Jake and I scoured the shelves of a bunch of different distributors and shops for some of the most iconic fall beers and pumpkin ales. We definitely left out a few, but here are some of our favorites and least favorites for fall 2018.
*** Please excuse some of these terribly lit photos... it's been getting darker out and I refused to drink beer in the morning for this blog post lol ***
1. Pumking from Southern Tier Brewing Co
Although this imperial pumpkin ale is on the pricey side, it is flipping delicious! This is, hands down, the best tasting option for those looking for the perfect fall beer. It's crisp and light while also providing a rich pumpkin flavor, because it is brewed with pumpkin pie spices!
2. Oktoberfest from Sierra Nevada
This Oktoberfest is the best one we've tried this season. It has a nice amber color and plenty of carbonation. This malt beer with a little bit of hop is a great autumn beer to pair with those comfort foods.
3. ACE Pumpkin Craft Cider
This is definitely not a beer. This is 100% cider. It is so so good though. ACE makes a bunch of other tasty flavors too, my favorite being the pineapple, but this pumpkin cider is sweet and autumnal. For all of you who don't like beer, you have to grab an ACE pumpkin cider.
4. Punkin Ale from Dogfish Head
Dogfish Head is a solid brand, so we decided to give their Punkin Ale a shot. It is a good, crisp ale with subtle hints of pumpkin, spices, and brown sugar. It is definitely more of a subtle ale than Pumking, but for the price, Dogfish Head offers a great pumpkin beer.
5. Octoberfest from Samuel Adams
Sam Adams offers a few different autumnal beers, in a sampler pack even, but we decided to go with the Octoberfest beer to compare with the Yuengling Oktoberfest. They are strikingly similar, both good, but they aren't as festive as the above choices. This beer is crisp with a good head and some carbonation.
6. Oktoberfest from Yuengling
Yuengling is our go-to PA beer, so naturally we had to try the Oktoberfest version. As I said above, this Oktoberfest is very similar to the Samuel Adams beer. The only reason I put it a little lower on the list is that it isn't better than the classic Yuengling. Yes, it does have that extra malt flavor, but not so much that it seems super special.
7. Devious Imperial Pumpkin from Fegley's Brewworks
This malty ale is rich, but it lacks that big pumpkin flavor like that of Pumking or the Dogfish Head brand. It isn't a bad beer, but it doesn't have those strong autumnal spices. The one thing Devious has over the others is its 9% alcohol content.
8. Festbier from Victory Brewing Company
Finally, we tried the Victory Brewing Oktoberfest lager. This one was not our favorite on the list when up against those flavorful competitors. Although Festbier wasn't the best, I highly recommend checking out Victory's Golden Money and Sour Monkey beers.
Cheers!
-KB