I really laid off the pumpkin aspect this year.... To many posers out there for me.. Anyone else feel this way ?
Nah, I still buying pumpkin beers, best time to buy them is right now, when they are being cleared out. $24 for a case? Sign me up.
Pumpkin Ales used to be my one of my favorite styles. I used to be obsessed with them. I still love em, but the style seems to lose its magic for me each year. I agree there's too many middle of the road pumpkin ales and not enough unique standout examples, like ST Pumking for example. I really need to try some Schlafly's and CC Good Gourd..
Pumpkin+Beer=nastiness. WTF do people enjoy in beer that tastes like one aspect or another of pumpkin pie? I have 4 or 5 in my beer room that people have given me, and I can't find anybody who'll take them off my hands(no shipping, if you want them come get them)
I love Fall because I love pumpkin-flavored anything & always loved the idea of pumpkin beers, but very few ever lived up to what I would hope a pumpkin beer to be. The only ones I've had that met my expectations were Southern Tier, Schlafly, & Williamsburg Alewerks. Everything else just felt like an ok beer with pumpkin pie spices thrown in. I would like to try some of the Elysian pumpkin beers though.
Pumpkin ales are an interesting style. Or rather, people's reactions to pumpkin ales are interesting. No other style outside of adjunct lagers seems to inspire so much hostility. Most styles if people don't like them, they just avoid them. A lot of people here act like pumpkin ales are an abomination to beerdom and shouldn't even be brewed. Personally, I love pumpkin ales, but they're a fairly hit-or-miss style. There are some really great pumpkin ales out there, but there are even more really crappy ones that just taste like fermented nutmeg and allspice juice.
I didn't drink nearly as much pumpkin beer this year as l did last year. But it had nothing to do with any "posers", I simply wasn't in the mood for them. The more beer l drink, the more l realize l only really get excited about IPA's, stouts, barleywines, some sours, and anything barrel aged. Oh yeah, and dark strong Belgians still kick ass.
I don't think I'm being judgemental when I say "Pumpkin beers suck and if you generally like them, you have bad taste.' As an aside, when did 'jumped the shark' jump the shark? Maybe porked the pumpkin can be the new BA idiom.
I don't think pumpkin beers, Pumking in particular, age very well. I bought three Pumkings when I first saw them early in September. I tried one immediately and was blown away by the pumpkin pie smell/taste. I opened the next one on Halloween and the smell/taste had diminished significantly. I had the last one a few days after that and it, too, had faded to a shadow of its former glory. While the Pumking hate veers off into irrationality to some extent, this might be a legitimate complaint to explain some of the anger. Of course I had some Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale that had likely been on the grocery shelf for weeks and that tasted as good as the fresh ones I bought, so I could be wrong (or Pumking might truly suck.) This season I tried Pumking, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale, Sixpoint Autumnation, and DFH Punkin Ale. The fresh Pumking blew away the Weyerbacher for the "pumpkin pie" type pumpkin beer, but the Weyerbacher was better than the old Pumkings. The Smuttynose was better than the DFH for the straight-up pumpkin type beer (and was a consistently solid pumpkin beer.) Autumnation doesn't even taste like pumpkin. I didn't pay attention when I bought it and I drank two without realizing they were pumpkin beers.
I forgot that I had tried the collaboration between Epic Brewing and DC Brau, Fermentation Without Representation, a pumpkin porter. This was outstanding! I went back and bought another bomber the next day.
Had the Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch ale that I thought was pretty awesome. As a beer it was good, as a pumpkin ale, it's the best I've had of the style.
Problems with pumpkin beer? Nope, Personally I have no problems with fruit/veg/spiced style beers when done right. I had the Elysian Night owl this year, and it was absolutely incredible. One of the most balanced spiced beers I have ever had. I am looking forward to getting my hands on some more Elysian pumpkin ales next year when I can. I really havent had too many Pumpkin beers this year though; I was more focused on O-fests this season. Looking forward to the couple I have left like the Rogue first growth Pumpkin.
Never been a fan of pumpkin beers or Christmas beers, mainly because of the spices. I may try them but I prefer the styles that the fall & winter seasons bring. With all the hype they bring it keeps the other seasonal offerings flying just under the radar. Make it hearty, lose the spices or at least those spices.
These are the exact two that I purchase every year. In fact, Pumking is my beer for Patriots games. Bought a case at the beginning of the season... I don't think Pumpkin beers have "jumped the shark" in any fashion. I comsume what I believe are the best representations for about three months, and then they are gone until next year. The great news is that we each get to choose what we drink.
I got an AleWerks Pumpkin as an extra and it turned out to be my favorite of the season. Better than Schlafly. I agree that as a whole there are more duds than standouts.
There are some really good Pumpkin beers, there are some really bad pumpkin beers. There are some really good IPAs, there are some really bad IPAs. There are some really good beers, there are some really bad beers. Fuck, I think beer has jumped the shark.
I'd agree that there are far too many middle of the road (or shittier) pumpkin ales out there. I'm a big fan of pumpkin in general so beer with pumpkin is always appealing. Pumking is my favorite in the style and I don't see myself wasting any money on others next fall.
I'll second theSixthRing. Rogue Chatoe Pumpkin Patch was #1 this year. Turns out using fresh ingredients actually does make a difference.
I had my first pumpkin ale about 15 years ago and hated it. So a few years later, when I started getting into crafts I steered clear of the pumpkin ales every fall. In fact, I hated going to the distributor every autumn to see the "march of the pumpkins," which only got bigger year after year. Eventually (last year) my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to revisit the style and was pleasantly surprised. ST, Weyerbacher, DFH, Smutty - all were quite enjoyable. Of course, with any style you have your standout suckass brews. This year I found that to be Long Trail Imperial Pumpkin. Just awful. I can't believe they let it leave the brewery with the expectation that people would turn over their hard earned dollars in exchange for it.
I only had 3 pumpkin ales this year, Saranac, DFH and Southern Tier. Saranac was awfully bland and I did not like DFH at all. I'm not sure what was going on with that one. Southern Tier was really good, third year in a row I've had it.
I think I agree with you. I loved pumpkin beers, but for some reason this year I just couldn't stomach them, they tasted fine, it was my stomach, I always felt like puking after one. This could be the end, it was great while it lasted.
I think the obvious term would be " Chunked the Pumpkin". Have not had one I cared for yet, DFH sold out here as soon as it was on the shelves, probably should have purchased Southern Tier based on what I read above.
I am not too big on pumpkin beers and rarely buy them in bottles. However, I'm a huge fan of the pumpkin festival idea. Elysian has a really neat thing going serving beer out of giant gourds and they even brought a sort of mini-festival to my town last year. Even if it is a gimmick, I think it's a really fun gimmick and hope the tradition grows and spreads.
My question is, did pumpkin beers jump the gun this year? Seems like they were released earlier this year than ever before. For some reason, I think of pumpkin anything between Halloween and Thanksgiving, but when I inquired (around the first week in November) about good pumpkin ales at my local (very good) beer shop, I as told they had come and gone many weeks earlier. Can anyone explain this to me? Does it have to do with harvest schedule and freshness?
I do think the Pumpkin beers came out a little early this year, but that's what happens with seasonal beers. I really liked the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale.
Not all pumpkin beers are created equal. Some of the best - Pumpking, Cottonwood, Weyerbacher and Heavy Seas Greater Pumpkin. Not that impressed with others....
