With so many different pumpkin beers available I set off to determine which seasonal ales are worth buying every fall and which taste like moldy cinnamon. I ended my search with 23 pumpkin beers (no Oktoberfests – the label had to indicate a pumpkin flavor). These are not all the pumpkin brews in the world, just the ones I found by visiting five stores in Madison, Wisconsin. I enlisted Alex to help me drink through the fridge overflowing with beer (it was hard to convince him). Below are our unscientific results. And if it isn’t painfully obvious, I am not a professional or even amateur beer taster and rater. I just like fall. And pumpkin. And beer.

Full ranking, listed from tasty to gag-worthy on a scale of 10 to zero pumpkins. (Alcohol content is also listed):

#1 Capital Brewery Pumpkinataur, 7.5%: 10/10 pumpkins
#2 New Holland Brewing Ichabod Ale, 5.2%: 10/10 pumpkins
#3 O’Fallon Brewery Pumpkin Beer, 5.7%: 9/10 pumpkins
#4 Stevens Point Brewery Pumpkin Ale, 7.5%: 8/10 pumpkins
#5 Wasatch Pumpkin Ale, 4.0%: 8/10 pumpkins
#6 New Belgium,Pumpkick, 6%: 7/10 pumpkins
#7 Samuel Adams Fat Jack, 8.5%: 7/10 pumpkins
#8 KBC Pumpkin Ale, 4.7%: 7/10 pumpkins
#9 Southern Tier Brewing Company Pumking, 8.6%: 6/10
#10 Tyranena Brewing  Co. Painted Ladies Pumpkin Spice Ale, 7.25%: 6/10 pumpkins
#11 Milwaukee Brewing Co. Sasquash, 5.6%: 6/10 pumpkins
#12 Lakefront Brewery, Inc. Pumpkin, 5.8%: 5/10 pumpkins
#13 Smuttynose Brewing Co. Pumpkin Ale, 6.3%: 5/10 pumpkins
#14 Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, 8%: 5/10 pumpkins
#15 Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale, 5.7%: 5/10 pumpkins
#16 Shipyard Brewing Co. Smashed Pumpkin, 9%: 4/10 pumpkins
#17 Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale, 5.7%: 4/10 pumpkins
#18 Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat, 5.2%: 3/10 pumpkins
#19 Alaskan Pumpkin Porter, 7%: 2/10 pumpkins
#20 Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co. Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale, 10%: 1/10 pumpkins
#21 ACE Premium Hard Ciders Hard Pumpkin Cider, 5%: 1/10 pumpkins
#22 Shipyard Brewing Co. Pumpkinhead, 4.5%: 0/10
#23 Tommyknocker Brewery Small Patch Pumpkin Harvest Ale, 5%: 0/10 pumpkins

Alphabetical list with notes:

ACE Premium Hard Ciders, Hard Pumpkin Cider, 5%: 1/10 pumpkins
This is the only cider (not ale or lager) in the mix. And it tastes absolutely nothing like pumpkin. Not even a hint. A glass of apple juice? Yes. I gave it a 1 because it’s not bad tasting, it’s actually pretty good. It’s just not pumpkin.


Alaskan Pumpkin Porter, 7%: 2/10 pumpkins
Where’s the pumpkin? This is a heavy (and very dark beer) that claims pumpkin potentacy but instead tastes very smokey. They used “alder-smoked malt” to make it and you can tell. It’s like drinking a campfire.


Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co., Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale, 10%: 1/10 pumpkins
It’s like a pumpkin decided to take a bath in rubbing alcohol. Super boozey and more of a mix drink than a beer. Might have something to do with those bourbon barrels they age it in. The plus side is, you probably only need one or two and you’re good for the night.


Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale, 5.7%: 5/10 pumpkins
Nothing special to note but of the mass-produced seasonal microbrews, this one is better than Shock Top and Samuel Adams. Isn’t particularly bad or good tasting but you can buy it almost anywhere.

Capital Brewery Pumpkinataur, 7.5%: 10/10 pumpkins
Delicious. Perfectly spiced, cinnamon comes out the most but it’s not overwhelming. Sweet, definitely a dessert beer. Perhaps the best thing about it: No weird aftertaste of spices that some of the brews had.


KBC Pumpkin Ale, 4.7%: 7/10 pumpkins
A really great pumpkin taste. Super light. Could drink several (and we did). I found it at Trader Joes and I think that’s the only place you can buy it.


Lakefront Brewery, Inc. Pumpkin, 5.8%: 5/10 pumpkins
I really wanted this to be amazing. It wasn’t outstanding and had a strange aftertaste. It’s not heavy though, it’s light and a tiny bit sweet.


Milwaukee Brewing Co. Sasquash, 5.6%: 6/10 pumpkins
This one is mixed with sweet potato and I was very excited about that. It’s OK, not great. The sweet potato does come through, the pumpkin does not. But since it’s a Wisconsin beer they get extra points (no one said this was fair).


New Belgium,Pumpkick, 6%: 7/10 pumpkins
Pretty tasty, nice sweet flavor plus it’s available in most stores. It’s brewed with cranberry juice, a nice addition that none of the others beers had.


New Holland Brewing Ichabod Ale, 5.2%: 9/10 pumpkins
Alex’s favorite. You could taste the cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin. It was smooth and had a great nutmeg aftertaste (better than the hard alcohol aftertaste of Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale).


O’Fallon Brewery Pumpkin Beer, 5.7%: 9/10 pumpkins
Perfect pumpkin balance and sweet tasting. Almost put it as a 10 but Pumpkinataur beat it.


Samuel Adams Fat Jack, 8.5%: 7/10 pumpkins
The high octane version of Sam Adam’s other pumpkin beer Harvest Pumpkin Ale. If given the choice of Sam Adams, get this one. Good flavor.


Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale, 5.7%: 4/10 pumpkins
The good news is it didn’t taste terrible. It just didn’t have much pumpkin taste. It seemed more like an Oktoberfest than an pumpkin ale.


Shipyard Brewing Co. Pumpkinhead, 4.5%: 0/10
Absolutely foul. The only pumpkin beer in this experiment that we couldn’t finish. It tasted like a sour Coca-Cola. It is a malted ale but that doesn’t explain this sour, teeth-coating beverage. Gross.


Shipyard Brewing Co. Smashed Pumpkin, 9.0%: 4/10
This one clocked in at the most expensive. I already hated it going in because I shelled out $12 for ONE BOTTLE (24 oz. So two beers. But still). Has a malty/soda taste just like Shipyard Pumpkinhead. It wasn’t completely undrinkable and the label is pretty.


Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat, 5.2%: 3/10 pumpkins
Watered-down pumpkin. It’s in there but you’re going to have reach to taste it. Drink only in an emergency, when full-flavored pumpkin beer is not available.


Smuttynose Brewing Co., Pumpkin Ale, 6.3%: 5/10 pumpkins
This is a standard pumpkin beer. Nothing special, middle of the road, not overly pumpkiny, kinda hoppy. Drink this if you’re looking for a medicore pumpkin experience.


Southern Tier Brewing Company Pumking, 8.6%: 6/10
This beer had to work pretty hard. I heard good things going into it (things like “greatest pumpkin beer ever”) and expected it to be the best of the bunch. Well, it’s not. It tastes like a weird pie. A strange sweet taste that isn’t great. There is a subtle hint of caramel but not enough to save the beer.


Stevens Point Brewery Pumpkin Ale, 7.5%: 8/10 pumpkins
Great tasting and really smooth. Has a hint of caramel. Lots of pumpkin flavor (in a good way).


Tommyknocker Brewery, Small Patch Pumpkin Harvest Ale, 5%: 0/10 pumpkins
This doesn’t count as a pumpkin beer because there was zero pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin beer fail.


Tyranena Brewing  Co. Painted Ladies Pumpkin Spice Ale, 7.25%: 6/10 pumpkins
I’ve had a few Tyranena beers and never liked any of them so maybe this one was losing going in. But it’s actually pretty good. Good pumpkin taste, beware of the sharp aftertaste.


Wasatch Pumpkin Ale, 4.0%: 8/10 pumpkins
Caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg. It’s all in here, tastes really nice like eating a dessert. The pumpkin doesn’t come out super strong but that’s alright. A delicious beer.


Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, 8%: 5/10 pumpkins
Very strong tasting and not a lot of pumpkin. Allegedly there is  pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon and cloves in this beer. But I tasted all cloves. If you’re a cloves fan, this is for you.

*I also tried Flying Dog The Fear Pumpkin Ale on tap (blech, tasted like cold garbage) and I searched for one of my old favorites, Potosi Pumpkin Ale, and didn’t find it.

Overall takeaways:

• Sometimes the less pumpkin taste the better the beer tasted.
• Alcohol content was incredibly important – it’s easy to see from our ratings the lower the alcohol the better they tasted (usually).
• Almost every single pumpkin beer was an ale, interesting trend.
• A great label and catchy name do not make for a great pumpkin beer. Some of the best had pretty terrible labels.
• A lot of pumpkin beers are pretty horrible tasting. Taste with caution.

Which are your favorite pumpkin beers? Did I miss out on some good ones?