WV Beer Roads tumbles into the pumpkin patch

With crisp autumn evenings beginning to envelop us across West Virginia, it’s a sure sign that Pumpkin Beer season has arrived.

Listen in to the West Virginia Beer Roads crew as we sample and report on six seasonal pumpkin spice ales, which should be pretty widely available around urban markets in WV. Hosts Erin and Charles are joined on the podcast by pumpkin beer aficionado, Lynette Stewart. For the past decade, Lynette has been a leader in the local Charleston craft beer scene — and she loves her pumpkin beer.

The Pumpkin Podcast

Join us for half an hour of pumpkin fun on WVBR Episode 75.

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Our Pumpkin Beer Line-up

We begin our tasting with Jack-O by Samual Adams, then move to Pumpkin Ale from Saranac, followed by Pumpkin Swirl from Rusty Rail Brewing, then Punkin Ale by Dogfish Head, Pumking by Southern Tier, and Smashed Pumpkin from Shipyard. The beers ABV’s ranged from 4.4% to 9.0% — showing our craft brewers love to put their own interpretation on the style. Colors were various shades of amber, with Pumking being the lightest shade.

Pumpkin spice beers are known for their inclusion of spices common in pumpkin pie. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, and clove. We found the spice but did not find pumpkin pie’s sweetness in these beers. Overall, they drank mostly just off-dry, with some having a bit more malty sweetness than others. This dryness level certainly makes them more drinkable and would seem to make them a better contrast to the sweetness/richness of pumpkin pie and pumpkin spice roll desserts.

Loving beer can art

We loved the modern graphic-style can art on the Pumpkin Swirl from Rusty Rail, with the spirals reminding us of pumpkin spice rolls. We also found this year’s illustration on the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale can to be intriguing and fun.

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Did we convert Erin from her normal pumpkin-beer-avoidance state to becoming a pumpkin beer fan? Listen in.

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Look for these pumpkin spiced beers from WV brewers:
Abolitionist Autumn Fest: An amber festbier with pie spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and vanilla — sans pumpkin.

Weathered Ground Gourdy Pleasure: Pumpkin Pie Spiced Porter, 6.4% ABV.
Look for it in the Charleston-Huntington region at The Board Room, Bricks and Barrels, The Tap, Fruth Pharmacy, The Pallet Bar, 1861, Booktenders, and Guyan Country Club

Pumpkin Beer recipe for homebrewers