Finale - Great Pumpkin Ales

To those who started reading my Great Search for Pumpkin Beer, I have continued on my search, but frankly.. right now I'm a little pumpkin'd out.  My first two Schlafly Pumpkin Ale and Shipyard Pumpkinhead met face to face and since they I've had plenty others step up to the plate. 


Below is a list of the yummy pumpkin ales I've had the pleasure of tasting:

New Holland Brewing - Ichabod

Samuel Adams - Harvest Pumpkin Ale

Samuel Adams - Double Pumpkin Ale

Tyranena - Painted Ladies Pumpkin Spice Ale

Buffalo Bills -  American's Original Pumpkin Ale

Woodchuck Cider - Pumpkin

              Local Brewed:

Flat 12 - Flat Jack

Bier Brewery - Pumpkin Ale

I still have to try: 

 The Ram  - Pie'd Piper Ale

 Blue Moon - Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale

Brooklyn Brewery - Post Road Pumpkin Ale

Hoppin' Frog - Double Pumpkin Ale

Southern Tier - PumKing

My research and quest for pumpkin has had me looking for it everywhere. Any thing pumpkin was up for grabs. Unfortunately I missed out so many, but what I did learn is this: 

Pumpkin Ales -- didn't seem to go well with regular meals, it was too much to drink dessert and eat spaghetti or a steak at the same time

Pumpkin Ales -- are not all created equally, some are more spicy, some are lighter.. Generally the coloring is the same - a light copper color with except of the Double Pumpkin which was a dark brown

Pumpkin Ales -- way better in draft form than bottles. 

Pumpkin Ales -- the best to me is still Schlafly - until I get my hands on a Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (which I have heard is hands down the best) 

Now, even though the liquors stores are filling up with stouts and Christmas ales there are still some pumpkin ales out there. 

I suggest you buy it up and save it for Thanksgiving. :) 

Cheers and Happy Fall. 

The Search For The Great Pumpkin: Beer Edition Round 1

The best time of the year in Indiana, at least in my my mind, is the fall.  Growing up in California, there were little changes in weather from season to season.  I first moved to Indiana in the summer and when I experienced my first fall...I fell in love.  Fall in Indiana is an explosion of colors, crispness in the air, time for apples and most importantly: pumpkins.

I've had a few tastes of pumpkin ales in the past, but this year I decided I'd go all out and really start comparing different pumpkin and autumn ales. Mostly for the sake of my curiosity to see if a beer can embody the smell and taste of a pumpkin spice.

First Round:

 Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale

I literally felt like after one sip of this delicious concoction that I was sitting in the middle of a big pile of fall colored leaves eating a slice of pumpkin pie.  The pumpkiny and spice flavor hits you immediately and delivers sip after sip. It's a beer I could even drink warm.  I kid you not, everything about this ale -- color, scent, taste was all about the pumpkin.  I think drinking this ale first may have set me up for the ones that followed.

vs.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale 
In all fairness, the description of this ale says it has hints of pumpkin taste. I would say barely. The overall taste of the beer is pleasant, drinkable, slight golden and bubbly, but I wouldn't call it a pumpkin ale. Unlike Schlafly with a base of American Ale, Shipyard is a wheat ale. I'm not sure if the wheat base is what I'd pair with the pumpkin spices.

The winner of this round was definitely Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale. 

More Beers to taste include:
New Holland Brewing Company - Ichabod Pumpkin Ale
Tyranena - Painted Ladies Pumpkin Spice
Buffalo Bills - Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Blue Moon - Pumpkin Ale

-- Also still tracking down some ales --  (P.S. if you have any suggestions, locations of, or general information.. please let me know ) 

In local news.. A little birdie (aka twitter) informed me Flat12 Bierwerks is going to be making a pumpkin ale as well. I wish more local breweries were making pumpkin beers.

A girl can always dream.

Anyways.. stay tuned for more rounds of Pumpkin Beer comparisons, Along with some autumn ales and Oktoberfest beers!

And even though it's not official til Friday -- Happy Fall everyone :)