Top 20 Pumpkin Beers

I’ve never had a pumpkin spice latte, but I love pumpkin beers more than Oktoberfestbiers or Märzenbiers, and I look forward to them every fall.

I’ve tried 41 different pumpkin beers over the years, as part of flights, as singles at alcohol retailers, and at restaurants. The only six pack I bought this fall was Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin, which packs a nice bit of heat and is definitely my #1 pumpkin beer.

If you don’t like heat, I recommend seeking out beers from Elysian Brewing Company: Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale (4.80), Night Owl Pumpkin Ale (4.50), and Dark O’ The Moon Pumpkin Stout (4.50). They sell a Pumpkin Pack each year, though the beers vary year to year. I don’t recommend The Great Pumpkin (3.40).

Here are my top 20 pumpkin beers.

Rank	Brewery	Beer Name	Type	ABV	IBU	Flavor Profile	Global Rating	My Rating
1	New Belgium Brewing Company	Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin	Pumpkin Beer	6.4	10	spicy, cinnamon, heat, pumpkin	3.61	5.00
2	Elysian Brewing Company	Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin Beer	6.0	0	coffee, pumpkin, smooth, sweet	3.93	4.80
3	Twisted Pine Brewing Company	Mr. Brown’s Pumpkin	Pumpkin Beer	5.3	0	sweet, spicy, roasty, pumpkin	3.86	4.75
4	3 Car Garage Brewing Co	Black Jack Pumpkin Stout	Pumpkin Beer	5.3	0	roasty, pumpkin, spiced	3.80	4.75
5	Elysian Brewing Company	Night Owl Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin Beer	6.7	0	sweet, spicy, light bodied, smooth	3.81	4.50
6	Elysian Brewing Company	Dark O’ The Moon Pumpkin Stout	Pumpkin Beer	6.5	20	dark, smooth, sweet, pumpkin	3.78	4.50
7	Swamp Head Brewery	Pumpkin Spice Latte	Pumpkin Beer	5.1	0	sweet, pumpkin, subtle, light bodied, coffee	3.71	4.50
8	Shipyard Brewing Company	Pumpkinhead Ale	Pumpkin Beer	4.5	18	sweet, smooth, spicy, cinnamon	3.62	4.50
9	3 Car Garage Brewing Co	Pumpkin Bumpkin	Traditional Ale	5.5	0	pumpkin, sweet, spiced	3.61	4.50
10	Breckenridge Brewery	Nitro Series: Pumpkin Spice Latte	Pumpkin Beer	5.5	11	smooth, coffee	3.38	4.50
11	Arkane Aleworks	Monster Jam : Plumpkin Guts	Sour – Smoothie / Pastry	6.0	0	pumpkin, plums, heavy, sour, spiced	4.21	4.40
12	Odd Side Ales	Stout Pumpkin	Stout – Other	8.0	5	pumpkin, spiced, dark, sweet	3.70	4.40
13	Samuel Adams	Jack-O Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin Beer	4.4	8	cinnamon, sweet, spicy, earthy	3.57	4.40
14	Fat Point Brewing	Pumpka Gourda	Spiced / Herbed Beer	5.7	14	sweet, spicy, pumpkin	3.56	4.40
15	Left Hand Brewing Company	Pumpkin Spice Latte Nitro	Pumpkin Beer	7.0	0	pumpkin, nutmeg, soft	3.56	4.40
16	Blue Point Brewing Company	Mother Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin Beer	5.5	25	sweet, smooth, spicy	3.42	4.40
17	Southern Tier Brewing Company	Pumking	Pumpkin Beer	8.6	33	sweet, smooth, spicy	3.92	4.25
18	King State	Bruce-O-Lantern	Pumpkin Beer	6.4	18	smooth, aromatic, sweet, pumpkin	3.78	4.25
19	Dogfish Head Craft Brewery	Punkin Ale	Pumpkin Beer	7.0	28	smooth, sweet, spicy, pumpkin	3.74	4.25
20	Sweetwater Tavern (VA Brewpub)	Ghost Town Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin Beer	5.8	20	pumkin, cinnamon, sweet	3.64	4.25

I tracked and rated these on Untappd. I’ve sorted by my rating, using the global rating across all app users as the tiebreaker.

Honorable mention goes to Harpoon Brewery for the Dunkin’ Spiked Pumpkin Spice Iced Latte, a “flavored malt beverage.” It’s the weirdest pumpkin thing I have had. I couldn’t rate it. Disgustingly addictive, addictively disgusting. I hated it. I drank all of it. I will not order it again. I think.

While I’ve never had a pumpkin spice latte, I did have and enjoy Breckenridge Brewery’s Nitro Series: Pumpkin Spice Latte (4.50). The nitro keeps the pumpkin from overwhelming the coffee notes. Maybe I should try a pumpkin spice latte after all!

Photo credit: Pyzata.