Now that it is October we are well into pumpkin beer season. As KCs Finest pointed out in the comment section pumpkin beers can be all over the map, both in terms of style and quality. Some are made with real pumpkin and some just throw in some spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and/or allspice and call it a pumpkin beer. It’s hard to know what to choose when you walk into the store and are assaulted with 30 different varieties of pumpkin beer. Given that dilemma I think you will find the following piece from Boston.com writer Gary Dzen useful.
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/blogs/99bottles/2013/09/the_best_pumpkin_beers_of_2013.html
He and his friends have done a blind taste test of 16 different pumpkin beers and identified the best and worst. They identify Shipyard Pumpkinhead as the Bud Light of Pumpkin beers, a fair analogy I think. They also rate an Ohio beer, Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale by Hoppin Frog, as one of the best. Although I have no intention of drinking 16 pumpkin beers in the near future I do have a few in the fridge that I’ll be reviewing over the next couple of weeks. If you have any favorites leave a post, discerning readers want to know.
Pat's Pints 
Shared an Epic Brewing Imperial Pumpkin Porter last night with my wife. I just now had to go check the label to see what it was. The Imperial and Porter parts makes a lot more sense now. I remember finishing it and thinking, “It’s very dark with subtle flavors of roasted pumpkin…and I do feel the tiniest bit woozy.”
I guess I had assumed it was a typical pumpkin ale. Anyway, it wasn’t bad for a pumpkin. 4 of 6.
Interesting. I have not tried their #1 rated Pumpkin, but I do enjoy DFH’s Punkin Ale. I also really enjoy Rogue’s GYO Pumpkin Ale. Those are probably my tops. Interestingly, I was at my local multi-tap’s bar the other day and the owner spit out some of Ace’s Pumpkin Cider – I’m not a cider fan per say (i like a few), but this was some darned tasty stuff out of the tap… Try it sometime if you get a chance.
I lived in Corvallis, OR for five years and I’m always interested in what Rogue puts out. I’ve been thinking about trying their Pumpkin Ale and based on your recommendation I will try it this season. Cider is normally off my radar but I’ll keep an eye out for the Ace. So far the best pumpkin beer I’ve had this season is the Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale.