​Love it or hate it, it’s pumpkin spice season

By Chris Larson

cjlarson75@gmail.com

The seasonal autumn flavors are upon us and with them, the centerpiece of all things autumnal: the pumpkin. The pumpkin has assumed a sort of dominance over fall flavors that has been building over the last couple decades.

With the abundance of pumpkin beer options, you may be wondering exactly how many different ways they can make a pumpkin beer -- and do they all taste like watered-down pumpkin pie filling?

I recently sat down with a pile of pumpkin beers from around the country, including a few local and regional brews, to answer those questions and highlight the ones that you might want to taste before the short season for pumpkin beers has passed.

Due to space limitations, I won’t discuss all seventeen pumpkin(esque) brews I experienced but instead will highlight those that stood out.

Invariably, the pumpkin brews I tried had a fair amount of pumpkin juice, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon in them, but New Belgium’s Pumpkick throws in a touch of Thanksgiving in the form of cranberry, which adds a bit of tartness and hints of lemongrass, to give it a very clean finish.

Another with a great finish that made me consider the idea of a second and maybe even a third, would be Lakefront Brewery, out of Milwaukee. Developed from a recipe once brewed by Thomas Jefferson and in seasonal production since 1988, the longevity of this beer is easily understood by the time you finish a glass. It’s one of the rare brews that had the perfect blend of pumpkin and spices when most seem to be too spicy or have too much pumpkin on the finish.

Southern Tier is putting the vintage on their Imperial Pumpkin Stout, Warlock, and they are also suggesting consumers give the 2015 Pumking and Warlock a try, so I did just that. Perhaps what is so divisive about these brews is how absolutely in your face they are. Full of pumpkin flavor that is thick, rich, and certainly not understated, the spices seem to barely be there, especially with the Warlock, which tasted like chocolate covered pumpkin with hints of spice and even a little toffee. The bottles that had been aged a year seemed to pick up a tiny bit of barnyard funk and were more creamy and less heavy on the pumpkin. You really have to want to be overwhelmed by pumpkin to enjoy these beers, but if that’s your thing, these two will surely delight, especially the 2015 vintage Warlock. Many of the local retailers still have 2015 Warlock and Pumking in stock.

Boulevard takes it to a whole new level with their Funky Pumpkin Ale, which is slightly soured with the addition of brettanomyces, to enhance without overpowering. Barnyard funk and wet pumpkin flash across the nose and palate on the first sip but you better be prepared to pucker up a bit as the funky sour burst hits your mouth and then washes away with only a slight citrus sour lingering briefly. With the second sip, the sour seemed to mellow out considerably, and by the time I was finished with the glass, I was ready for another. Very unique and surprisingly approachable, even for those who haven’t made the full leap into the world of funky and sour beers.

If you have an aunt who brings a sweet potato pie to the table when everyone is expecting pumpkin, Indeed Brewing, with their Yamma Jamma, is that aunt. Their seasonal offering is a twist on pumpkin pie that is brewed with sweet potato and traditional pumpkin pie spices to deliver a flavor profile very similar to a pumpkin beer but with a depth and character that many others lack.

For a beer with minimal pumpkin blended with lemon zest in a creamier wheat beer, the offerings from Blue Moon and Leinenkugel would fit that bill well. Neither the spices nor the pumpkin were anywhere close to overwhelming, and at times I found myself searching for both flavors when trying these brews.

Gluten-free drinkers looking for fall seasonal ciders could find comfort in the pumpkin cider from Ace, which has the crisp finish of a cider while still offering plenty of pumpkin pie spices.

Locally, a solid offering with a good blend of pumpkin and spice can be found in Drekker’s Oh My Gourd, Becky!

Flatland brewing will also be brewing a pumpkin beer from pumpkins grown in North Dakota, and should have that ready in a couple of weeks.

If you find yourself contemplating a pumpkin beer I haven’t discussed here, by all means give it a shot. Not all pumpkin beer drinkers are seeking the same balance of flavors and my weeks of research have shown me that certainly, not all pumpkin beers are alike.

That’s about all the pumpkin I can handle for now but hopefully I’ll be ready for it again by the time Thanksgiving rolls around and the pie hits the dinner table.