Pumpkin: The Great, The Okay, and The Bad

Tis the season for a plentiful supply of fall seasonals to be hitting the shelf. Here are my suggestions on which pumpkin brews to try and which to skip. I will score the beers on a 1 to 10 scale with a 10 being near perfection in a bottle, a 1 being a horrible atrocity, and a 5 being average for the style.

The Bruery Autumn Maple
Score - 9.0

I bet everyone else wishes they would have thought of yams as an alternative to pumpkins! This beer is a little on the sweet side, and definitely packs a punch at 10%.

Tasting notes:
Aroma of candied yams, a hint of cloves, vanilla and just a touch of some earthy nuttiness. Taste is medium bodied with flavors of sweet potatoes, pumpkin-y earthiness, some roasted nuts, brown sugar and vanilla. Finish is semi-sweet with a sweet potato, nutmeg, carmelized marshmallow and clove aftertaste. Not much maple syrup in the flavor but definitely in the aroma.

Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

Score - 8.5

A classically delicious pumpkin beer from a phenomenal local brewery.

Tasting notes:
Very true to veggie nose with a good dose of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and an almost vegetal pumpkin hint. The palate is not nearly as sweet as the nose suggests, with a nice dose of hoppy spice to dry out the nutmeg, carmelized malt, ginger and pumpkin. All in all, I wanted a touch more malt in the body, but, in general, a very well done beer.

Dogfishhead Punkin Ale

Score - 6.5

Tasting notes:
This beer really let me down this year. There is a hint of allspice and nutmeg that persists throughout smelling and tasting, but the palate is nothing more than an overly spiced version of their Indian Brown.

Anheuser-Busch Jacks Pumpkin Spice

Score - 5.5

Tasting notes: This was actually better than I remember it being. That said, it is nothing spectacular, just thin and slightly sweet. It is a pretty unassuming beer, that you could certainly drink more than one of...........if you wanted to.

Coors Brewing Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale

Score - 3.5

Tasting notes: I can't believe they call this a pumpkin beer! There is barely enough nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar character to carry the nose, much less the palate. In all, it isn't a terrible beer, but the pumpkin aspect is nearly non-existant.