Back with another seasonal cocktail (ok it’s just beer, but humor me) tasting! Although I’m not someone who loves all things pumpkin spice, I do really love a pumpkin beer in the fall. Nothing beats a cold one with the cinnamon sugared rim.

I had big plans for this post, but to be honest, I think I waited a little too late in the season to collect them all. A lot of the places had already stopped ordering pumpkin beers for the season, so I wanted to get this post out this week in hopes that you’ll be able to find some of the same ones we did! This tasting was done with 9 participants – some of whom are avid pumpkin beer drinkers, as well as some who are pumpkin beer haters. Similar to the rosé tasting, I had everyone give each beer a numerical rating out of ten and then averaged them all out to find out top 3. Here’s what we found!

Montauk Pumpkin Ale – this was the first one we tasted and we were all really pleasantly surprised! This one is definitely sweet – and after tasting a bunch of others we came back to this one and realized just how sweet it really was. It had the most PUMPKIN taste out of any of the ones we tried, and I’m definitely not upset that we have a few of these left. One of the best! Dad says: zesty!! with a hint of something pepper-y.

Brooklyn Brewery Post Road Pumpkin Ale – this one was a rollercoaster that ended on a high note. Pretty sure after the first sip everyone’s face scrunched up at this one – and not in a good way. The initial notes were perfume-y and ???soapy??? After another few sips, it was unanimously decided one of the best. It was crips and refreshing, slightly flower-y and very drinkable. Malia said: very light and refreshing. First taste was soap but it got much better!”

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale – this one was kind of forgettable. Wasn’t great and wasn’t horrible. According to the people, it was bitter. Some thought it was tasty and refreshing. And some thought it was downright nasty. Dad says: “tasted like cigarette ashes” and Tete says: “tastes like dirt.”

Harpoon Dunkin’ Pumpkin – WOOF. This was a weird beer. A collaboration with Dunkin’ Donuts and Harpoon, and it tasted like an iced coffee mixed with a sour beer. It had significantly less bubbles than the rest of the beers we tried, and felt almost flat. Dad says “not a fan… 3/10 and that’s being nice. It’s awful.” And Ryan says: “equivalent of Dunkin’ coffee…shit”

Saranac Pumpkin Ale – a crowd pleaser! We got smiles from this one after a bunch of not-so-great-pours. It was super light, refreshing and subtly pumpkin-y with just the right amount of spice. It even got a compliment on how it smells! It was a favorite early in the game but “left something to be desired” from some of the craft beer enthusiasts. Mom says: “very fresh tasting and my favorite so far (5) Not bitter, nice color beer and foam”

Elysian Night Owl – I don’t remember loving this one but our chart tells me otherwise! According to the people this one had the best mix of pumpkin flavors. It even scored the only 10/10 from any of our judges! However, it also scored a -1 from one judge who noted that it tasted like “paint remover.” So fascinating how different people’s tastes are! James said: “perfect mix of pumpkin and very flavorful”

Flying Dog The Fear Imperial Pumpkin Ale – not a crowd pleaser at all. There was not a whole lot of pumpkin in this, and not a whole lot of taste in general. It was bland, heavy, and unimpressive. Jess says: bitter AF. No pumpkin taste and would be gross without the cinnamon sugar rim. And Jaja says: “Absolutely horrible. Just crap.”

Uinta Pumpkin Ale – this was basically un-drinkable. We unanimously hated this beer and I don’t think anyone finished their shot glass sized sample. Overall thoughts were that it tasted ashy and really bitter. I wouldn’t drink this if it were the last pumpkin beer on Earth. And I’m not kiddin’. Mom says: “sip and dump”

Southern Tier Pumpking – the box this one came in claimed that this beer was a “pumpkin pie in a bottle.” And let me tell you… we want to speak with their marketing team. This beer actually got the worst overall rating out of any we tried with an average score of 1.8 out of 10. It tasted like a lot of things, but pumpkin pie was not one of them. To name a few, we got medicine, NyQuil, poison and an “OMG that’s awful.” Ryan says: That’s a NO for me dawg”

Great South Bay Splashing Pumpkin Ale – this was our first beer for Day 2 of the tasting. Because yes, we had to split it up into two days. Turns out 11 different beers served with Oktoberfest style food is… well, it’s a lot. But this was a pleasant surprise for a bunch of people who wanted nothing to do with a beer on a Sunday morning/afternoon. It was crisp and refreshing with a subtle spice to it. Jaja says: “tasty and refreshing, great ice cold!”

Blue Point Mother Pumpkin Ale – a middle of the road beer on Day 2. It tasted the most like an IPA of all the beers, so if that’s your jam you’d probably like this one. Reviews were all over the board here… Jaja says: “can’t go wrong with BP” whereas Mom says: Vile. Dumped it over the railing. Ah, the joys of a taste-a-thon!

And the official winners are as follows!!!

1st Place – Great South Bay Splashing Pumpkin (8.07 out of 10)

2nd Place – Brooklyn Brewery Post Road Pumpkin Ale (8.00 out of 10)

3rd Place – Saranac Pumpkin Ale (7.87 out of 10)

And there ya have it! The official 2020 pumpkin tasting. Have you tried any of these? Which ones would you like to see added next year?!

And most importantly, if you are a pumpkin beer lover please let me know in the comments! We could use your expertise next year 😉

Cheers!!!