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There's no need to wait till Halloween or Thanksgiving for your first taste of pumpkin. Beer shelves are stocked with that fleeting fall delicacy, pumpkin beers. From nutmeg-spiked ales to stouts stuffed with jack-o'-lantern flesh, it's downright frightening how delicious pumpkin beers can be.
New Holland Ichabod:
Taking its cues from the headless horseman, Michigan-based New Holland's pumpkin seasonal is a malty amber brew made with fresh pumpkin, cinnamon and a sprinkling of nutmeg. Ichabod smells like mom's fresh-baked pumpkin pie, with reasonably balanced flavors and a nice, smooth mouthfeel that makes the beer easy on the tongue.
Hailing from Vermont, this burly stout is brewed with pumpkin and loads of spruce tips, which contribute a bit of bitterness and forest-pine flavor -- this ain't liquid pumpkin pie. Spruce is a slow drinker, suitable for sipping on its own to warm your stomach on a chilly fall eve, or as an accompaniment to a meaty stew.
Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale:
Taking its name from the shape-shifting Celtic spirit Púca, Pumking -- packed with ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg -- is like liquefied, boozified pumpkin pie. The decadent copper-orange treat has a terrific nose of rum and vanilla, with a sweetness that places Pumking squarely in the dessert category.
Cape Ann Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout
Despise overly sweet beers? Then train your eyes on Massachusetts-based Cape Ann's Pumpkin Stout, which falls soundly in the savory camp. Fresh pumpkin meat, combined with allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, highlight this rich and creamy stout. Though it rocks a 7 percent ABV, the Pumpkin Stout remains way drinkable.
Midnight Sun T.R.E.A.T.
Coming to you from Alaska, this Midnight Sun T.R.E.A.T. -- The Royal Eccentric Ale Treatment -- is an imperial chocolate pumpkin porter concocted with cocoa nibs, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. The porter pours out deep-brown, and is best served in a snifter so you can savor the flavors that are by turns bittersweet, chocolaty and pie-like. Happily, T.R.E.A.T. never gets cloying.
Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale:
I visited Maine recently, and everyone was mad for Portland-based Shipyard's Pumpkinhead. That's because the wheat-based brew is far crisper and more refreshing than the average Halloween-themed ale. Light flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg, along with a 5.1 percent ABV, seal the easy-drinking deal.
Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale:
Seattle's Elysian has made a cottage industry out of pumpkin beers, with a trio available every fall. Stout lovers can sip the smoky, creamy Dark o' the Moon, while others can slurp the imperial-strength Great Pumpkin. Me? I make room for the Night Owl, made with raw and roasted pumpkin seeds.
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale:
Named after Delaware's famous Punkin Chunkin pumpkin-tossing competition, Punkin is a robust brown ale that gets its sweet, well-spiced profile from pumpkin, organic brown sugar and judicious doses of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. This malty brew is a fine fall potion.
Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale:
Once upon a time, colonial brewers made beer with squash and pumpkin. Were they experimental? Nah, just thrifty. Imported malt was expensive, man. New Hampshire's Smuttynose has created a seasonal homage to America's original craft brewers. Fruity, earthy and slightly malt-sweet, Pumpkin is a superb session ale.
Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin:
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9-18-2010 @7:41AM danny danzompa said... I happened upon this beer in Fells Point in Baltimore at Max’s and after many years of tasting, and even one attempt at brewing my own, pumpkin beers, this was what I was always wanting, but never finding in a pumpkin beer. All hail the Pumpking!
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=3364277
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9-20-2010 @10:23AM Chris said... Southern Tier's Pumking does not have any pumpkin puree. It's only spiced.
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9-20-2010 @3:45PM Amber said... I'm shocked Post Road Pumpkin Ale didn't make this list. It is by far the best pumpkin beer I've ever had.
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9-20-2010 @3:56PM dsmith said... I've been wanting to try the Sam Adams pumpkin ale, as Sam Adams is my favorite every day beer anyway, but I really don't want to buy the whole Harvest collection...I really wish they just sold it in 6 packs.
I have yet to find a pumpkin ale that truely tastes pumpkin-y enough for my tastes. Maybe this will be the year.
http://urbanmanna.com
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