Hey, all my peeps from the Planet X. Now is the time to go out and sample some of those mighty fine tasty pumpkin beers! Most of them will be pumpkin ALES, but there are so many styles to choose from that use pumpkin and seasonal spices as their ingredients.

In my experience, Shipyard’s Pumpkin Ale and Post Road’s Pumpkin Ale are always a good choice. They tend to keep the recipe very similar from year-to-year and are always a safe choice for someone just getting into this realm of craft brew. Weyerbacher’s pumpkin stuff is also very good, especially their Imperial Pumpkin Ale, which is modelled after Russian Imperial Stout. Keep in mind that the Imperial pumpkin is going to be very, very thick and heavy, with a higher alcohol content. It’s going to be maltier as well, as stouts are wont to be.

"Blue Moon" (actually Coors) makes a mighty dandy pumpkin seasonal beer, too, but I haven’t seen it out yet. Keep your eyes peeled… It’s usually good stuff.

Another excellent low-budget choice would be Saranac’s pumpkin ale. They even come in growlers with a nice big jack o’ lantern face on them. You can reuse their growlers to keep your change in. That’s what I do. I cut a slit in the top of the cap, wash out the growler, and use it for spare change/piggy banks. A growler is a large little jug of beer, by the way. I say large and little together because it’s not a huge jug, it’s a wee little jug, but bigger than a pint.

There are also some really great brews with pumpkin that are available in larger single bottles. Do keep in mind that, for the more exotic stuff, you may expect to pay upwards of $8 to $12 a bottle depending on where you are. These are for the singles. 6-packs can also cost a bit. Post Road, Shipyard, and Blue Moon’s seasonal pumpkin brews are more affordable, so I’d start with those. Weyerbacher’s stuff… I’d strongly recommend paying the higher price for a bottle of their Imperial pumpkin ale. There’s a pumpkin with a crown and a pimp cane on the bottle, and it’ll get you wasted at 8% to 9% ABV (alcohol content)! It’s like very heavy, malty, liquid pumpkin pie!

One of the more expensive ones is Dogfish’s Punkin’ ale. It only comes in a 4 pack in a very limited run so get on that… It’s sometimes hit or miss though, but it’s nice to say you tried it!

Who else loves pumpkin beer?