It’s time for your favorite fall activities, including bonfires, football, and drinking a lot of pumpkin beer. This style of ale, made with pumpkins and various fall spices, is known for its rich, malty, sweet, spiced flavors that pair perfectly with fall evenings. The flavor profile ranges from light spices to rich, winter-spiced pumpkin pie. We can’t get enough of this style and below you’ll find some of our favorite brands to kick off your seasonal drinking.
Photo: svetikd (Getty Images)
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Ranked Pumpkin Beers
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6. Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale
One of the OG pumpkin beers on the market, Post Road has been a seasonal favorite since the early '90s (way before the craft beer boom) and still remains one of the best with its blend of spices and real pumpkins.
Photo: Brooklyn
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5. Southern Tier Pumking
There’s a reason this beer is called Pumking. It’s because it’s the king of the pumpkin beers (actually we just made that up). One of the most anticipated beers every year, this complex beer is full of rich, smooth fall flavors.
Photo: Southern Tier
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4. Avery Rumpkin
This 16.3 percent barrel-aged pumpkin ale is no joke. It's chock full of pumpkins and aged in rum barrels. The result is a rich beer with hints of oak, molasses, and chocolate as well as fall spices. All of these flavors round out to taste like a barrel-aged pumpkin pie.
Photo: Pinterest
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3. Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
If you only try one pumpkin beer this fall, make it this offering from Schlafly. One of the best the style has to offer, this 8 percent ABV pumpkin ale is well-balanced with hints of cinnamon, cloves, and rich pumpkins.
Photo: Schlafly
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2. Upslope Pumpkin Ale
We love pretty much everything Upslope makes, especially its seasonal pumpkin ale release. This 7.7 percent ale is perfect for fans of subtle pumpkin spice. It’s malty, slightly hoppy, and gets its fall flavor from a blend of six different seasonal spices.
Photo: Upslope
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1. Cigar City Good Gourd
If you can get your hands on a bottle (or two) of this 8.5 percent pumpkin ale, you’re in for a pretty great fall. This is a rich, robust beer for fans of the seasonal gourd. It’s pretty much imbibable pumpkin pie.
Photo: Cigar City
