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 54 different pumpkin beers over the years, as part of flights, as singles at alcohol retailers, and at restaurants. The only six pack I buy these days is 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 (4.70), Night Owl Pumpkin Ale (4.50), and Dark O’ The Moon Pumpkin Stout (4.40). 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 / Yam Beer	6.4	10	spicy, heat, cinnamon, sweet, subtle	3.61	4.9
2	Twisted Pine Brewing Company	Mr. Brown’s Pumpkin	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.3	0		3.86	4.75
3	3 Car Garage Brewing Co	Black Jack Pumpkin Stout	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.3	0	roasty, pumpkin, spiced	3.8	4.75
4	Elysian Brewing Company	Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	6	0	coffee, sweet, smooth, dark	3.93	4.7
5	Elysian Brewing Company	Night Owl Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	6.7	0	sweet, spicy, light bodied, smooth	3.81	4.5
6	Swamp Head Brewery	Pumpkin Spice Latte	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.1	0	sweet, pumpkin, subtle, light bodied, coffee	3.71	4.5
7	Shipyard Brewing Company	Pumpkinhead Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	4.5	18	sweet, smooth, spicy, cinnamon	3.62	4.5
8	3 Car Garage Brewing Co	Pumpkin Bumpkin	Traditional Ale	5.5	0	pumpkin, sweet, spiced	3.61	4.5
9	UFO Beer	Pumpkin	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.9	20	sweet, smooth, spicy, subtle	3.58	4.5
10	Breckenridge Brewery	Nitro Series: Pumpkin Spice Latte	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.5	11	smooth, coffee	3.38	4.5
11	Arkane Aleworks	Monster Jam : Plumpkin Guts	Sour – Smoothie / Pastry	6	0	pumpkin, plums, heavy, sour, spiced	4.24	4.4
12	Fat Orange Cat Brew Co.	Cautionary Tail	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8	0	spiced, cinnamon, malty, pumpkin	3.85	4.4
13	Elysian Brewing Company	Dark o’ the Moon Pumpkin Stout	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	6.5	20		3.78	4.4
14	Odd Side Ales	Stout Pumpkin	Stout – Other	8	5	pumpkin, spiced, dark, sweet	3.7	4.4
15	Samuel Adams	Jack-O Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	4.4	8	cinnamon, sweet, spicy, earthy	3.57	4.4
16	Fat Point Brewing	Pumpka Gourda	Spiced / Herbed Beer	5.7	14	sweet, spicy, pumpkin	3.56	4.4
17	Left Hand Brewing Company	Pumpkin Spice Latte Nitro	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	7	0	pumpkin, nutmeg, soft	3.56	4.4
18	Blue Point Brewing Company	Mother Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.5	25	spicy, sweet, smooth	3.42	4.4
19	3 Sons Brewing Co.	PSL – Pumpkin Spice Latte	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8.5	0	pumpkin, cinnamon, coffee	3.9	4.3
20	Evil Twin Brewing NYC	Our Most Popular Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	6.5	0	pumpkin, clove	3.89	4.3

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

Here are 20 of the top pumpkin beers on Untappd, sorted by global ratings:

Rank	Brewery	Beer Name	Type	ABV	IBU	Flavor Profile	Global Rating	My Rating
1	Arkane Aleworks	Monster Jam : Plumpkin Guts	Sour – Smoothie / Pastry	6	0	pumpkin, plums, heavy, sour, spiced	4.24	4.4
2	Unrefined Brewing	Gourdalicious	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	7.5	37	pumpkin, spiced, cinnamon	4.11	4.2
3	Abomination Brewing Company	Forbidden Pumpkin	IPA – Imperial / Double Milkshake	9.3	0	pumpkin, spiced, vanilla	4.02	4
4	Southern Tier Brewing Company	Warlock	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8.6	44		3.95	0.25
5	Elysian Brewing Company	Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	6	0	coffee, sweet, smooth, dark	3.93	4.7
6	Big Top Brewing Company	Pumpkin Stiltskin	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8.9	0	sweet, cinnamon, strong, spicy	3.93	2.3
7	Southern Tier Brewing Company	Pumking	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8.6	33	sweet, smooth, spicy, strong, heavy	3.92	3.5
8	3 Sons Brewing Co.	PSL – Pumpkin Spice Latte	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8.5	0	pumpkin, cinnamon, coffee	3.9	4.3
9	Evil Twin Brewing NYC	Our Most Popular Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	6.5	0	pumpkin, clove	3.89	4.3
10	Elysian Brewing Company	The Great Pumpkin	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8	0	sweet, smooth, strong	3.89	3.4
11	Tampa Bay Brewing Company	Gourds Gone Wild	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	6	0	sweet, smooth, creamy, vanilla, pumpkin	3.87	4.2
12	Keel Farms Agrarian	Pumpkin Cider	Cider – Herbed / Spiced / Hopped	5.3	0	sweet, crisp, apple, pumpkin, subtle	3.87	3.7
13	Twisted Pine Brewing Company	Mr. Brown’s Pumpkin	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.3	0		3.86	4.75
14	Fat Orange Cat Brew Co.	Cautionary Tail	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8	0	spiced, cinnamon, malty, pumpkin	3.85	4.4
15	MYTHK Brewing	Halloween Forever!	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.9	15	pumpkin, clove, cinnamon, brown sugar, malty	3.83	4
16	Fat Orange Cat Brew Co.	Pumpkin Patch Kittens	IPA – Milkshake	7	0	pumpkin, spiced	3.82	3.9
17	Elysian Brewing Company	Night Owl Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	6.7	0	sweet, spicy, light bodied, smooth	3.81	4.5
18	Pontoon Brewing	The Great Punkin’ Spice	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	8	25	pumpkin, cinnamon, sweet, malty	3.81	3.5
19	3 Car Garage Brewing Co	Black Jack Pumpkin Stout	Pumpkin / Yam Beer	5.3	0	roasty, pumpkin, spiced	3.8	4.75
20	Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales	Oro de Calabaza	Belgian Strong Golden Ale	8	30	oak, peppery	3.79	4

Warlock is the biggest discrepancy: Untappd users rate it 3.95 (#4) where I rate it 0.25!

For Untappd’s dynamic list, including beers no longer in production, see Top Pumpkin / Yam Beers. (Note their UI excludes pumpkin as a flavor and so misses some pumpkin-flavored beers not classified as pumkin/yam beers.)

For me, 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!

See also: Non-alcoholic Beer for Beer-and-Pretzel Games.

Photo credit: Pyzata.

Updatd 25-09-07 with my latest ratings.