Fall 'Six Picks': Top pumpkin ales from local breweries
Fans of craft beer know that there's nothing better this time of year than a sweet ale to go along with locally harvested pumpkins. Whether you like a little cinnamon sugar on the rim or your brew straight up, you'll enjoy our roundup of local pumpkin ales available this season.
Gourd Reaper
Narragansett Brewery offers this seasonal favorite in their Providence tasting room and canned to-go. We sampled a glass, and discovered it to be a delicious brew, a bit heavier than other ales, with a nice balance between sweet and bitter. If you order it at the brewery, be sure to get your glass rimmed in cinnamon. 6.2 ABV,for more.
I enjoyed a pint of Blackjack Pumpkin on a recent visit to one of the state's premiere tasting rooms, Tilted Barn Brewery. This stout, brewed from pumpkins grown right on the farm, is a heavy dark beer, with a mild pumpkin taste. It felt more like a traditional stout, with hints of coffee and chocolate. Recommended for fans of stouts. 7% ABV,for more.
#PumpkinBeer
No, that's not a misplaced hashtag; Whaler's is just keeping it simple with their #PumpkinBeer, a nice seasonal selection described as "a rich caramel body and notes of warm pumpkin pie with a brown sugar and cinnamon finish." Add it to your list – available canned and on tap at the brewery. 7.8% ABV,for more.
Ungourdly Hour
Newport Craft Brewing and Distilling is serving two varieties of pumpkin ale this season. Ungourdly House (6.3 ABV) is a Belgian-style wit Bier that pours pale and hazy and is steeped in pumpkin pie spices, including cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. They also have Barrel Aged Pumpkin Strong Ale, a dark ale aged and blended in Sea Fog Whiskey & Thomas Tew Rum Barrels. With "overtones of whiskey, undertones of rum, and notes of fudge, sherry." 9.5 ABV,for more.
Phantom Pumpkin
Earlier this season, I was able to sample Phantom Pumpkin, a tasty brew from Phantom Farms Brewery made with pumpkins harvested from the Cumerland farm and Austral Pepper from the Patagonia region of Chile. The beer features a unique blend of spiced aromas and flavors. Highly recommended! 7% ABV,for more.
Wicked Squashed Pumpkin Ale
Taproot Brewery's Imperial Pumpkin is a dark ale that wins the prize for highest alcohol content coming in at 13.8% ABV. The Wicked Squashed Pumpkin Ale, "matured in bourbon barrels for over a year, Autumn spiced with a barrel-aged kick." 13.8 ABV,for more.
BONUS BREW: The Subtle Art of Pumpkining the Word Ale
