Brewing pumpkin beer comes with very little structure or rules that must be followed. You can find pumpkin beers with a base of a standard ale, a heavy stout, a coffee porter, a sour ale, a Märzen lager, and so many other styles that can be utilized with pumpkin.

Most pumpkin beers taste great, but my second reason for being so interested in this style is that pumpkin/yam beers were a popular style in early American societies. Many scholars believe that, around 1620, colonial brewers used pumpkins and squash—among many other adjuncts containing natural sugars—to help with fermentation. In Joshua M. Bernstein’s The Complete Beer Course, he explains:

“To stretch out the costly grain, crafty brewers grabbed anything and everything that contained fermentable sugars and flavor, such as Jerusalem artichokes, persimmons, spruce tips, molasses, corn, and pumpkins.”

When enjoying pumpkin beer, we can go out on a limb and say that we’re drinking ales and lagers similar to what colonials consumed over 400 years ago. Thankfully, our society has the resources to craft more palatable pumpkin beers than those brewed by our ancestors. Read on to learn about some of Houston’s own renditions of this broad style!

“Pumpkin Spice Oktoberfest” – Saloon Door Brewing

While I’m not sure how German brewers feel about it, I’m a big fan of using pumpkin to add a little fun to a classic Märzen-style lager.

This version of Saloon Door’s classic Oktoberfest lager has organic pumpkin puree and spices added. The brewers achieved a perfect balance in what I believe was the intent of this brew. The adjuncts are present and welcome but not too robust, allowing the base beverage to shine. I enjoyed the light scent of cinnamon and subtle taste of pumpkin upfront, with the malty, lightly hoppy finish you’d expect from a quality Oktoberfest/Märzen lager.

“Nightmare on 1st Street” – No Label Brewing Company

If you enjoy vintage slasher films like I do, you might appreciate this beer just for its name. Of course, it comes with cool artwork and marketing to match.

As fun as this beer is, drink it slowly—it clocks in at 9.27% ABV, making it the second-strongest beer on this list.

What makes this pumpkin beer unique is No Label’s use of an imperial amber ale as the base. The beer is bready and malty, with light notes of caramel or toffee. On top of that, cinnamon and ginger take center stage as the dominant flavors. No Label suggests pairing this beer with roast turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, and I think they nailed it.

“Nightmare on 1st Street” is a perfect addition to this list of late fall treats, guaranteed to warm you up on a cool Houston night.

“Pumpkin Coffee Porter” – H Town Brewing Co.

H Town Brewing Co. may have been first this season to release a pumpkin beer in the greater Houston area.

“Pumpkin Coffee Porter” is a coffee porter first and a pumpkin beer second. It has a rich coffee flavor with a light scent of pumpkin to complement it. The beer’s consistency is on the lighter side for a porter, a welcome trait when enjoyed outdoors on a warm September afternoon.

“Yeller Weller Pumpkin Spice” – Elder Son Brewery

Elder Son Brewery has a seasonal milk stout called “Yeller Weller,” a semi-sweet, well-balanced dark beer with vanilla bean added. This October, they released both the seasonal ale and a pumpkin variant called “Yeller Weller Pumpkin Spice.”

This 5.7% ABV milk stout has light coffee and chocolate notes from its base beer, complemented by fall spices and pumpkin flavor. This beer is a sweet treat and my current favorite dessert beer in town.

“Pumpkinator (2024)” – Saint Arnold Brewing Company

No list of Houston-area pumpkin beers would be complete without our region’s most popular pumpkin beer: “Pumpkinator.”

This heavily layered, complex stout is perfect for sipping slowly. Each sip brings new flavors to the palate. The 2024 version offers robust notes of pumpkin, brown sugar, and molasses up front, balanced by the black coffee flavors typical of this style.

“Pumpkinator” earns high regard not just for its flavor but also for being brewed with real pumpkin—a brewing practice that seems to be fading.

Finally, one of my favorite things about “Pumpkinator” is the bottle. Packaged in a 22oz bomber, “Pumpkinator” can be enjoyed by one’s self, but it is quite a commitment. The other purpose of this size bottle is to enjoy it with someone you care about. 22oz of this beer with a friend or family member is the perfect vehicle to enjoy one’s company, share memories and
make new ones.

“Old Gourd” – Vallensons’ Brewing Company

Although the beers in this article aren’t ranked, Vallensons’ “Old Gourd” is my personal favorite of the season.

This ale contains real pumpkin, a rare but admirable choice among brewers. It’s packed with flavor, making other traditional pumpkin ales seem bland. The beer features squash flavors complemented by cinnamon and other spices. At just 5% ABV, it’s a flavorful yet sessionable option.

Honorable Mentions

Here are a few more pumpkin beers from the Houston area that I’ve heard great things about but haven’t tried yet. If you enjoy any beers mentioned—or others I’ve missed—let me know your thoughts!

• “Pumpkin Annihilation” – Spicy Pumpkin Barleywine – Excalibur Brewing
• “Gourd in the Stone” – Pumpkin Imperial Stout – Excalibur Brewing
• “Smashing Pumpkin” – Pumpkin Ale – Galveston Island Brewing
• “Haunted Toffee Harvest” – Pumpkin Toffee Cream Ale – Saloon Door Brewing
• “Scared of the Dark” – Pumpkin Pie Spiced Stout – Holler Brewing

Enjoy the rest of pumpkin beer season, Houston!

Cheers!

The post Pumpkin Beer Season is Still Upon Us, Houston first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Pumpkin Beer Season is Still Upon Us, Houston appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Pumpkin has a distinct place in American beer history. I’ll bore you with a very brief history lesson. Pumpkin was often used in colonial times in lieu of malt, which could be scarce, as shipments from Europe were expensive and more difficult to come by. Pumpkin contains fermentable sugars, which are obviously necessary to brew, so it was used for its alcohol making abilities, not its taste. Today, most pumpkin beers are more akin to liquid pumpkin pie than to those early gourd-based beverages.

While most pumpkin beers today contain a well-pronounced spice profile that tends to dominate the nose and palate, there is a wide-range of varying base styles available. Here in Houston, we are lucky to have an assortment of these options accessible to us, and not just from breweries outside our borders. The following are four bottled selections you are likely to find on the shelves around town, made by local breweries, and each unique and tasty in its own way. (This is not a ranking. Order is in no way an endorsement of one option over another. Try them all!)

Karbach Krunkin Pumpkin

Available in four-pack, 12 oz. cans

7.9-8.5% ABV (depending on vintage)

Karbach Brewing’s Krunkin Pumpkin has been an annual fall release since 2012. Though there has been some variation from year to year, the recipe has been honed-in and is quite delicious. Coming in under 9% ABV makes this one of the more “casually drinkable” options of the four I will cover in this article. Of course I am being a bit facetious. But I do find this to be a great late-afternoon porch option, rather than a dessert beer, which most pumpkin beers tend to be.

A delectable balance of sweet malt, pumpkin, spices, and hops, all dancing in aromatic unison. This year’s rendition was the freshest I’ve had, being lucky enough to find cans only a few days old. This allowed me to enjoy the play of the well-pronounced hops as they worked in harmony with the other wonderful aromas, rather than being masked by the spices. Taking a sip you first notice the caramel sweetness of the malt, followed by hints of pumpkin, a solid amount of clove and allspice, and finish with a sweet almond extract-like flavor new to me in this beer, which added greatly to the already complex yet balanced flavor profile. And while this beer has all the key elements you expect in a pumpkin pie flavored beverage, it never takes you so far away that you forget it is beer. The hops and malt provide the foundation of this delightfully spiced amber.

No Label Nightmare On 1^st Street

Available in 22 oz. Bombers

9.3% ABV

A true hit and part of the Off Label specialty series, No Label’s Nightmare On 1^st Street was one of the best beers (period) to come from the Houston area last year. Well-received and highly sought after, this one did not sit on shelves for very long last year. (You should have no trouble finding it this year, as it is plentiful.)

Incredibly complex, yet superbly balanced, this beer presents you with many great flavors. A malty, sweet background with pumpkin and the standard spices present; allspice, clove, nutmeg. And though I did not pick up as much cinnamon and ginger as others have, they are both assuredly present. But to me, no particular spice stands out much above any other; they have found a possibly perfect, harmonious combination.

Another element that makes this beer great is that it creates a nostalgic and tangible homage to Halloween. The aroma is like a candle, but without the artificial presence that other, lesser pumpkin beers sometimes impart. Along with the spices and pumpkin, I taste sugary sweet caramel corn and candy. Whimsical memories of fall carnivals and trick-or-treating walk along with me as I enjoy this great concoction.

I was lucky enough to find a couple of extra bottles last year to age. Recently I opened one to see how a year had treated it. All the key flavors were there, and still in balance. However, some overall fading had occurred, and I can’t say it was improved by aging. A little shouldn’t hurt, too much, but I suggest drinking it now to fully appreciate the spices. Like most brews, Nightmare is intended to be enjoyed fresh.

Buffalo Bayou Pumpkin Spice Latte

Available in 22 oz. Bombers

9% ABV

Like Nightmare On 1^st Street, this is the second year for this fall selection. And while Nightmare is my Halloween beer, Buffalo Bayou’s Pumpkin Spice Latte is now my Thanksgiving (and probably Christmas) beer. Taking one of my favorite holiday beers, Gingerbread Stout, Buffalo Bayou mashes in pumpkin and then ages it on coffee beans.

The aroma and taste are in unison: pumpkin, spice, sweet cream, toasted notes, and a touch of coffee. These flavors all work together delightfully to give you the closest experience to actually eating a piece of pumpkin pie topped with Cool Whip, while drinking a cup of coffee, after a big Thanksgiving meal. I adore this beer for being able to put me in that moment, and for its great execution of flavors working wonderfully together. Buffalo Bayou has a knack for creating complex experiences with many of their beers. This is another great example.

Saint Arnold Pumpkinator

Available in 22 oz. Bombers

10% ABV

Certainly the most sought-after and highly coveted of the Houston pumpkin beers, Saint Arnold Pumpkinator is an imperial pumpkin stout that has built a large following, creating an almost mad fervor that drives people into stores every October, sometimes to buy cases at a time. (Important note: Pumpkinator will be released Monday, October 19^th. It does not stay on shelves for very long, so grab a bottle or six while you can.)

Released originally as number 9 in Saint Arnold’s Divine Reserve series, this beer has captivated beer drinkers of all types since 2009. Both pumpkin beer haters and lovers have found common ground with this one, as it tends to have a relatively small pumpkin presence (compared to others), and is dominated mostly by spices over a fantastic imperial stout base. Loads of cinnamon and other pumpkin pie spices almost overwhelm both your nose and tongue. Graham cracker sits underneath, giving this one a cinnamon cereal quality. Pumpkin, toasted notes, molasses, and dark fruit flavors come out as it warms. A complex and wonderful beverage, perfect for cooler weather and holiday gatherings.

For those that wish to seek out more pumpkin flavor, a more prominent stout presence, or maybe just a little less spice, aging this one can do all of these things. But the prominent flavors are strong and will remain mostly intact for years, allowing this one to be enjoyed for many years to come.

Love them or hate them, pumpkin beers are here to stay. Go out and find one you like. Cheers!

The post 2015 Pumpkin Beer Roundup first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post 2015 Pumpkin Beer Roundup appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.