This has been a pretty big project for us and unfortunately the pandemic has made it difficult for us to acquire beers out of our area. We haven't been straying too far away from our house, as we are trying to stay safe and we also have family members that are high risk - so travelling out of our county has not been possible. All the beers we've purchased for this list have been available locally to us in Groton/New London and also the Westerly area. With the exception being our #2 pick, in which our neighbors parents brought in from NY.
Instead of rating these individually, we decided to just list our 10 favorites. So without further delay... here are our top 10 Pumpkin beers!
Killihump-kin!
Description: Pumpkin puree and pie spices, malty, bready; cinnamon dominates with nutmeg and vanilla in the background.
Our notes: Wonderful spice aroma - cinnamon definitely up front; slight sweetness; creamy flavors from the vanilla. Definitely one of the most solid and consistent pumpkin beers out there and we look forward to it every year!
Our notes: Nice balance of spices - vanilla comes through nicely. Gorgeous orange color! Solid ale! Huge thanks to our neighbors Jeremiah & Keri - and Keri's parents, who brought this beer to share with us from Horseheads, NY!
Our notes: Delightful aroma of spices - clove and cinnamon forward; soft; smooth; almost has a creamy effect from the vanilla; slightly roasty from the malts. We really loved this brew and will make sure to get this one again next year!!
Description: Heartier, spicier and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren! Lots of pumpkin along with cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of cardamom and clove, giving this beer a spicy, full-bodied flavor.
This truly is an Imperial Pumpkin Ale.
Our notes: Really nice dark amber/red color; clove/spice heavy aroma; sweet and sugary up front - almost like it has a built in cinnamon sugar rim; you get a lot of spices on finish - LOVE!
Description: The sweetness of the pumpkin blends perfectly with the roasted malt of the porter.
Our notes: Not overly pumpkin; just a hint of spices; slightly roasty; light and malty typical of a porter; sweet end. Dark beer lovers rejoice! With a low 5% abv, it's an easy drinker! Has been one of our go-to pumpkin brews for the last few years!
Our notes: Not overly pumpkin; just a hint of spices; slightly roasty; light and malty typical of a porter; sweet end. Dark beer lovers rejoice! With a low 5% abv, it's an easy drinker! Has been one of our go-to pumpkin brews for the last few years!
Our notes: This is a nice season transition from summer brew... malty with a nice balance of spices - flavors not overdone like a lot of pumpkin brews. Just a hint of sweetness on the end and quite refreshing! And check out that gorgeous color! I think this one may drink more like a sweet fall/amber ale. Either way, we're digging this one.
Description: Ale brewed with pumpkin and spices/aged in rum barrels with vanilla beans
Our notes: This is one solid brew and is very well constructed. Probably one of the first more "uniquely" made pumpkin beers we've had - I mean how cool... aged in rum barrels!? Although not overly pumpkiny, you do get sweet vanilla flavors up front, oaky from the barrels and has a slightly rum boozy after taste. We've been into this one for years - definitely on the go-to list!
Our notes: This is one solid brew and is very well constructed. Probably one of the first more "uniquely" made pumpkin beers we've had - I mean how cool... aged in rum barrels!? Although not overly pumpkiny, you do get sweet vanilla flavors up front, oaky from the barrels and has a slightly rum boozy after taste. We've been into this one for years - definitely on the go-to list!
Our notes: Wonderful chocolate aroma; sweet with a hint of pumpkin spices; a bit boozy tasting; huge chocolate aftertaste. Goes great with your favorite Halloween chocolate bar!
Description: Aromas of pumpkin pie, graham cracker crust with subtle blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. Brewed with roasted pumpkin and spices.
Our notes: Can we just say....reeeally cool can art! And the color is almost glowing orange! Cinnamon nose and is the forward spice upon first sip. Light up front, creamy in the back. Thin/light body. High abv but goes down easy - dangerous!! Tastes like it has a built in cinnamon sugar rim and is sugary on the finish. YUM!
Description: Heady aromas of bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and clove linger seductively over the thick white head of this tremendous brew. Full malt body, dominated by British crystal malt, brown sugar and pumpkin. Bourbon barrel aging rounds out the flavors with notes of oak, vanilla, and bourbon.
Our notes: Almost tastes cider like - very sweet, oaky, boozy! If you're into bourbon barreled beers - put this on one on your wish list!
Honorable Mentions:
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin 9% (Portland, ME) Our notes: Gourd/pumpkin aroma; on the heavy side with a higher abv; nice balance of spices; sweet finish; another one of those that tastes like it has that "built in" cinnamon sugar rim!
We also want to take a minute to talk about Shipyard's first love, Pumpkinhead. I think it was the first pumpkin beer I, (Meg), had... probably over a decade or more ago. Honestly, I think this beer started the whole pumpkin beer craze if you ask me. So thanks, Shipyard! I often go to Portland, Maine for my birthday and back in the day would pack the car full of Pumpkinhead cases to bring home! It wasn't widely distributed like it is now and I remember how stoked I was when it finally came to Connecticut. OK, I'm aging myself haha! I can tell the recipe has been tweaked a little over the years - it's definitely sweeter than I remember it being... but I think it's a positive improvement. Pumpkin beers have come a long way since Pumpkinhead's creation and I think it holds up nicely to the competition out there - especially now that it's a bit sweeter. Let's face it, at 4.5% abv, it's an easy drinker and it automatically gets the pumpkin go-to award! It's definitely the most widely distributed pumpkin beer at this point - and it's certainly worth having every year!
New Belgium Ranger Atomic Pumpkin 6.4% (CO)
O'Fallon Pumpkin Beers:
Alvarium Basic Bitch Pumpkin Dunkel 5.6% (New Britain, CT)
After a little research to see why I haven't seen New Belgium's Pumpkick pumpkin ale this year... I found that it is no longer in production?! Or at least that's what Untapp'd has listed. It looks like there may be some recent check-ins, but it could be that those are beers that folks hung onto? Either way, extremely bummed, because I loved this beer and was looking forward to trying it this year! Any other Pumpkick fans out there?
Kentucky Pumpkin Bourbon Barrel 10% (KY)
Description: A barrel-aged ale brewed with Kentucky-sourced pumpkin, richly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Hops: Fuggles, East Kent Goldings; Malts: 2 Row Pale, Caramel 40L, Carapils
Spices: Brown Sugar, Kentucky Pumpkin Butter, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice, Pecans
Our Notes: Smoky bourbon aroma; vanilla and bourbon flavors up front. Vanilla from from the barrel adds flavor and blends well with the pumpkin spices. Boozy! 
Description: Not too spicy, not too sweet, and not like any pumpkin beer you’ve had before. This pumpkin ale was brewed with Saigon Cinnamon and Habanero and De Arbol peppers for an explosion of flavors that’ll keep you coming back for more.
Our Notes: Dark golden color; Cinnamon and spice up front, followed by a sugary sweetness and finishes with some serious peppery spice - and it lingers! The Habanero blends nicely with the pumpkin spices! However, definitely not for the faint of heart!
Our Notes: Dark golden color; Cinnamon and spice up front, followed by a sugary sweetness and finishes with some serious peppery spice - and it lingers! The Habanero blends nicely with the pumpkin spices! However, definitely not for the faint of heart!
During our pumpkin beer search, we stumbled upon O'Fallon Brewery - and boy do they have a lot of different pumpkin beers! In addition to the regular O'Fallon Pumpkin beer, we also picked up a really cool taster 4 pack which included: Caramel Salted Pumpkin, Jack O'Latte Coffee Pumpkin, Mexican Hot Chocolate Pumpkin and Pumpkin Whip Cream Ale. The one that stood out the most was the Caramel Salted Pumpkin which has a HUGE caramel flavor and is almost cider or caramel apple like. SO GOOD! We loved it, but didn't get as much pumpkin. However, we felt it was still very fall worthy and was worth mentioning - which is why it made our honorable mention list. If you're into trying crazy kinds of pumpkin beers, we recommend trying O'Fallon's many different pumpkin beers!
Our Wish List:
We had this beer at the brewery last year and we instantly fell in love with it!!! A pumpkin Dunkelweizen - are you kidding!? We love that malty Dunkel foundation with the clovey & pumpkiny spice middle! It's seriously amazing. I guess that makes me a "basic bitch" - and I'm perfectly OK with that!! Unfortunately we weren't able to make the hike to New Britain this season because of the pandemic so we weren't able to try it this year - but we wanted to mention it. If you see it near you - get it, you won't be disappointed!
Say It Isn't So:
Other Beers We Tried:
Firefly Hollow Pumpkin Spice Creamer 6% (Bristol, CT)
Shebeen Pumpkin Spice Cannoli 5.2%
Sam Adams Jack-O Pumpkin Ale 4.4% (Boston, MA)
O'Fallon Pumpkin Whip Cream Ale 4.3% (Maryland Heights, MO)
O'Fallon Jack O Latte
O'Fallon Mexican Hot Chocolate Pumpkin Stout 5.9%
Spencer The Monkster Mash Pumpkin Ale 5.2%
Cigar City Good Gourd 8.8%
Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Wheat 5.7% (Golden, Colorado)
Lions Head Pumpkin Ale
Smuttynose Pumpkin 5.9%
Blue Point Mother Pumpkin
Anderson Valley Fall Hornin'
UFO Pumpkin
Harpoon Dunkin' Pumpkin
Noteworthy Fall Brews:
Harpoon Flannel Friday Hoppy Amber 4.7% (Boston, MA)
Description: This Hoppy Amber Ale is our tribute to the quintessential season of change. A bright hop aroma from late hop additions plays with its strong malt backbone. Amber hued, medium bodied, with hints of citrus and pine, this ale is made for the crisp days (and nights) of fall.
Our notes: A great season transition beer. Crisp, hoppy, malty; hoppy up front, malty in the back. The mullet of fall beer - ha!
Try this! If you like half and half's as much as us, this is one to try! If you can find it, get the Southern Tier Pumking NITRO and pour it over a Beer'd Brewing Midnight Oil! SO GOOD! We've dubbed it the "Midnight Pumpkin" ha!
...But Wait... There's More!
Description: This Hoppy Amber Ale is our tribute to the quintessential season of change. A bright hop aroma from late hop additions plays with its strong malt backbone. Amber hued, medium bodied, with hints of citrus and pine, this ale is made for the crisp days (and nights) of fall.
Our notes: A great season transition beer. Crisp, hoppy, malty; hoppy up front, malty in the back. The mullet of fall beer - ha!
Halloween Half and Half Fun:
If you can't find the Pumpkin Nitro you can always reverse it and get Nitro Guinness or Nitro Murphy's and pour that over your favorite pumpkin beer! Spooky and yum! Check out our half and half post here!
...But Wait... There's More!