Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
The rise in pumpkin beer’s popularity can be seen in its ever-earlier release date. This year, many brewers came out with their versions of this quintessentially fall beverage in August, giving loyalists extra time to get their fix. Which is the best? To find out, we sequestered our editors in a remote conference room, gave them samples of four anonymous pumpkin beers, and asked them to score the pumpkin flavor and overall tastiness on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest score). Dining editor George Mahe went all existential, saying these are truly pumpkin spice beers, the flavors coming from nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. “Pumpkin spice is a mélange, like curry, subject to a lot of vagaries and interpretations,” Mahe said. “We saw that in the four beers.”
Crown Valley Brewing Imperial Pumpkin Smash
13326 State Route F, Ste. Genevieve, 573-756-9700, crownvalleybrewery.com
Pumpkin Flavor: 2
Overall Enjoyment: 2.5
Comments: The combination of pumpkin and stout intrigued us, but despite a pleasantly heavy, “very rich and malty” body, the stout overshadowed the pumpkin in this beer. One taster described the flavor as “more like liquefied tobacco, along with coffee.” Another said it was “very toasty.”
O’Fallon Brewery Pumpkin Beer
26 W. Industrial, O’Fallon, Mo., 636-474-2337, ofallonbrewery.com
Pumpkin Flavor: 2.75
Overall Enjoyment: 3
Comments: O’Fallon’s offering was on the lighter side, with subdued pumpkin notes. Some tasters called this “refreshing” and noted that it “tastes like fall.” Others were less impressed, saying it was “a little watery.” The harshest critic labeled it a “terrible beer all around.”
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
Multiple locations, 314-241-2337, schlafly.com
Pumpkin Flavor: 3.5
Overall Enjoyment: 3.5
Comments: Several editors described this as the “most balanced” beer, with a dark amber color and plenty of pumpkin and spice flavor. Most lauded this “complex, deep” flavor, though a few thought the spice, especially the cinnamon, was overwhelming.
Southern Tier Brewing Company Imperial Pumking
2072 Stoneman, Lakewood, New York, 716-763-5479, stbcbeer.com
Pumpkin Flavor: 3
Overall Enjoyment: 3
Comments: The most divisive of the beers was the Pumking, with its yellow, spicy, and somewhat sour profile, which received top scores from women, but low marks from men. The ladies said it had a “nice mouthfeel,” and that it “tastes creamy, like pumpkin pie.” The men described it as “bitter, too weak.”
