3 Award-Winning Pumpkin Beers For Pumpkin Beer Haters

, 3 Award-Winning Pumpkin Beers For Pumpkin Beer Haters

Pumpkin beers can be polarizing…people tend to either love them or hate them.

And we think that “industry creep,” a practice that’s led to some of these beers shipping to retail as early as July, has only helped to devalue the style.

But a well-crafted pumpkin ale, in late October, can make all the sense in the world – and here are some award-winners that might change what you think about the style.

We’d be wrong to begin talking pumpkin beers without referencing this year’s Great American Beer Festival winners (GABF), where judges much smarter than us, awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to deserving brewers acroos the nation.

So here are 2022’s GABF Pumpkin Beer category award-winners…And any one of them might make you rethink how you feel about pumpkin beers.

, 3 Award-Winning Pumpkin Beers For Pumpkin Beer HatersNight Owl, Elysian Brewing Co., Seattle, WA

Elysian Night Owl took home a Gold medal at this year’s Great American Beer Festival Competition and we’re not surprised.

This was Elysian’s first foray into pumpkin-fueled ales and it remains one of the brewery’s best-selling seasonal releases today.

Brewed with almost 7 lbs. of pumpkin per barrel, and a menu of roasted and raw pumpkin seeds, that are spiced during the conditioning process with nutmeg, clove, cinnamon ginger and allspice, Elysian Night Owl is a 6.7% ABV ale that’s immensely flavorful but never too sweet.

 

5 Phantoms, Philipsburg Brewing Co., Philipsburg, MT

In the world of pumpkin ales few have a track record like 5 Phantoms, which in addition to winning a silver medal at the 2022 GABF, has been racking up wins almost every year since 2016. It was developed by Ben Johnson, who is no longer with company, a brewer who wasn’t a pumpkin beer guy to begin with and wanted to brew a pumpkin ale that he might enjoy.

Crafted with three different types of locally sourced pumpkins, 5 Phantoms Pumpkin Spice Barley Wine is a 9% ABV seasonal beer with an intense malt flavor, a mesmerizing spiciness and deep autumn amber color.

, 3 Award-Winning Pumpkin Beers For Pumpkin Beer HatersThe beer’s name comes from the five basic ingredients the Montana brewery uses: water, barley, hops, yeast & spice. And its spice mix, which includes vanilla, ginger, nutmeg, mace, cardamom and two kinds of cinnamon, were procured at Butterfly Herb in Missoula.

And here’s some of 5 Phantoms past wins…

​2016 GABF Bronze Medal – Pumpkin Spice Beer

2017 Best of Craft Beer Silver Medal – Pumpkin Spice Beer

2017 GABF Bronze Medal – Pumpkin Spice Beer

2018 GABF Bronze Medal – Pumpkin Spice Beer

2018 World Beer Cup Gold Medal – Pumpkin /Pumpkin Spice Beer

2020 GABF Silver Medal – Pumpkin Beer

2022 World Beer Cup Gold Medal – Pumpkin Beer

, 3 Award-Winning Pumpkin Beers For Pumpkin Beer Haters

(Courtesy Whistle Hop Brewing)

Molasses Pumpkin Märzen, Whistle Hop Brewing Co., Fairview, NC

No stranger to big awards, Whistle Hop Brewing’s eagerly awaited seasonal took home a bronze medal at this year’s Great American Beer Festival Competition.

Crafted with Candy Roasters, Long Island Cheese, and Queensland Blue pumpkins from their friends at Flying Cloud Farm, and aged to perfection in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels, Whistle Hop Molasses Pumpkin Märzen is a 5.2%  lager with rich notes of molasses, caramelized pumpkin, subtle smoke and spices, oak, vanilla, and bourbon.

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