- Julia Thiel
Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale: According to the Internet, this is Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale, labeled for sale at Trader Joe’s. It smells like gingerbread and tastes intensely gingery with a little clove, which I liked until the sweetness came through and overpowered all the other flavors.
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Hoppin’ Frog Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin: I know, the name is a mouthful. The brewery is Hoppin’ Frog, and the beer is called Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin. And it’s pretty great. It tastes like ginger and lemon in addition to the traditional pumpkin-pie spices, making it a very bright, clean-tasting pumpkin beer, different from any I’ve tasted. It also has a higher ABV than most—8.4 percent—but doesn’t taste like it.
Dryhop Starry Night in Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Stout: This tasted like a very dry stout, with roasty coffee flavors and no discernible pumpkin or spices. As a stout, it was fine but not particularly exciting.
Atlas Phantasmagourdia: Brewed in collaboration with 5 Rabbit, this ale contains roasted pumpkins as well as coriander, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and piloncillo sugar. It smells oddly fruity, but tastes like nice combination of spices—there’s not a lot of sweetness, but it does have a noticeable honey flavor. I couldn’t taste the peppercorns at first, but several sips in, the heat began to slowly build. Unlike many pumpkin beers, this is one I could drink a full pint of. I think it also wins in the naming category.
