617. Blue Point Brewing – Pumpkin Ale
I’m out at dinner with my friend Joe, at Leon’s Full Service, a restaurant in Decatur, GA. We already hit the Wrecking Bar Brewpub earlier in the evening, so we’re doing pretty good. So we ordered an appetizer (seen here) of bacon and peanut butter (Joe tells me it’s a southern thing). Also, since I’m a pumpkin beer guy, I saw they had this one on tap, and it gave me a chance to try yet another brewer’s...
518. Chatoe Rogue – First Growth Pumpkin Patch Ale
I’m a big fan of pumpkin beers, and if you follow this blog on a regular basis, you’ve certainly seen my Top 10 Pumpkin Beers review. I found this one about a month ago at the liquor store, and had to give it a try. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a date on the bottle, so I don’t know how old it is. The bottle says, “Dedicated to farmers and fermenters GYO is a Rogue Ales term for grow your own. We made...
480. The Pike Brewing Co – Harlot’s Harvest Pumpkin Ale
I’m in Seattle, Washington for work, and the conference I was attending wrapped up for the day. Since I was in Redmond, it gave me a chance to stop at Black Raven Brewing for lunch. After getting back to the hotel, I headed over to Pike Market to do some sightseeing and visit this brewery as well. I was able to sit at the bar and watch my St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs against Atlanta. The only tough thing was trying to...
466. Elysian Fields – Blight Pumpkin Ale
I’m in Seattle for work and arrived at the airport around lunchtime. I did a little bit of research before I arrived – including trying the Elysian The Immortal IPA sent to me by my cousin who lives here – and found out this location was between the airport and my hotel downtown. It also gave me a chance to check out the Seattle Seahawks football and Seattle Mariners baseball stadiums, located across the street...
Top 10 Best Pumpkin Beers
When I started homebrewing, I found Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale, but I couldn’t find any other similar beers, so I brewed my own. My Great Pumpkin Ale has become a favorite with family and friends, partially because, until the last 3-5 years, there were few other commercially available pumpkin beers. However, with the craft beer boom, many more craft breweries have introduced pumpkin beers. Last year (and already this year), we...
Oktoberfest Challenge – Completed
Well, the Oktoberfest Challenge is complete, and it’s been a great month. There were only 2 days during the month when I didn’t have an Oktoberfest or Pumpkin beer (or even a beer that day). I know this sounds a bit cheesy, but I actually learned a lot during this month-long challenge. First, I gained much more respect for folks like Dave Selden of the 999 beers blog and Beer Drinker Rob of the Daily Beer Review. It...
215. Blue Moon / Miller Coors – Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
It’s a nice fall friday evening and I took off work just a bit early to enjoy the afternoon. So, of course, when I got home, I grabbed a beer for my Oktoberfest Challenge out of the fridge. Although Halloween is just a couple of days away and I realized that I’ve only got 2 beers for my challenge to make it through the next 3 days… I need to find another beer to qualify for my challenge quickly. The label says,...
197. Southern Tier Brewing – Imperial Pumking
I actually did pretty good today out on the golf course with my dad. So, what better way to reward myself after a long day on the golf course, and prepare for a long day of drinking tomorrow at Oktoberfest, than this 9% ABV Imperial Pumkin from Southern Tier. When I poured it, it was very clear and appeared to be fairly golden in color with the slightest orange tint to it. There was a creamy white head, and the beer appeared to have...
192. Clipper City Brewing – The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale
This was one of the pumpkin beers I picked up the other day when I went to the liquor store looking for beers for my Oktoberfest Challenge. I figured with it being called an Imperial Pumpkin Ale and at 8% ABV, it could be good. The label said, “The Mutiny Fleet was ‘berthed’ by Heavy Seas brewers who were discovered secretly brewing small batches of big beers to amuse the pallets of their fellow crew. Since most...
191. Shipyard Brewing – Smashed Pumpkin Ale
While I was picking up pumpkin beers at the liquor store, this one stood out because of the 9% ABV. I thought I’d give it a shot after reading the label… “Smashed Pumpkin is a big bodied beer with a light coppery orange color and pleasing aroma of pumpkin and nutmeg. The OG and final ABV provide the structure and body. Pale ale, wheat and Munich malts combined with the natural tannin in pumpkin and the delicate...
189. Buffalo Bill’s Brewery – America’s Original Pumpkin Ale
After a break from pumpkin beers for the last couple of days, I thought I’d get back to it with an original. Even six or 7 years ago when I started brewing pumpkin beers at home, Buffalo Bill’s was available. I’m not quite sure how long it’s been around, but it’s pretty much considered the original pumpkin beer – as you can see that it calls itself, “American’s Original” Pumpkin...
184. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Pumpkin Ale Special Release
I heard about Schlafly’s pumpkin beer about 4 years ago, and while in St. Louis for a friend’s wedding, we stopped by the Schlafly Tap Room specifically to try this beer. Due to the high alcohol (my memory tells me it was around 9% ABV back then), it was served in an 8oz snifter. I think they started bottling this last year, and I’m sure they lowered the ABV when the started bottling it. This beer will always...
