin ice cream (meh) and a whole host of other things that they sold at the Pumpkin Show. But never the pumpkin beer. I've had blueberry beer...

No wonder you're so angry all the time. You'd be a much more pleasant person if you had some every now and again.

Finally got my pumpkin ale kegged and tapped.

Seemed a little too sweet, but we will see how it goes. It may be one of those that sneak up on you.

I used real pumpkin both fresh and mashed dehydrated. I may have used too much.