I think Pabst Brewing Company partners with these guys now, but I'm not usually interested in Woodchuck anyway. This brew is another example of why I Don't Care. I really shouldn't even put the ciders in this list, but who cares? This will be one of the only ones. This one tastes like a cheap cider with some pumpkin pie spice added. Not that much though. I think some people may like this because of the same reasons I don't like it. It's light, spiced just enough to give a cinnamon-apple flavor. But it's kinda artificial tasting, like candy. See ya!
24. HARVEST PATCH SHANDY (Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.) ABV: 4.20%
Review dated 9-9-16. Watched video of The Misfits reunion show from Riotfest this night. We all thought this was pretty much Pumpkin Pie in a bottle. Very light in color and there's no alcohol bite. It's a shandy and its fizzy but not overjuiced. Says it's brewed with honey and I think the honey adds more to the sweet flavor than it stands out by itself. A sixer is too much though, it's just too much of a treat. I really recommend this one if you find it in a place where you can build your own six pack or if you get a six pack of this and something else to break up the sweetness. I'm hoping they still have this where I got it so I can have one on Halloween.
25. FUNKY PUMPKIN (Boulevard Brewing Co.) ABV: 5.8%
I've been a fan of Boulevard's beers for awhile and was slightly skeptical about this offering when I first saw it. I just thought they could do something a lil more with a pumpkin beer. This one turned out to be much better than I expected. Get it fresh, which may be kinda late by now(10-24-16), but despite using the Brett I think this one tasted better without any aging. I dunno, maybe this year I'll sit on one longer. I got it in Fall 2015 and the bottle had a best by date of 1-11-16(but no born on date? That's my only complaint with this!) so it was gone before X-Mas. It's very earthy, very yeasty. It is fer shure a sour beer with a slight Brett taste in there, and they make no secret about using pumpkin pie spice and barely any real pumpkin at all so I appreciate what they're trying to do. I think they're just trying too hard. I did enjoy this even more after it warmed up a bit too. But if you dig the tart beers or something a bit different and see this at the beer store, grab it.
26. JACK-O TRAVELER PUMPKIN SHANDY (The Traveler Beer Co.) ABV: 4.4%
It was 10-24-16. I took a Halloween walk with Amber to look at the big Halloween displays in our favorite Halloween part of town. Poltergeist 2 was on Comet when we got home. I was down with a pumpkin beer. I cracked this fella open. Even though I had it before, there were no notes to reference. I should've known better. Not that it's bad. First thing is the aroma. Like a cinnamon apple soda. With maybe some lemoniness. The taste is very similar, and to me was almost potpourri-ish. It's another fizzy, soda like shandy. As I stood outside smoking a cigarette and listening to the owls hooting at each other down the street and through the park, as the air felt quiet and a soft breeze tip-toed through the warm autumn air, I wished I had opened a different pumpkin beer. Then I went inside and watched Nightmare on Elm Street til we fell asleep.
27. PUMPKIN LAGER (Lakefront Brewery) ABV: 6%
Hey now! A lager! Not an ale! And they sure didn't hold back on that pumpkin pie spice either! Damn, I wanted a good pumpkin lager. This is almost as spiced as pumpkinhead(check out the review in part 2), but there does seem to be a taste of real pumpkin in there. Not enough though. This is basically a better pumpkinhead, and I would recommend this to people that want to get a variety six pack and can pick 5 other beers or people that want to experiment for Halloween. If you're a pumpkin beer person, try it for the fact that it's one of the only punkin lagers round here.
28. BRANDY BARREL AGED IMPERIAL PUMPKIN LAGER (Lakefront Brewery) ABV: 8%
I guess this is the same beer, just aged in brandy barrels??! This was good. Maybe not the same beer! I still remember this one from a couple years ago. It was in a 12 oz bottle and the notes do not say if this was in a four pack or a sixer. This was their fall seasonal offering in their 25th anniversary series. They released an anniversary brew in winter, a different one in spring, a different one in summer and this one in the fall. Or maybe they started in spring and ended in winter. Anyway, 4 seasons, 4 seasonal anniversary beers. This was one of the boozier offerings and although I felt there was a real pumpkin flavor here and there, sometimes you feel like it's a shot of brandy with pumpkin pie spice in it. But don't let that put you off because those barrels also add a vanilla hint and a earthy feel and those blend very well with the pumpkin and spices. This was a good strong beer and reminded me of some of the bombers I tried.
BONUS!
29. IMPERIAL PUMPKIN PIE PORTER (Terrapin Beer Company) ABV: 9.2%
This was available in bombers, but I had it in a snifter at a bar. Otherwise I would've added it to the previous reviews. It was the third release in a series by Terrapin in 2014 I believe. This was a lot better than some of the other pumpkin porters I had but still didn't quite get past the wateriness I see in porters these days. It's a "roasted-pumpkinseed baked into a pie with crusty goodness" beer and one of the best ones I've had. Saw it around a few times before I tried it, and never after. If anybody has a bottle out there, let me know. Again, another reason to never pass a pumpkin bomber because they seem to hit everything right every time. Almost.
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