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When I was a kid, my dad would joke with us that summer was over the day after the fourth of July. He may have been two months early with his thoughts, but with the ending of August, summer actually is over (almost).
The ending of Summer means that fall is here and with that comes the magical time when everything in the whole world seems to be flavored with pumpkins. There is pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin donuts and best of all, pumpkin beer.
Here are some of the best pumpkin beers available.
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The Great Pumpkin (Elysian)
This 8.10% ABV Imperial Pumpkin Ale was brewed with Pale, Cara-Hell, Cara-Vienne, Cara-Munich, Crisp 45 Crystal and Munich malts. To add to the pumpkin explosion, it was brewed with roasted pumpkin seeds in the mash and spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and allspice.
Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Cigar City)
This 9.4% ABV Imperial Pumpkin Ale is flavored with Ceylon cinnamon, Jamican all-spice, nutmeg and Zanzibar cloves. It’s best enjoyed on a back patio on crisp fall day.
Pumking (Southern Tier)
This 8.6% ABV Imperial Pumpkin Ale has been brewed since 2007. Right around the time Halloween candy starts showing up on shelves (in July), you will see the return of the Pumking.
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Punkin’ Ale (Dogfish Head)
This easy drinking 7% ABV Pumpkin ale is from beer pioneer Sam Calagione. Like all of his other offerings, Punkin’ Ale is something special. Subtle flavors of brown sugar, pumpkin and various other spices make this beer feel like autumn in a glass.
Pumpkin Down (Ballast Point)
San Diego’s Ballast Point has really made a name for itself in the past few years. Their 5.8% ABV pumpkin offering is a Scottish Ale with a “boatload” of roasted pumpkin.
Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale (Rogue)
Rogue is a unique company. They have their own farm where they grow apples for their ciders and herbs and vegetables for their spirits and beers. To make this beer, they used their own dream pumpkins, Weyermann Carafe, Carawheat and Rogue Dare™ Malts. It also contains ginger, cloves, vanilla bean and various other fall flavors.
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Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Weyberbacher)
This 8% ABV Imperial Pumpkin Ale is flavored with pumpkins, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a cool, fall evening with friends.
Bourbon Barrel Aged Smashed Pumpkin (Shipyard)
This is not your mother’s pumpkin ale. This one is a turbo-charged 11.4% ABV and should be given the respect it deserves. This brew has had a very limited release and can be fairly difficult to find. If you can manage to get your hands on a bottle, you won’t be disappointed.
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale (Smuttynose)
This 6.5% ABV Pumpkin Ale is made with real pumpkins and various spices including: cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. It’s the perfect sipping pumpkin ale for early fall grilling.
Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale (Stevens Point)
This 7.5% ABV Pumpkin Ale from Wisconsin’s Steven’s Point Brewery was brewed with real pumpkins and spices including: natural cinnamon and nutmeg as well as Perle hops and Munich, Caramel and roasted malts.
