When autumn rolls around, the beer aisle tends to mimic the foliage. All those summer shandies and fruited sours give way to new seasonal offerings clad in orange and brown packaging, and every brewery brings back their Oktoberfest lagers and pumpkin brews in full force. These seasonal offerings tend to get a bad rap from die-hard beer purists who insist that all pumpkin ales are sickeningly sweet wastes of fridge real-estate. But what those curmudgeons fail to realize is that pumpkin beers have come a long way over the past few decades. These days, there are plenty of breweries out there that use the autumnal ale concept to make something magnificent.
Unfortunately, this sentiment doesn’t apply to every fall-adjacent beer on the shelf. There are still plenty that fit the stereotype of being overly sweet, boozy messes clogged with allspice, cinnamon, and brown sugar. But never fear: VinePair has your back this spooky season, and we’re here to lead you down the path of pumpkiny righteousness. We tasted dozens of pumpkin beers from all over the country to weed out the bad and give you the good.
From rum-barrel-aged options to adjunct-laden black lagers and habanero-spiced ales, these are the best pumpkin beers of fall 2024.
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
Schlafly’s Pumpkin Ale pours a translucent dark brown akin to a heavily oaked bourbon. On the nose, we get a bouquet of whole wheat bread, honey, brown sugar, and cinnamon with a light kiss of roasted pumpkin. The palate mimics
