It doesn’t seem like there is an in-between here. Pumpkin beers: You love them, or you hate them with the passion of a million suns. I love them – so if you’re one of those pumpkin-haters, you’re going to have to deal with a little bit of over the top enthusiasm for a minute.
The quest to snag as many pumpkin beers as possible is not an easy one, especially considering how many craft breweries we have now in Cincinnati. It’s for this reason that every year I compile the ultimate roundup of pumpkin beers into one consise, easy to read list for you.
With this in mind… just remember, I am human. Sometimes I miss stuff. If you know of, or find a local pumpkin beer that I don’t have on my list, PLEASE shoot me a message and let me know so I can get it added. It’s for the good of pumpkin lovers all across Cincy!
Onward!
Alexandria Brewing Company – Flesh Of The Pumpkin
Draft Only
This pumpkin porter is a bit of an anomaly. While it certainly brings forth all the pumpkin flavor you could hope for, it does so in a dark porter, bringing big dark roasty flavors to the party. Absolutely delicous (I snagged a tiny little unfinished sample of it to make sure…)
Bad Tom Smith – Cheating The Gallows
Draft Only
Returning again to the tap lines at Bad Tom Smith’s Cincinnati and Ohio City locations, this beer is robust, spicy and fills a nice space in my fall growler lineup for sitting around a campfire. Not too “pumpkin-y” and using the right amount of spice to remind you that it’s indeed a fall beer – this one is not one to miss if you aren’t sold on the whole pumpkin craze… it might change your mind!
Braxton – Graeters Pumpkin Pie Ale
Draft and Cans
The latest collaboration from Graeter’s and Braxton is sure to become one of this years fall hits. Pumpkin Pie in a glass. The beer is light, but packs a nice punch at 7% ABV and more fall spices than a college campus coffee bar. They already released this delicous beer in cans and on draft, so snag yours while you can – once it’s gone, it’s gone! Here’s to hoping that like the Black Raspberry Chip collaboration, they bring this back annually.
Darkness – Blumpkin
Draft Only
While Darkness Brewing’s black pumpkin ale, called Blumpkin, is only available on draft around town, we’re in luck this year as they have found Adena Distributing, which will hopefully be convincing them to send a few kegs of this over the river for the first time.
Fibonacci – Pepo Pumpkin Porter
Draft Only
Not heavy on the fall spices, instead focusing on the interplay between roasted malt and earthy pumpkin flavors, Pepo is unique and certainly delicious. Fibonacci makes one of the best Stouts in the city with their Tollhouse, so it’s no wonder that their pumpkin porter stands up to the best dark pumpkin beers that you’ll find. As the weather starts turning cold, this one is quickly becoming a classic staple for me. I love it.
Fretboard – ‘Round A Stout, Pumpkin
Draft Only
Fretboard is letting loose their new ‘Round A Stout Midnight’ this fall, and doing so with an awesome sounding pumpkin varaiant that should have your fall tastebuds tingling with excitement. Full of body, but “light on it’s feet” – it clocks in at 5.8% ABV and has me already excited about my next trip out to the taproom to give it a try!
Listermann – Basic
Draft and Cans
In Listermann fashion, they have taken the idea of a pumpkin spiced beer and kicked it off to a whole new level with this one. Designed to mimic a pumpkin spice latte, Basic is packed full of pumpkin spices and coffee, and translated to something amazing via a vehicle of a NE Milkshake IPA. I am insanely curious to try this one, which makes it’s debut on October 6th at 10am.
MadTree – PumpCan
Draft Only
If you’re as much of a fan of MadTree’s PumpCan as I am, don’t miss out on it. While it’s just now becoming available on draft in the MadTree taproom, it won’t last for long. The brewery is only brewing up one single batch of it this year. Once this delicous spiced ale is gone, it’s gone! If you’ve never tried it, don’t miss out – while you can always read the beer notes about it, that doesn’t compare to getting a pint and sitting outside to enjoy it, trust me!
Municipal Brew Works – Operation Pumpkin Porter
Draft Only
Tapped for the now famous Operation Pumpkin in Hamilton, Ohio – Municipal Brew Works has turned to the dark side for their addition to Cincinnati’s pumpkin beer roundup with an ultra small batch of a Pumpkin Porter. Tapped on Friday, October 12th – it won’t be around for very long… so if you’re trying to get to all the pumpkin beers this year… you’ll need to put in some effort to get there quickly!
Paradise – Angry Jack
Draft Only
Not content to just release a “normal” pumpkin beer, Paradise Brewing in Anderson kicks things up each year with Angry Jack, their pumpkin beer that is fermented inside a couple of massive pumpkins. You read that right – this extremely limited batch of beer turns everyone’s favorite fall gourd into a piece of brewing equipment, which somehow works… amazingly well. The beer should be on tap soon – so keep your eye on their social media because it won’t last long.
Rivertown – Pumpkin
Draft Only
In a move that broke the hearts of thousands of pumpkin beer nuts in the city, Rivertown stopped making this staple beer a couple of years ago. The legend of this fantastic beer has only grown in the passing time, and this year, Rivertown is determined to bring it back, even better than before. The beer will only hit the draft lines this year – but something tells me that if we ask nicely, they might change that for us next year. Read the beer notes about the previous version of this beer.
Rolling Mill – Pumpkin Spice Infused Simplicity
Draft Only
If you’re gluten free, and you’re also hoping to get in on the pumpkin beer excitement – you’ll want to pay attention to this: Middletown’s Rolling Mill Brewing Company is infusing their Simplicity porter with all the pumpkin spiced deliciousness that you can handle. They’re tapping it for their Oktoberfest celebration that they’ve dubbed ‘Millfest’ on October 6th.
Swine City – Put A Spell On You
Draft and Crowlers
This pumpkin spice ale makes it’s debut this year from Fairfield’s Swine City Brewing, and while I haven’t tried it yet, what little bit I’ve heard so far has been that it’s pretty freaking delicious. They released this one on September 23rd, so if you’ve got a pumpkin craving, you can head over and snag some before it’s gone. You might want to also note – they’ve got variants of this that will pop up as they are ready… so keep your eyes on Swine’s social media channels.
Taft’s – Gourd To Death
Draft Only
The anti-pumpkin beer. It takes the pumpkin theme to another, really unique place. The beer is fantastic. The brewery adds maple syrup and chicory root to the brown ale base with toasted pumpkin seeds to create a beer that not only satisfies the pumpkin itch, but pairs with a lot of different foots incredibly well. It’s big, bold and complex and just dripping with fall personality. Look for this one on draft only around town soon!
Woodburn – Han Solo, The Great Pumpkin
Draft Only
Using a blond ale base and adding to it coffee was an amazing idea. If you take that beer and hit it with pumpkin spices it goes in an even better direction. This beer is only available on draft, and while I admit I haven’t tried it in a couple of years – from what my notes tell me, it’s one that I might need to look for!