#57 Southern Tier Warlock (The Last Pumpkin Patch Ride)

If you didn't catch it in the title, this is more than likely my last Pumpkin beer for 2015. I've run out of places to look. I think the stock has dried up. After visiting Michigan and Ohio to see if they had some I'd missed, I have resigned my search.

You know how I said Pumking was my #2 Pumpkin beer in 2014. Warlock is the reason it was #2. Warlock was easily my favorite Pumpkin beer last year. Those two beers are mostly what convinced me to do this list this year. And because Warlock was my favorite last year, I saved it for last this year. Let's hope it's the best.

Taste: Dang it, it's not. But, it's still freakin' good. I got a great initial pumpkin taste, followed by some sour that I didn't remember from last year, before getting a great sweet aftertaste.
Smell: Pumpkin, toffee, caramel, and cinnamon. A glorious bouquet.
Color: Dune (#292726)
Stars: 7/10
Buy Again?: Yes

#56 Ace Pumpkin Hard Cider

Sigh. Ciders go 1 for 3.

Taste: I swear to god, this is Granny Smith Apple Cider. I hate Granny Smith Apples. So stupid sour. Little pumpkin. Little Cinnamon. Kill my tongue with fire.
Smell: Cinnamon, pumpkin, and apple.
Color: My Sin (#FEB623)
Stars: 1/10
Buy Again?: OH GOD NO!

#55 Jack O'Traveler Pumpkin Shandy

If this is even 75% as good as the Leinenkugel, it's going to be amazing. I really love the Strawberry beer that Traveler puts out, so I'm very hopeful for this one.

Taste: There must be something about Shandies. This is awesome. A great cinnamon and pumpkin taste. If there's spice, I don't taste it. Great.
Smell: Sweet cinnamon and pumpkin
Color: Copper Canyon (#7C3710)
Stars: 7.5/10
Buy Again?: Yes

#54 Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale

I could withhold this information, but I kinda feel like I should tell people this. This was my second beer of the night and it made me drunk. At 10% ABV, this beer hits hard. All that being said, I love bourbon-barrel beers. If you love bourbon and haven't tried any of the Kentucky Barrel Ales, your life has a hole in it that this brewery will fill.

Taste: Holy BeJesus, did I mention it was 10%? Great bourbon taste, but not a ton of pumpkin came with it unfortunately. That's what separates this and the Hoppin Frog.
Smell: Bourbon and the smallest whiff of pumpkin ever.
Color: Hairy Heath (#6F2E13)
Stars: 6.5/10
Buy Again?: Yes

#53 Harpoon Pumpkin Cider

I don't even care about spoiling this one. I'm so glad I stopped after the Leinenkugel beer last time because this would have ruined all the good mojo I got from the Shandy. If you like sour ciders, this might be for you.

Taste: So sour. Wish I had a tongue scraper. I detect cinnamon and apple, but not much pumpkin. Not at all like Woodchuck.
Smell: Sweet cinnamon cider.
Color: Tussock (#AF963E)
Stars: 4/10
Buy Again?: No

#52 Leinenkugel Harvest Patch Shandy

This is the only Pumpkin Shandy that I found. Leinenkugel makes one of my favorite beers ever, the Summer Shandy, and I have such high hopes for this Pumpkin beer.

Taste: My hopes and dreams have come true! This is amazing. This is pumpkin pie in a bottle. Sign me up for next year. I'll be buying it by the case.
Smell: Very sweet Pumpkin and Cinnamon
Color: Rope (#8E611B)
Stars: 9/10
Buy Again?: OH GOD YES!!!

#51 Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

Hype may have hurt this one, too. After the Dogfish Head, this was my most anticipated beer. It was still really good. Better than Dogfish. Just not "I won the lottery" good.

Taste: A creamy cinnamon flavor followed by a wonderful pumpkin taste. It's really a delight.
Smell: Sweet pumpkin and cinnamon.
Color: Mocha (#7B2C1B)
Stars: 7/10
Buy Again?: Yes

#50 Saugatuck Pumpkin Chai

After enforcing Gitmo's next torture technique upon my mouth, I decided to throw caution into the wind. How bad could Pumpkin Chai be? While I've heard of Pumpkin Spice Lattes I've never heard of Pumpkin Chai. Dear god, this isn't going to be worse, is it?


Taste: Thank god, it isn't. It's not good. But it's still leagues better than the Pumpkin Spice Latte. It hilariously does not taste like chai. It tastes nutty. It has no pumpkin taste. I'm befuddled, but still thankful it's not worse than the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Smell: Should I have consumed something that smelled like burnt hair? Well, too late now.
Color: Cherrywood (#5E1716)
Stars: 4.5/10
Buy Again?: No

#49 Atwater Pumpkin Spice Latte

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is a Pumpkin Spice Latte beer.

Have you ever been having the greatest dream ever and someone wakes you up by farting in your face? I haven't either. But I imagine this beer offers the same experience.


Taste: After the Nirvana-esque experience I had with Woodchuck, Atwater may have killed me. This tasted exactly like how I think perfume might taste. No hyperbole there. I'm absolutely serious. If this is what Pumpkin Spice Lattes tasted like, Starbucks would no longer exist.
Smell: Weird, awful smell. Like the beer had molded.
Color: Pueblo (#7B2714)
Stars: 0.5/10
Buy Again?: GOD NO!

#48 Woodchuck Hard Cider Private Reserve Pumpkin

Confession time. I have stockpiled the somewhat specialty beers until the end. By this I mean the Ciders, Shandies, Bourbon-Barrel Ales, etc. If this cider is any indication of things to come, I'm a genius.


Taste: It's like Red Apples and Pumpkins and oh my god, it is ****ing perfect. I can't recommend this enough. Pumpkin Cider sounded like a nightmare to me, but Woodchuck NAILED THIS. I wish I had 30 more.
Smell: Like Red Apples and Pumpkins
Color: Korma (#97370E)
Stars: 9.5/10
Buy Again?: YES! YES! YES! WOODCHUCK IN HEAVEN, YES!

#47 Hoppin' Frog Double Hollow Double Pumpkin

Couple points:
1. I did not know they made a regular version of this. Pretty dumb of me to be honest.
2. This was only $10. I can't believe how much bourbon adds to the cost of this beer. And yes, i bought these from the same liquor store.

This is a beer, much like the inferior Sam Adams, where I wish they'd stop production on this beer and just focus on the clearly superior beer.

Taste: I guess I like bourbon, because this beer is nowhere near as good. I got Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Pumpkin. I guess the bourbon masked those flavors before.
Smell: Pumpkin, cinnamon, and ginger
Color: Cedar (#472317)
Stars: 5.5/10
Buy Again?: No