Pumpkin Beer Ratings and Rankings in 2012

This table has the ranking list, from my least favorite (in the first row) to my most favorite (in the last row) of the 62 beers I reviewed during the 2012 season! For all of the beers, I wrote full reviews. These reviews can be reached by clicking on the underlined beers in the first column. As can be seen, the overall ratings of the individual beers are in the second column. Click here for the first post of this 2012 season, where I explain the goals for this year. Click here for my first post that kicked of the 2011 season and the beginning of the blog, where I explain the rating system as well as the aim of the blog. Click here for more about me, and the making of this blog.

Overall Rankings in 2012

Shipyard “Pumpkinhead” Pumpkin Ale	*
Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale	*1/4
Southampton Pumpkin Ale	*1/4
Ardmore Brewing (2010) Imperial Pumpkin Porter	*1/2
Cisco “Pumple Drumkin” Spiced Ale	*3/4
Wild Wolf “Howling Pumpkin” Pumpkin Ale	*3/4
Shock Top “Pumpkin Wheat” Belgian-style Wheat Ale	*3/4
Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale	*3/4
Uinta “Punk’n” Harvest Pumpkin Ale	*3/4
Starr Hill “Boxcar” Pumpkin Porter	**
Blue Point Pumpkin Ale	**
Saranac Pumpkin Ale	**
Lakefront Pumpkin Lager	**
Evolution “Jacques au Lantern” Pumpkin Ale	**
Harpoon “UFO” Unfiltered Pumpkin Ale	**1/4
Pike “Harlot’s Harvest” Pumpkin Ale	**1/4
Wasatch Pumpkin Ale	**1/4
Stegmaier Pumpkin Ale	**1/4
New Holland “Ichabod” Pumpkin Ale	**1/4
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale	**1/2
Sweetwater Tavern (Sterling) “Ghost Town” Pumpkin Ale	**1/2
Brooklyn “Post Road” Pumpkin Ale	**1/2
O’Connor “Punkelweise” Pumpkin Dunkel/Weise	**1/2
Blue Mountain Pumpkin Oatmeal Porter	**1/2
Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale	**1/2
Tommyknocker “Small Patch” Pumpkin Harvest Ale	**1/2
Elysian “Dark O’ The Moon” Pumpkin Stout	**1/2
Ardmore Brewing Pumpkin Old Ale	**1/2
Mad Fox “Punkinator” Pumpkin Ale	**3/4
Ardmore Brewing (2010) Pumpkin Ale	**3/4
Karbach “Krunkin’ Pumpkin” Pumpkin Ale	**3/4
Elysian “The Great Pumpkin” Imperial Pumpkin Ale	**3/4
Long Trail Pumpkin Ale	***
Samuel Adams “Fat Jack” Double Pumpkin Ale	***
Terrapin “Pumpkinfest” Pumpkin Ale	***
RJ Rockers “Gruntled” Pumpkin Ale	***
Ardmore Brewing Pumpkin Stout	***
Fegley’s Brew Works “Devious” Imperial Pumpkin Ale	***
Dogfish Head “Punkin” Pumpkin Ale	***1/4
Flying Dog “The Fear” Imperial Pumpkin Ale	***1/4
Epic/DC Brau “Fermentation Without Representation” Imperial Pumpkin Porter	***1/4
Flying Dog Bourbon Barrel Aged “The Fear” Imperial Pumpkin Ale	***1/4
Ardmore Brewing Pumpkin Porter	***1/2
Uinta “Oak Jacked” Imperial Pumpkin Ale	***1/2
Hardywood Park “Farmhouse Pumpkin” Pumpkin Ale	***1/2
Heavy Seas “The Great Pumpkin” Imperial Pumpkin Ale	***1/2
Timmermans Pumpkin Lambicus	***3/4
Wolaver’s Organic Pumpkin Ale	***3/4
Rogue Chatoe Rogue “Pumpkin Patch” Pumpkin Ale	***3/4
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale	***3/4
Shipyard Pugsley’s Signature Series “Smashed Pumpkin” Imperial Pumpkin Ale	***3/4
Hoppin Frog “Frog’s Hollow” Double Pumpkin Ale	***3/4
Elysian “Night Owl” Pumpkin Ale	***3/4
Bootlegger’s Pumpkin Ale	***3/4
Long Trail Imperial Pumpkin Ale	***3/4
Saint Arnold “Pumpkinator” Imperial Pumpkin Stout	****
Avery “Rumpkin” Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale	****
Heavy Seas “The Great’er Pumpkin” Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale	****
Southern Tier “Pumking” Imperial Pumpkin Ale	****
Williamsburg Alewerks Imperial Pumpkin Ale	****1/4
Cigar City “Good Gourd” Pumpkin Ale	****3/4
Schlafly Imperial Pumpkin Ale	****3/4

* = poor
** = decent
*** = good
**** = great
***** = exceptional

Flying Dog Bourbon Barrel-Aged “The Fear” Imperial Pumpkin Ale (2012)

Flying Dog Bourbon Barrel-Aged “The Fear” Imperial Pumpkin Ale is 9.0% ABV.

I was served a 5 oz pour on tap at a Flying Dog Tap Takeover.

Appearance: This was served with basically no head, but a bit of thin foam atop it. The color is a molasses red that is slightly opaque with a good bit of light coming through it. (This surprisingly looks lighter in color than the bottle and non-bourbon-aged version of “The Fear” I reviewed a while back.)

Smell: I get pumpkin pie spices, bourbon, and dark roasty malt. It smells strong of bourbon, but also has a little fruit to it. The spices smell like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. I’m so jazzed to taste it.

Taste: This has delicious and wonderful bourbon flavors that aren’t too punchy. It has some pumpkin flavor, though it isn’t so central. I get some pumpkin pie spices, but no particular spices that advertise themselves very clearly. This bursts with dark roasty malt, some molasses sweetness, and the nice fairly smooth bourbon flavor. This finishes bourbony with dark raosted malt, and lets these hang on well for the aftertaste. This has really great flavors that make for a great beer, though the pumpkin aspect ends up being pretty weak.

Feel: This is pretty smooth for a 9 percent bourbon-barrel-aged beer. It is medium to heavy bodied with medium carbonation. It also has a nice warmth to it. The alcohol does give sort of a bite at the end. Otherwise, impressively smooth.

Drinkability: This beer wasn’t really made for drinkability it seems. The bourbon flavors and the dark malt keep this one from being a paradigm drinkable ale. Even so, the smoothness it does have helps out some here. Still not a good choice if you hold drinkability high.

Overall: I tried this beer as the last pumpkin ale of the season and at one of the largest tap takeovers in the US, and the largest tap takeover ever on the East Coast. Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore Maryland had 56 different Flying Dog offerings. There were then some decisions to make about what was important to try. Given my blog, trying this was a no brainer. The more I drank this pumpkin ale, the more I did get more noticeable pumpkin, though it is nothing compared to the real big bodied pumpkin flavor ales like Schlafly’s and Cigar City’s. Overall, the flavors in this were really nice, even given the lack of strong pumpkin. I do like this better then the non-bourbon “The Fear”, though not by much more. The flavors are more interesting i this, but the pumpkin takes a hit. There are tradeoffs of pumpkin flavor to get the bourbon flavors. Even so, I was pressed to figure out whether I wanted more of this delicious beer, even with 55 other Flying Dog beers to consider a 5 oz sample of. So that says something too. Anyway, this was a great way to end the reviews for the year. Even though this wasn’t a top tier winner for me, it was still quite an enjoyable beer.

Overall Rating: ***1/4

Sweetwater Tavern (Sterling) Ghost Town Pumpkin Ale (2012)

Sweetwater Tavern (Sterling) “Ghost Town” Pumpkin Ale is 5.7% ABV.

I was served a 16 oz glass from the brewery’s tap, which was rimmed with some ground up seeds and spices. (I also tried this without the rimmed glass. All of what follows the notes on the appearance are about the non-rimmed beer.)

Appearance: This was served to me with basically no head, but a glass rimmed with toasted pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and light and dark brown sugar. The color was a bright but light orange that appeared to have light carbonation. The beer was also served in a chilled glass, however I also had a small pour of this without the seeds and spices on the rim, and without a chill. This appeared to have light to medium carbonation.

Smell: I get light spicing of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. There is not much by way of pumpkin in the scent. This does smell quite light and sessionable. It also smells like it would be on the sweet side with some caramel tones to it. Overall I’d say it smells light and inviting, like the kind of pumpkin beer you actually could drink in July when some of the first ones start to roll out to market.

Taste: I get a light flavor of pumpkin and some subtle spicing, which adds a nice touch. The spicing has cinnamon, allspice, and some notable ginger. I am not getting anything else as clear as those, but think there is probably also some nutmeg in this. This also has a caramel-like sweetness, some light flavor of vanilla, and a touch of bitterness and slight fruitiness. This finishes slightly fruity with a touch of ginger and a some sour notes. The aftertaste gives some of the light bitter, white-pepper-like ginger and some slightly sour notes. The flavors in this are fairly smooth and are well-balanced.

Feel: This is light bodied with light to medium carbonation.This is very smooth, with just some slight bitterness that adds a change to the otherwise smooth and mellow feel. Overall, this gives across a feel that, though certainly on the dry side, is not completely dry. The finish is also fairly dry and clean.

Drinkability: This is really one of the most drinkable pumpkin ales I’ve had. It is smooth, and has some sweetness with some slight sour, bitter, and fruit notes. One could have quite a few of these without it dragging on the palate or becoming too heavy.

Overall: Though nearing the very end of the pumpkin beer season, I was excited to hear of this brewery/restaurant in Virginia that made a pumpkin ale. I had never been to a Sweetwater brewery/restaurant before, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. I was already planning on being near Dulles today, so this worked out quite well. One of the main brewers there, Joe Schineller, was incredibly helpful and informative. I couldn’t have asked for someone more welcoming, or willing to help me and answer my questions about the brewery. He even showed me the whole brewery setup, down to seeing how they ran their growler operation. (I ended up buying a counter-pressure filled growler of the pumpkin ale to bring back with me!) Thanks so much, Joe! With respect to this pumpkin ale, I have a lot of positive things to say. It is very clean, with clear pumpkin flavor and a few other subtle flavors. It is quite smooth, and incredibly drinkable. Certainly, it is one of the best sessionable pumpkin ale I’ve had. My girlfriend and I both independently thought of it as an entirely more successful beer than Shipyard’s “Pumpkinhead”, which is light and in the same kind of sessionable style, though no where near as smooth, clean, or flavorful. I am more partial to the fuller-bodied pumpkin beers that hit you a little harder with intense flavors. So this beer isn’t a must try for me, though it is great for a sessionable pumpkin ale. I look forward to sharing this growler with some friends who aren’t as in to heavy hitting craft beers. (Also, a side note on the rim: the seeds, sugar, and spices on the rim really add a nice touch that enables those interested in sweeter pumpkin pie style pumpkin ales to have their fix, but still allows others to opt out.)

Overall Rating: **1/2

Wasatch Pumpkin Ale (2012)

Wasatch Pumpkin Ale is 4.0% ABV.

I poured all of this 12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: A steady pour gave basically no head, but just a very thin ring of whitish foam around the edge of the glass. The color is a bright but significantly hazy toasted orange. This appears to have medium carbonation.

Smell: To start I get some vegetal pumpkin and strong spices. I get cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, as well as some caramel-like sweetness and brown sugar. The pumpkin aroma in this is pronounced and inviting, and has an almost raisin-like character to it. This smells like it will have definite pumpkin flavor. I like the aroma of this one.

Taste: Up front there is clear fleshy vegetal pumpkin. This is complemented by some spicing, though the spicing is much less pronounced than in the smell. The spice profile has some flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg,  and ginger to it. As for sweetness, this has some light toasted malt sweetness, some vanilla, and something like a touch of honey to it. This finishes quick to let some of the pumpkin give way to more of the spices, but also comes along with some vanilla and slightly sour tones. The aftertaste has some of the light toasted malt hanging out with some very slight bitterness from the spices. This also doesn’t have much of a prolonged aftertaste. This has very clean and pronounced pumpkin flavor that isn’t overwhelmed, but is complemented by the spices. There is also a warmth to this one. Great flavors for something really sessionable.

Feel: This is light bodied, with light carbonation. It is very smooth, mellow, and subdued. It has some warmth to it from the pumpkin and spices. Really nice and gentle feel.

Drinkability: This is the most drinkable pumpkin ale I’ve tasted so far. It is incredibly smooth, low in ABV, and has enough flavor to keep one coming back for more.

Overall: I acquired this one from a friendly and helpful guy named DJ in Utah. Thanks, DJ! This one has really nice pumpkin flavor, nice subtle spicing, and a great smooth feel. There is also a warmth to this one, which is impressive given its low ABV and light body. So this one does quite well for itself as an easy drinking pumpkin ale. The pumpkin is impressively strong (again, for its ABV and body). I tend to prefer the heavier bodied and more robustly flavored pumpkin ales, but still enjoy this one. I’d recommend this pumpkin ale to friends who hold drinkability high as a criteria for selecting beers. I’d also probably pick some of this up if there were some hotter fall days. Not a must try, but an enjoyable sessionable pumpkin ale.

Overall Rating: **1/4

Avery “Rumpkin” Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale (2012)

Avery “Rumpkin” Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale is 18.1% ABV.

I poured some of this 12 oz bottle into a round wine glass.

Appearance: A slow pour gave absolutely no head or bubbles. This poured a very murky and opaque rusty orange/brown. This has some noticeable sediment floating in the beer, but no noticeable carbonation.

Smell: Up front I get strong roasted pumpkin and rum, along with a heavy amount of spices. The spices include strong clove, cinnamon, and perhaps some of the other usual suspects; However it is difficult to discern much more because of the strong rum and fruit. For fruit, there is pumpkin, but also banana. My girlfriend noted, and I agreed, that there is also some cherry and dark fruit in the aroma. This gives off a slight booziness. Overall this smells warm, rich, complex, and too good for me to spend more time writing about the aroma.

Taste: Up front I get an impressive and overwhelming punch of pumpkin, sweet and dark fruit, and spice. This also has a smooth rum flavor with some wood to it that is present throughout, but not overwhelming or distracting. The dark fruit flavors come across as quite sweet and raisiny, and pair well with the earthy spicing of clove, cinnamon, and something like mild pepper. There is the flavor of banana that also works among the other fruit of raisin and mild cherry; however the banana is less pronounced than in the smell. The fruit flavors in this are quite strong, and (for me, quite surprisingly) do not overwhelm the pumpkin. As I sip this I notice more new flavors, like vanilla and some other (otherwise non-descript) earthy spicing. This does have some alcohol that comes through, though nothing like one might expect. For its strength, it is quite good on the booziness score, actually. This finishes to let some of the fruity sweetness linger and give off some chewy and juicy rum-infused notes of earthy… fruit. This “fruit” doesn’t present itself as any one fruit, but does have some earth (like seeds and stems) that tastes quite different from the earthy spicing some beers have. The finish also brings with it some strong booze, which noticeably (but not overwhelmingly) joins the earthy fruit for the aftertaste. The more I drink this, the more the rum comes through (though it has yet to hit an unpleasant point). This has the most intense flavors of any pumpkin beer I have tried. Good marks here.

Feel: This is on the heavy-bodied side, with mild carbonation. The fruit and earthy spicing gives some movement to the feel, which is also made complex by the serious rum flavors. The rum adds a serious warmth to the feel on this one. I wouldn’t say this is syrupy, though it is sort of sticky. As noted above, the more I drink this, the more the rum flavor comes through. This is also true for the boozy parts of the feel. Even so, the otherwise smooth wood and fruit contribute some balance. Overall, I’d say this has a pretty good feel, despite the stickiness and increasingly strong booze.

Drinkability: This is obviously not the beer for having a six-pack of while watching the game. It is strong, has intense flavors, and really stays with the palate. Yet, for something that is 18.1 percent alcohol, I’d say it is darn drinkable. You would know you are drinking a strong beer, but could be shocked to know just how strong. It is impressive how drinkable it is, given its stats (i.e., being aged in rum barrels, being 18.1 percent ABV, having many different strong flavors incorporated, etc.). You wouldn’t want a whole lot of this one, though.

Overall: This is really an impressively flavorful pumpkin ale. The pumpkin isn’t the star of the show in the way it is in other pumpkin ales (i.e., the Cigar City “Good Gourd” and the Williamsburg Alewerks Pumpkin Ale). Still the pumpkin doesn’t get lost and has a real solid place in the flavors of this beer. I quite like the pumpkin presence in this, and don’t remember this being so of last year’s Avery “Rumpkin”. This is now just the second year for Avery’s “Rumpkin”, and it’s gotten better, I think. (I really look forward to next year’s.) It is impressively smooth given its potency and complexity, so I give this beer quite high marks. In comparison to some of the other top scoring pumpkin ales, I like this better than the Saint Arnold “Pumpkinator”, in great part because of how much better the Avery establishes pumpkin flavor as pumpkin flavor (rather than as something fruity that resembles pumpkin in some ways). On the other hand, I like the Avery somewhat less than the Heavy Seas “Great’er Pumpkin”, since the latter has both great pumpkin and a real warmth in flavor that isn’t just accounted for by the liquor-barrel aged process or high ABV. (The Heavy Seas “Great’er Pumpkin” uses bourbon barrels in the aging process.) In any case, this Avery is a really great pumpkin ale, and is best treated as a sipper. Try it if you get the not un-rare opportunity. A big thanks to Jay at Beer Run in Charlottesville for helping me acquire this bottle I am rating. (I should also give a big thanks to Greg from Whole Foods Short Pump for helping me get bottles of this both this year and last. I am using those for a vertical tasting of sorts that I’ll be doing in the future!)

Overall Rating: ****

Saint Arnold “Pumpkinator” Imperial Pumpkin Stout (2012)

Saint Arnold “Pumpkinator” Imperial Pumpkin Stout is 10.0% ABV.

I poured some of this 22 oz bottle into a stout glass.

Appearance: A steady pour gave about a finger of creamy light brown head that dissipated to just about a dollop. The color of this is an opaque and very dark brown. This looks like a real hearty stout, as very little to no light is getting through, even when held to bright lights. This appears to have light carbonation.

Smell: The aromas that stand out first are chocolate, sweet dark cherry, and some earthy roastiness with spices. This smells like a flavored stout, but not overwhelmingly so. The aromas of dark cherry and dark fruit establish a licorice-like sweet quality. There are also the hearty stout aromas of dark chocolate, roasted malt, and earth. I am getting some spices in this, most notably some cinnamon. Because of the cherry notes and the strong roastiness, I’m unsure about what other spices there are. I’m getting some hearty fruit in this, but nothing that advertises itself as pumpkin. Regardless, this smells wonderful!

Taste: This bursts up front with delicious juicy flavors of cherry, pumpkin, dark chocolate, and the otherwise standard priming layer of stout flavors. These stout flavors are strong with nice complex roasted malt, earthiness, and some slightly coarse or rugged spicing. The pumpkin is present and enjoyable, but either manifests itself as (or is dueled by) strong cherry notes. This is quite sweet, with some juicy fruitiness, sweet malt, and dark molasses. As for spicing, I get cinnamon, but get lost in the roast when I try to find the rest. This finishes to let some of the sweetness fade to enable more of the roasted malt and earthy stout qualities to gain greater hold. Even in the finish there are still the cherry pumpkin flavors, though. The aftertaste holds on to some of the roast, but also has some of the cherry/pumpkin, licorice, and dark fruit that linger on the palate. The flavors in this were interesting and really nice. I was originally surprised by how much cherry I was getting. After a while, it was less dramatic and more clearly pumpkin. I assume that the beer let the pumpkin somehow enable a juicier and fruitier profile. In any case, I really like the flavors in this.

Feel: This is medium to heavy bodied, with medium carbonation. It coats the mouth nicely, and isn’t too thick or viscous. It is a bit syrupy; but the carbonation helps to interrupt that and keep it from being distracting. The feel starts out full with the bursting fruit. It then gains some more complexity with the slightly coarse roastiness and earth tones. So the feel has dynamic qualities. There is some slight booziness, but nothing major or catastrophic. Overall, this has a good feel, albeit being a bit syrupy.

Drinkability: This is pretty drinkable for a 10% stout. It obviously wasn’t crafted with the aim of folks sitting down and drinking a few 22s. Even so, it does pretty well here given its style. The things that do detract from its drinkability are the obvious intense and rich flavors which can weigh one down, the syrupy qualities, and again, the ABV.

Overall: I was able to acquire this beer from a very friendly guy named Basil living in Texas. Thanks, Basil! I am so glad this worked out, since this is a really special pumpkin beer. During the first 5 minutes or so of sipping this beer, I was overwhelmed with how much this tasted of cherry. I was wondering about the pumpkin. However, as I took some more sips, and as a little time passed, this changed. I don’t know whether it was the beer being opened and poured into a glass to set for a while, or its reaching a more suitable temperature, or what; but the pumpkin flavors qua pumpkin flavors came out a lot more fully. This is quite a rich and flavorful pumpkin beer! It is dynamic, holds on to good pumpkin flavor, and enjoyably dark. It is certainly my favorite pumpkin ale of all the porters, stouts, and brown ales I’ve tried. I love the juicy fruit that comes out, and how it pairs so well with the earthy and roasty stout qualities. I would surely get this again. It is on my radar for next year, which can be difficult living in a state that is both far away from and not identical to Texas. Thanks again, Basil!

Overall Rating: ****

Ardmore Brewing Pumpkin Porter (2012)

Ardmore Brewing Pumpkin Porter is 8.0% ABV.

I poured some of this 375 ml bottle into a porter glass.

Appearance: A steady pour gave basically no head, but something off-white and more bubbly than foamy. A little bit of this hangs around the sides of the glass in a ring. The color is a fairly dark and murky (but not completely opaque) brown with a slight red tint (when held to fairly bright light). It doesn’t appear to be so carbonated, and has no real bubbles rising up.

Smell: I get a good bit of bourbon, some oakiness, maybe some slight smokiness, and light chocolate. It also smells fairly sweet, as though its got a good bit of sugar from dark malts. I am getting more of a brown ale than a porter for the smell. Overall this smells pretty sweet, and certainly complex.

Taste: To start I get nice mellow roastiness, strong pumpkin flavor, sweetish bourbon, and some oak. This has nice restrained roastiness, subtle and well incorporated bourbon, that oak, some vanilla, and a nice dark roasted malt. I do think there is some fall spicing, maybe some cinnamon or something else earthier and coarser. This has great flavors; and with all of the flavors going on, it is really well-balanced. For sweetness, I get some dark toasted malt. The finish holds on a little to the bourbon, but then gives way to more of the earthiness and roastiness. This roastiness is really quite nice. The aftertastes holds on to the roasted notes and dark malt sweetness. The sweetness is nice and not over the top. My friend Ben and I each had bottles of this (which were generously given to us by Tyler of Ardmore Brewing) that we tasted and discussed over a Skype session. Ben noted, and I agreed, that this smelled much sweeter than it tasted. Overall this had really great flavors.

Feel: This is medium bodied, creamy, and coats the mouth nicely. It has an almost milk stout lactose quality at the front, followed by that roastiness which adds some movement but doesn’t mess up the smooth elements. The bourbon also adds a sort of warmth to this feel. Surprisingly, this is fairly thin-bodied for something in this style with such intense flavors. I don’t mean that as a complaint. This also has a really dynamic feel. Great marks here.

Drinkability: This is quite drinkable, especially given the ABV (which is 8%) and the strong flavors. It has (as noted) a dynamic flavor and feel, and remarkable smoothness. These really help the drinkability. For a bourbony porter, this is darn drinkable. The only things holding one back from going through a few of these are the ABV, and perhaps, the roastiness and bourbon which can hang on the palate a little bit.

Overall: I tasted and discussed this beer over Skype with my friend Ben in Philadelphia. We both had bottles, which were very generously given to us by Tyler of Ardmore Brewing. This was also the fifth pumpkin beer (see the first, second, third, and fourth) I’ve had this season from Ardmore Brewing. For me, it was my favorite of the five. It really held on to the pumpkin, had great flavors, and had incredible complexity. Through all of this it remained decently smooth and fairly drinkable. This is pretty impressive. From the pumpkin beers I’ve had by Ardmore, there seem to be a lot of bourbon, oak, and vanilla elements added. This was the most accomplished of the Ardmore ones I’ve tasted on this score. The bourbon, oak, and vanilla worked well together, and didn’t overwhelm the pumpkin. One thing I would have liked to get, which I think would have really pushed this into the upper echelons of pumpkin ales, is a more integrated flavor profile with more pronounced and well accented pumpkin. This isn’t so much a complaint, as just a preference on my part. The flavors were all interesting and well-balanced; I thought they weren’t so well integrated into a cohesive flavor profile. I also tend to prefer the front and center pumpkin in bold pumpkin ales. In any case, I was so glad to have this. Great pumpkin beer competing with some real serious craft beer.

Overall Rating: ***1/2