Do you enjoy Pumpkin Beer?

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Pumpkin Beer is:

  • Awesome

  • OK a few weeks a year

  • I don't have strong feelings one way or the other

  • I can't stand it.


Results are only viewable after voting.
No, its hype, and usually tastes more like nutmeg than pumpkin. Cause pumpkin doesnt taste like much. And besides oktoberfest, has replaced most other fall seasonals, im really tired of it.

I prefer to make weizenbock for halloween/thanksgiving type parties, as a fall "seasonal"
 
Had a professional made one the other day, turns out there is nothing wrong with the batch I made other than I can't stand pumpkin spice (clove). Funny this is though its delicious in a pie.
 
My latest batch of Pumpkin Porter is very nice. That being said, I think I prefer Pumpkin Ales though.
 
Depends...porters and saisons work better as a base beer than the standard malt backbone most breweries use. Toss it in a rum barrel for a year, yum! I went crazy this year with pumpkin beers, really trying to see if they are all that bad...yes, the answer is yes. Why do breweries, even great ones, over-spice the crap out of these beers?! I'll never get it.

Avery's Rumpkin is awesome, Two Road's Roadsmary's Baby is also decent. Sam Adam's Fat Jack (acceptable spice level IMO) and Harvest saison are two readily available beers that are better than the standard, but that doesn't say much.
 
I usually buy different ones from various breweries during the fall time. It's also a fun beer to make because it adds an element to brewing that is unique to the style of beer. I tend to enjoy pumpkin beers for about a month and then I get tired of them. Because it's a pretty solid expectation to see pumpkin beers around the fall time, it makes for a great conversation topic between beer lovers each year who talk about how much they love or hate pumpkin beers, which ones are their favorites, how early or late they came out, and whether or not the previous year yielded better beer. It happens like clockwork.
 
I like pumpkin beers. Reminds me of fall. I usually enjoy it from late october thru Thanksgiving. Just finished a punkin ale will see how it goes.

I really like Southern Tier Pumpking good stuff!
 
Only like the dogfish head one, mostly because it's not so pumpkin like (Pumpking, to me is naaaasssstttyy). I made one and it turned out good, probably never do it again ha...
 
I've made one for the autumn season the past few years. It's a bit gimmicky as the pumpkin doesn't really add much flavor and most, if not all, commercial and homebrew examples have had way too much spice for my taste. My recipe is a bit of a hodgepodge: pale ale grain bill with a pound of wheat and a few pounds of pumpkin in the mash (1.047OG), 60min and 20min hop additions for about 25-30 IBUs using Nugget, Willamette, EKG, or Fuggles, add about 1tsp of pie spice mixture at the end of the boil and ferment with wlp001. That's it. A fairly unremarkable beer save for the hint of spice while swallowing, but it's tasty, session strength, and pleases the crowd due to the mention of pumpkin and slight orange color. My first time making it was only to see if I could mash something other than grain.
 
Strongly depends on the beer. I can't stand most of them, think DFH Punkin' is ok, but not great. I do really love Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout and Heavy Seas Greater Pumpkin. I also just put together a recipe for a pumpkin saison. I mostly like ones where the spice is not overdone and you can still tell that it's a beer.
 
I could drink this any day.

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I drank a Elysian Punkuccino last night, wow that is an excellent beer. I have also had Schlafly Pumpkin Ale which is solid. I have been aging a SA Fat Jack since last year so I will see how it turns out.

So I guess you can say I enjoy pumpkin beer.
 
I like the Out of Your Gourd Pumpkin Porter by RedHook.. but this is my first year appreciating beer.. and this is only my 4th pumpkin beer..
 
I have only recently started to like anything pumpkin. Was never a big fan of any of it. Last fall I had a glass of Schlafly pumpkin ale and I loved it. I bought a 6 pack this fall and it is just as good out of the bottle.

I also picked up a pack of Red Hook Pumpkin Porter, its not that great, not bad, but not great.

I keep hearing about Southern Tier so I'm going to have to check it out.

I know its the new trend which causes a lot of people to not want anything to do with it, which is fine, I get that way about different things from time to time. I still enjoy the beer.
 
I really enjoy the 32oz growlers that the Saranac pumpkin beer comes in. They're badass and my preferred method of taking homebrew to a buddy's place. Definitely worth the $3.50 price tag. The beer, on the other hand, goes down the drain in my house. I'm just not down with the flavors (of the Saranac or any other pumpkin beer). Just give me the brown ale that it seems like most of them are based on, without the 1oz per gallon addition of McCormicks Pumpkin Pie spice. Also, while we're it at - early August for the commercial release of these things? I live in the South man. It's usually in 90's at that point. Not exactly my idea of a backyard quaffer.

</rant>

More power to you if you dig it though. Gotta drink what you like.

Cheers.
 
I like jaw jacker by arcadia ales in Kalamazoo, mi...I also brewed a pumpkin ale called "step up." Because it was my first venture into 5 gal. Batches after 3 one gallon batches in my craft-a-brew kit
 
Hit & Miss with me, like some not others. I have several bottles of Southern Tier Pumpking around the house. I tried their Warlock - Pumpkin Imperial Stout and it was a bit to much for me. Pumpking is like a pale ale with a hint of pumpkin spice. Rogues GYO Pumpkin Ale was very sweet & creamy, but enjoyable to sip after a meal for dessert. I picked up 2 bottles of Shipyard's Bourbon Barrel Smashed Pumpkin, but I think I'm going to let those age a while.
 
I love pumpkin beer, one of my favorite types of beer. That said, there are many brands of pumpkin beer I absolutely despise, so it's too generalized a question really. I for one like very prominent spice in pumpkin ales whereas many feel it's best kept subtle.


Rev.
 
Generally speaking, I do enjoy pumpkin beers, but there are some really bad examples out there too. Personally, I'm a big fan of everything Elysian does with pumpkin brews and Black Raven's Harbringer pumpkin stout is something really special, in my opinion.
 
I love my pumpkin beer. Easy on the spices, you get it in the nose, but very little on the palate. Mashed in a pound of acorn flour too, gives it that little something extra. Still, I only want it between September and Thanksgiving, after that, I'm not into it.
 
I really enjoy the 32oz growlers that the Saranac pumpkin beer comes in. They're badass and my preferred method of taking homebrew to a buddy's place. Definitely worth the $3.50 price tag. The beer, on the other hand, goes down the drain in my house. I'm just not down with the flavors (of the Saranac or any other pumpkin beer). Just give me the brown ale that it seems like most of them are based on, without the 1oz per gallon addition of McCormicks Pumpkin Pie spice. Also, while we're it at - early August for the commercial release of these things? I live in the South man. It's usually in 90's at that point. Not exactly my idea of a backyard quaffer.

</rant>

More power to you if you dig it though. Gotta drink what you like.

Cheers.

The Sarnac isn't my favorite, but its decent, cheap and comes in a handy bottle. DFH Punkin Ale and Southern Tier are some good ones. Schlafly used to make the very best one I had ever had. Had it on tap a few years ago.
 
Haven't had one that I can say I really enjoyed. At this point, I don't seek out pumpkin beers, but am willing to try any beer I haven't had to see if it's my thing. I love pumpkin curry though!
 
I do not care for pumpkin pie or pumpkin soup etc. But, even if I have to say myself, I do make a very good pumpkin cream ale. Everyone who has had it, likes it. I have 5gals going into bottles this weekend.

secondary- Pumpkin cream ale
primary 1 - oat meal cookie stout
primary 2 - 1st attempt hard apple cider
in fridge - the last 2 bottles of my cherry Irish Red
 
I buy one pumpkin beer a year to remind myself why I do not like pumpkin beer. Someone mentioned buying the Saranac 32oz bottle and dumping it just to have the bottle to cart homebrew in, I do the exact same thing. Better than filling a bomber, and better than filling a whole growler.
 
Yes, I love them. The more intense the better. I want to be assaulted by pumpkin pie spice and flavor.
 
I buy one pumpkin beer a year to remind myself why I do not like pumpkin beer. Someone mentioned buying the Saranac 32oz bottle and dumping it just to have the bottle to cart homebrew in, I do the exact same thing. Better than filling a bomber, and better than filling a whole growler.

Not sure if it was me who mentioned that but I do this every year. I filled 2 last week because I didn't want to waste beer if we didn't go through the whole growler.
Pumpkin beers are really hit and miss with me. They used to be cool back in the day when there weren't that many to choose from. Now, there's too many and they come out in August... Most of the time they're too spicy or too sweet and I usually just want 1 of them. I'd rather drink a marzen but I still brew a pumpkin beer 1 time a year for my friends and family at thanksgiving. I've yet to find that be all end all pumpkin beer but I think that's because I just don't care for them that much.
 
I love me some pumpkin pie but cant stand pumpkin spice anything else. I dont mind a pumpkin beer as long as its not loaded up with pumpkin spices. Pumpkin spice coffee has got to be one of the worst things I have ever drank.

I fermented a pumpkin to make pumpkin wine, after Halloween about 6 or 7 years ago. I still have a bottle. It just tasted earthy and very hot, about 16% if I remember. It was drinkable and not terrible tasting but not really something to sit back and enjoy. It kind of tasted like a sweat potato vodka now that I think about it. I ended up dumping it all when I moved but saved one bottle.

David
 
Like the pie, can tolerate the insinuation that anything with cinnamon/nutmeg/clove makes it "pumpkin", but I'm ambivalent about too much flavoring of any kind in coffee/beer. Balance. Please.
 
My latest batch of Pumpkin Porter is very nice. That being said, I think I prefer Pumpkin Ales though.

Ummm, last I checked, Porter is ale.

Do not like the pumpkin beers. Not a fan of spiced beer in general. However, I am very fond of many Belgian "styles".

It's a quandry.
 
i loveee pumpkin pie. my fav kinf of pie. My wife makes it from scratch and some whipped cream on top, its awesome.

I brewed a batch of pumpkin ale the other day. i would not have if it was only for myself. i plan on having other people drink most of this batch. i do like pumpkin ale but its not my favorite.
 
I used to love the stuff - a few years ago, I made what I felt was darned near the perfect batch of pumpkin ale (this was probably my third or fourth attempt, after a few tweaks to the grainbill and the spice additions). Half of my homebrew club asked for the recipe (and most have brewed it since), and I got halfway through the keg, and just decided I'd had enough. I haven't been able to really enjoy another pumpkin beer since. I bottled and gave away the other half of that keg, and since then I've only had a handful of other pumpkin beers - most have just seemed over-spiced, even if the spice was, in actuality, very subtle. Guess I managed to ruin spiced beers in general for myself...
 
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