Pumpkin Beers

I'm throwing a Halloween party this weekend and, though most of my guests who opt for beer are slaves to God-awful Miller and Bud light beers, I do want to grab a few six-packs of quality brew for those of us with more sophisticated beer palates.

Was wondering if anyone would recommend some good pumpkin or Halloween specially brewed type sixers for me to try. I don't want to pay a fortune for the beer but I'd say anything in the $8 or under retail for a sixer would be fine.

I want to stay away from a la carte options too - too many people to go that route.

Thanks!

Bster

Many of the pumpkin beers I've seen around are specialty beers that come in 22 oz bottles or other non-standard packages (I believe Dogfish Head does its pumpkin beer in a 4 pack). Of the six packs I've seen that come in around your preferred price point, I think the Brooklyn Brewery offering (Post Road Pumpkin Ale) might fit the bill. I've seen it at Binny's on Grand; I'm sure all Binny's would have it and other stores as well.

I've not actually tried the beer, so maybe others who have can chime in; I just thought it might fit the bill in terms of 6 pack, $8 or less, relatively easy to find (not an expressly stated criterion, but probably helpful).

Trader Joe's has (at various locations) on hand Kennebunkport Brewing's Pumpkin Ale.
It's more gracefully spiced than the mass-produced "Jack's Pumpkin Ale," made by Anheuser-Busch, and a relative bargain at $5.99/six.

I've tried a few pumkin beers and although a nice Haloween gimmick, I don't really like them. Kind of an odd taste combination. For a crowd of micro-beer lovers it might be an interesting choice, but if you are trying to convert the Miller-swilling masses, something a little more mainstream might be better. A little closer to what they are used to as a first step.

Maybe a german pilsner? Or some belgian beer/ale? Maybe some Goose Island 312? I am a huge fan of Belgian beers, but they can be a little pricey.

I hear ya Wak.

I'm not trying to convert any regular beer drinkers but looking for some pumpkin/Halloween specialty beers for my invitees that like a more sophisticated beer. I'm already get a bunch of Miller/Bud and some micro brews/IPAs?etc.

Was looking for some Pumpkin brews to round it out.

In that case, have you checked out Sams? They always seem to have the best selection around.

I've always enjoyed Lakefront Brewery's Pumpkin Lager. I know it's available at Whole Foods but it's a bit pricier there (9.50/6) than I had been accustomed to paying in past years at Binny's ($8/6). I have looked for it at the Binny's in Willowbrook but haven't seen it this year. It has a good pumpkin flavor and also encompasses the spices of the season with cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg all evident in the brew.

I like New Holland's Ichabod Ale, not over-powering with the pumpkin or spice but not subtle either. Sold in 6-packs.

I love Dogfish's Punkin' Ale, but it is usually at or above your price point.

Coor's Blue Moon Pumpkin offering is just awful, not worth it at any price. I've had a few of A-B's Jacks' and it's like most of their seasonal's - drinkable, but poor and dumb-downed examples of whatever style they're going for.

Griffin and I did a blind tasting of O'Fallon, Dogfish Punk, and New Holland Icabod last year. Now, it is true that each year is a little different, but in general O'Fallon has been a winner each of the last two years.

Last year, we both preferred O'Fallon, then Ichabod. Dogfish Punk was notably inferior to the other two (despite Griffin having liked the 2005 version the best).

O'Fallon is a pumpkin beer that actually captures the fruity essence of pumpkin (not the spices -- which have given pumpkin beers a bad image to many).

The OF aroma has some clove and nutmeg, but these are not overwhelming.

The taste has the pleasing sweetness of fruit. There was a little spicing, but it was moderate and not overwhelming. There was also a hefeweizen quality about it, some interesting yeast things going on.

I would not have known the Ichabod was a pumpkin beer if I were not told. Perhaps because the Pumpkin flavor was so pronounced in the O"Fallon, the Ichabod was neither pie-spiced or overly pumkinny. Instead it was an interesting seasonal ale with some hops and a nice malt profile.

The Punk was the orangest of the beers in color, and as opposed to previous years, the really went full on with the allspice. Perhaps they have changed back this year, but the spicing was too assertive in 2006.

Another Pumpkin beer that we did try this year, was the Southern Tier Pumking which we also liked. I can't find my tasting notes, but it was a darker beer than most, with some bready qualities. The spicing complemented the pumpkin and the sugars/high ABV made this a strong contender. You can only get bombers of this one, so it would be a tasting beer to have in addition to the stuff you'd put out for people to grab from a cooler.

We haven't tried Post Road, but it is a spin off brand of Brooklyn Brewery (which has an excellent brewer, Garrett Oliver, also known in food circles).

I have heard the Post Road is similar in profile to the O'Fallon (you get the pumpkin and not a mouth full of spice).

Lakefront is well known for its assertive spicing. So if you ARE looking for an option with (imho VERY) evident spice, then that is a good choice for you.

All this said, I think that for your purposes, a selection of Oktoberfests (with maybe only a few pumpkin beers) might be an easier crossover for the BMC regulars while they are still in the spirit of the seasonal theme.

Prost!

All,

I appreciate the responses...I'll definitely try a few of the recs before the season is over. But, I ended up getting all of my beer and some of the liquor at Cardinal Liquors On Lincoln Avenue Just north of where Lincoln crosses Western up in Lincoln Square. They had great prices on beer from the LCD Bud and Miller to premium 12-packs and specialty six-packs. Unfortunately, though I remember seeing at least 4 or so pumpkin variety's last week they only had Blue Moon's version available and I had a couple of random patrons seeing my stock up tell me not to get it - so I didn't.

I opted for a potpourri of Bud and Miller Lights for the masses; then went with some very nicely-priced 12-packs of Stella; Sam Adams; Modelo Especial (the sophisticated man's Corona):lol:; and Corona. I topped those selections off with some specialty sixers of Mad Hatter IPA; a few selections from the Red Hook Brewery (IPA and ESB); A trio from GLB (Commodore Perry, Burning River & Dortmunder Gold).

With the SO's jello and Chocolate pudding shots and an array of liquor options should make for a good night.

I'll pick up some of the recs at Sams next week.

Thanks

BTW - we are getting some appetizers, gumbo, etc. catered from Heaven on Seaven which went over very well last year. I'll post in another thread how the food went down this year.

Bster

Any update on pumpkin beers (it's that time of year again)? I did a search, and didn't find much other than this thread. Does anyone know if the O'Fallon pumpkin beer readily is available at places like Sam's and Binny's? Is Trader Joe's still selling the Kennebunkport brand? Thanks in advance.

Binny's has plenty of pumpkin beers., including the O'Fallon. I'd recommend the New Holland Ichabod, or anything from Jolly Pumpkin, tho.

To me, Pumking is by far the best pumpkin beer out there, but that's just an opinion. And it doesn't come in 6 packs. Also, just so no one is confused, Jolly Pumpkin is a brewery, not a pumpkin beer, and they make primarly "sours" so it's probably not the best choice for less sophisticated beer drinkers.

Ron A. wrote:Is Trader Joe's still selling the Kennebunkport brand? Thanks in advance.

They are. I picked some up last week and thought it was pretty good, especially at the $5.99/6 pack price. There's a noticeable pumpkin flavor and a bit of spice, but it's not hit you over the head pumpkin and it's not sweet like some other pumpkin beers.

PumKing is actually around town on draft at a number of different places - I had a goblet at Sheffield's the other night but I know there are kegs of it all over the city. Other than that, the best pumpkin beer I've had this year was one I found at Cardinal Liquors (mentioned upthread).

I'd never heard of Southampton Publick House brewing, but there was a 6'er of their Pumpkin Ale in the cooler so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Nicely balanced flavors of spice and pumpkin and not as thick-bodied as the PumKing so you can handle more than a couple bottles in one session. Don't remember the price, but it wasn't prohibitive.

Had an Ichabod that was terribly disappointing at 42 N. Latitude, and a bottle of Dogfishead Punkin that was pretty much the same as last year. It seems that DFH has nailed down their process whereas pretty much everyone else varies from year to year.

ejquin1 wrote:To me, Pumking is by far the best pumpkin beer out there, but that's just an opinion. And it doesn't come in 6 packs. Also, just so no one is confused, Jolly Pumpkin is a brewery, not a pumpkin beer, and they make primarly "sours" so it's probably not the best choice for less sophisticated beer drinkers.

Absolutely in agreement. I generally tend to avoid pumpkin beers, finding them mediocre beers at the core, flavor smothered with unbalanced spice. Southern Tier's Pumking is a powerhouse (9%) pumpkin beer that actually has pumpkin taste matched by really good "beery" taste as well. I'm normally not a fan of Southern Tier's range (Oat was a massive disappointment, in particular), but Pumking deserves high praise - heck, its getting a 96 at ratebeer.com. Whole Foods has bombers for, if I remember correctly, $8.

Time: Saturday 31 October eve 6:45pm
Scene: Sam's nee Binny's @ 1720 Marcey St.
Location: Fancy-Schmancy Beer Aisle
Dialogue: Me- Excuse, I was looking for a Pumpkin Beer, specifically by a brewer named"_______"
Snippy, quite Curt Response from Binny's employee-"Uh- its' out of season!"....
and then turns and walks away....

Funny- to me- it's still Fall, kind of an Autumnal feel to the air-
still seems like "The Season" to me......but- apparently, not The Season for a Pumpkin Beer I wanted to bring to a Halloween Party!

Whood-a-thunk!

I had a few Kennebunkports (from Trader Joe's) on Saturday, and they weren't bad at all. But, the pumpkin / spice flavor is very faint -- if the beer had not been labeled as pumpkin ale, I might have thought it simply was pale ale.

tonybeth wrote:Wild Goose Pumpkin Patch Ale is slow-brewed

I'm not sure what you mean by "slow-brewed." Is that supposed to be some unusual technique, a weird yeast, or an acknowledgement of an inefficient procedure?

Also 9 special malts? No base malts?

I bought the Kennebunkport Pumpkin a few weeks back and was pretty disappointed.

Yes, the pumpkin flavor was definitely sublte. But, IMO so was the beer flavor!

I found it pretty watery bordering on flavorless; while a good deal at $1/bottle, I won't be buying it again

Dogfish Head's pumpkin offering two years ago was pretty bad; last year I didn't partake; this year it's not bad but it's also not very pumpkin-y despite being markedly orange.

Gotta agree on the Dogfish - it's just okay this year.

Great Lakes Ichabod is much better, but my favorite this year is Brooklyn's Post Road Pumpkin - highly spiced balance of cinnamon and nutmeg and a crisp beer. Its lightness makes it very drinkable and it doesn't try to go over the top or load up on fakey flavors. Don't know where you can get it in bottles but Clark St. Ale House has it on tap.

Or for a different point of view, I came upon this article by beer-writer Lew Bryson. "Pumpkin beer mostly suck". I tend to agree.

http://www.alestreetonline.com/content/view/320/45/

Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale.
Most pumpkin beers aren't much better than a cute idea. Some of the more over the top ones have waaaaaay too much spice, and the only way to really enjoy it is with much the same attitude that one enjoys a really awful b-movie. Some of the better pumpkin beers (Buffalo Bill's comes to mind) are perfectly acceptable, but nothing you'd want to invest in a six pack. The Shlafly, I would. It's not uberspiced, and it has a pleasant smoothness that many other pumpkin ales don't have. It pairs well with a large pepperoni and pepperocini pizza and football.