7 pumpkin beers to try during the short but sweet season

Fall is officially here — one of Minnesota’s loveliest seasons. The days are getting shorter. Leaves are beginning to take on color. The air is clear and slightly crisp. Bright orange pumpkins and oddly shaped, wart-covered decorative gourds are everywhere.

The appearance of pumpkins brings with it the appearance of pumpkin beers. Love them or hate them, their short season is here. You might not want to drink them year-round, but while they’re here they make for a pleasantly appropriate autumnal treat.

Pumpkin beers have a long history in the United States. With barley in short supply and expensive to import, early European colonists turned to native-growing plants to source the sugars needed to make beer, among them pumpkins and squash. The first Thanksgiving is said to have included ales made with pumpkin.

Modern pumpkin beers originated as a gimmick in the mid-1980s. California brewpub owner Bill Owens didn’t want to waste a giant gourd he had grown in his backyard. He brought it to his pub, roasted it, and added it to a spiced amber ale. Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale was an instant success with pub patrons. Its popularity led him to bottle it, making it the country’s first commercially distributed pumpkin ale.

Pumpkins don’t have much flavor. Like pumpkin pie, most pumpkin beers rely on spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger to convey the effect. Some don’t even contain pumpkin. Typically malt-forward, the toasted and caramelized grains give the creamy body and graham cracker flavor of pumpkin custard and crust.

Here is a patch of pumpkin options to enhance your October.

For a lighter alternative to the typically full-bodied, full-flavored pumpkin ales, try Post Road Pumpkin Ale from New York’s Brooklyn Brewing Co. Spice, malt and gourd are all there, but in a package that is light, crisp and lager-like — think spiced Vienna lager. Cinnamon is the primary spice with underlying nutmeg and ginger. Caramel and graham cracker sweetness mid-palate give way to a clean, dry finish.

Another light option is New Holland Brewing Company’s Ichabod. The Michigan brewery starts this one with a full-on hit of nutmeg and allspice. The expected creamy, caramel and toasty malt quickly comes in to balance it. It’s rich, but not heavy. At just 4.5% alcohol and with more subdued flavors and lighter body, this is one that allows for a couple of pints.

Pumpkinhead from Shipyard Brewing Co. in Maine is an old-timer of the pumpkin ale genre. It’s also the lightest of this lot. Pale and wheat malt give a toasty, bready base that is subtly enhanced by a light touch of cinnamon. Nutmeg and ginger are also present at even lower levels. Moderate bitterness and a touch of spicy hops finish the picture. It’s like a lightly spiced, bready blond ale.

Shipyard goes big with Smashed Pumpkin, a 9% alcohol imperial pumpkin ale. Though creamy, rich and very full-flavored, the overall impression doesn’t reveal its actual heft. It leans heavily on malt, with caramel, toast and graham melding nicely with sweet notes of roasted squash. But it’s well balanced for such a big beer. Nutmeg, cinnamon and spicy hops provide a sturdy counterpoint.

Roadsmary’s Baby from Connecticut’s Two Roads Brewing Co. is an intensely flavored beer brewed with spices and vanilla beans and aged in rum barrels. The full body and custard-creamy texture suggest a beer that is much bigger than its 6.8% alcohol. Complex layers of rum, pumpkin, graham cracker and spice meld beautifully and change as the beer warms in the glass. Vanilla is prominent but tastes natural and doesn’t overwhelm.

If you are a Trader Joe’s shopper, try Howling Gourds from the chain’s proprietary Josephsbrau Brewing Co. It’s sweeter than the other examples I’ve tasted. The malt has a caramel and chocolate character that is reminiscent of a doppelbock, along with the higher alcohol that typifies that style. The spices are a subtle background note to start, but become stronger as the beer warms, highlighting ginger especially. I wish it were less sweet, but for a slow sipper, it’s not bad.

When I make “pumpkin” pie at home, I typically use sweet potatoes. My yam-averse family can’t tell the difference. Indeed Brewing Co. in Minneapolis has taken the same approach with Yamma Jamma, a rich amber ale made with spices, vanilla and sweet potatoes. While it’s a bit more bitter than many pumpkin beers, malt and potato are still the main players, enhanced by notes of molasses and brown sugar. Ginger is the standout spice, with cinnamon close behind. Vanilla serves to enhance other flavors and create an impression of sweetness more than being an obvious flavor of its own.

Michael Agnew is a certified cicerone (beer-world version of sommelier) and owner of A Perfect Pint. He conducts private and corporate beer tasting events in the Twin Cities, and can be reached at michael@aperfectpint.net.