PODNAR'S PARTY: Seven pumpkin beers for Halloween

Rachel Podnar

Rachel Podnar is a senior journalism major and writes "Podnar's Party" for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Rachel at rmpodnar@bsu.edu.

Pumpkin is in everything these days. At the top of the pumpkin patch is Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte, in all its legendary glory. It’s not just pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving anymore — there are pumpkin spice Oreos, Pop-Tarts, marshmallows, even vodka?

The flavor has taken over the beer aisle, also. According to the Brewer’s Association, India Pale Ales are the No. 1 craft beer category, but pumpkin beers unseat them at the top of the charts for brief parts of October and November.

Pumpkin in beer goes back a long way — back to colonial times. Pumpkin is native to North America, and it was more readily available than malt for making beer, so it actually used to take the place of malt. But when pumpkin ferments, it loses its pumpkin flavor. So the old time pumpkin beers were a necessity, not a specialty. Now, most pumpkin beers have nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and allspice to create the pumpkin flavor (more like pumpkin pie flavor). Believe it or not, not all of the beers I tried are brewed with real pumpkin. And even if they are brewed with real pumpkin, there’s a whole separate discussion about fresh pumpkin versus frozen.

I set out to make my way through a few of these pumpkin beers to find a companion for a cool fall evening in October.

Shocktop Pumpkin Wheat

Did I mention I love Blue Moon? Well, I do. I love all things Blue Moon. Shocktop is kind of like its twin sibling. I was excited to try this version of a pumpkin beer. When I poured it, it smelled mostly like a beer, with just a hint of pumpkin-esque sweetness. It has that friendly wheat taste and is brewed with real pumpkin. But I wondered, would you know it was a pumpkin beer, or just a fall blend, if someone handed you a glass?

Leinenkugel Harvest Patch Shandy

Leinenkugel’s most popular beer is its Summer Shandy, but I’ve enjoyed a number of its other varieties (not the Octoberfest, though). It’s like the hero brewery for people that love special-flavored, fruity beers. Technically “Harvest Patch” doesn’t equal “pumpkin” (although the pumpkin patch on the label would indicate otherwise), but this was one of the most pumpkin-like beers I tried. It’s light, golden and foamy when poured. It smells like a cookie. (I was kind of thinking of molasses?) It tastes like a super-jacked up, candy pumpkin beer. It’s overly sweet, and there’s barely anything to tell you you're drinking a beer. I let my friend who “hates all beer” try it, and she didn’t mind it at all. I could definitely drink a whole one, but it’s a little overwhelming.

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

This ale smells almost cider-y, but reminded me of pumpkin bread. It goes down like the shandy, but with more bite. It was no wonder, however, when I realized it’s 8 percent alcohol content. My dad particularly liked this one, and I think it’s because his sense of smell and taste is limited — the high alcohol content really gives the pumpkin flavor some kick, which cut through his senses. I got kind of a cider aftertaste. It says it’s brewed with allspice and clove. I could definitely smell the clove. This one is also brewed with real pumpkin.

New Belgium Pumpkick

The Pumpkick has the cutest label with crows surrounding the pumpkin. With the play on words in that title — what’s not to love? It smells more like beer than pumpkin pie. It’s brewed with pumpkin juice instead of pumpkin, and apparently it also has cranberry juice, a flavor which comes through very subtly. The whole thing is subtle. It’s trying to be an ale first. I didn’t detect that much pumpkin, but the cranberry came through a little bit and makes this one stand out from the others.

Traveler Jack-o-Traveler

Another punny name. Adorable. Traveler is known for its lemon and grapefruit shandies, which I’ve heard called “girlie” beers, but they have a very hipster graphic design. I can attest their shandies are delicious. The Jack-o-Traveler smells literally, 100 percent, like pumpkin pie, and it’s brewed with real pumpkin. It pours out a pretty, light brown color, and it’s thick, sweet and soda-y. The alcohol content is only 4.4 percent, and it shows. It’s actually not as sweet as the Leinenkugel, but has that same pumpkin flavoring as the Leinekugel, Schlafly and Shock Top. The label says “the darker side of Shandy,” which I could get from the coloring, but it really reminded me of a soda. My mom loved it. On this beer’s web page, Traveler lists a number of cocktails that can be made with this beer as a base. I’m giggling with excitement just thinking about trying the “Buttered Pumpkin,” or the “Tequila Jack.”

Sam Adams Pumpkin Ale

This was the beer that started this review. Sam Adams beers are usually too dark/ale-y for me, but I was hoping this would be a new favorite. I bought a single bottle — and I absolutely hated it — so I decided to review a bunch of pumpkin beers. The first time, drinking it straight from the bottle, it tasted like a dark beer, and I couldn’t figure out the pumpkin flavor. But when I poured it for the review, I found that it’s actually light brown. Again, the pumpkin tastes like an afterthought. I wrote down “strong ale all up in my senses.” I felt like I couldn’t get past the ale at first to taste the pumpkin flavor. After about 10 sips, I started to get used to it, and I started noticing the subtle, pumpkin flavor. Key word: subtle.

Flat 12 Flat Jack Pumpkin Ale

I’ve never had a beer from this Indy brewery before because they make a lot of IPAs, and I prefer my beer not to be a mistake, or an assault on my senses. Anyway, this one smells more ginger-y. When I drank it, I hated it. This was hands down the worst one. It was almost like someone smoked a cigarette in the bottle. It had this weird flavor coming through, and that’s the only way I could try and describe it. It’s technically a pale ale, and I think it’s just that I can’t stand pale ales—and why would anyone try and add pumpkin flavor to a pale ale? No one in my family liked it. Sadly, a good portion of this one went in the sink. My first Flat 12 experience was a flat.

The final verdict: Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat

If you’re looking for a sickly sweet, pumpkin pie beer, I recommend the shandies—the Leinenkugle and the Traveler. I liked them, but I could never drink more than one. It was a similar story with the Schafly’s ale, it was like a shandy, but with more alcohol. My favorite was the Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat—shocker. It was sweet and had that familiar wheat beer taste that I love, but toned down from the shandy. I also really liked New Belgium’s Pumpkick because the pumpkin flavor was subtle and the cranberry flavor made it stand out. Sam Adams is good for those who like strong ales and want to try a hint of pumpkin. Pass on the Flat Jack.

I’m going to stick by summer as my favorite season for beer. I might pick up a few more pumpkins this October, and I’ll definitely be trying a Jack-o-Traveler cocktail.  

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