Pumpkin beers can be polarizing—you either count down the days until they hit retail shelves or dismiss them as a bad idea to begin with.

Sales of pumpkin ales have declined steadily over the past several years, according to market analysts. The uber-popular style, which peaked in the early 2010s when nearly every regional brewery had one in its lineup, has slipped into the background as consumer tastes continue to evolve.

But love them or hate them, the style refuses to go away, with breweries across the country taking home serious hardware for their seasonal takes on the Pumpkin Beer.

At the two largest and most important beer US beer competitions, the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and the World Beer Cup, pumpkin beers regularly carve out their own niche, showing that when done right, they can be just as complex as any IPA or Stout.

Take Elysian Brewing’s Night Owl out of Seattle, which continues to be a leader in the pumpkin beer category.

In 2022, Night Owl snagged Gold in the Pumpkin Beer category at GABF. 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

Then there’s Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale (Stevens Point Brewery, Wisconsin). That one took home a Silver at GABF 2018, several Golds at the Great American Beer Festival in other years, and even a Gold at the 2015 European Beer Star.

Desert Monks Brewing’s Alewife’s Pumpkin Pie took home a Silver at GABF in 2021, recognized in the Pumpkin style for its Marzen base and hearty pumpkin-pie tones.

Over at the World Beer Cup, pumpkin beers have been honored as well over the last decade…

In 2024, Karbach Brewing Co. out of Houston won Gold in the Pumpkin Beer category with Pumpkin in Lager, while Sound 2 Summit Brewery (Snohomish, WA) took Silver for Ryes of the Pumpkin King, and River North Brewery in Denver claimed Bronze for Pumpkin Spice Bucket of Bolts.

Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale is less well known for recent GABF or World Beer Cup medals, but it has been recognized in other competitions:, Punkin Ale won Bronze in the Flavored & Aged Styles category.

Dogfish Head’s fall seasonal pumpkin ale, which they’ve been brewing since 1995, debuted as part of a legendary southern Delaware pumpkin extravaganza, Punkin Chunkin. Is an international winner.

(Courtesy Dogfish Head Craft Brewery)

Sweet, sassy and brown sugar-toned, Dogfish Punkin Ale is a 7% ABV pumpkin-fueled Brown Ale that’s complex and unassuming at the same time and it won big in new Zealand, taking home a bronze medal in 2010 at the BrewNZ Awards

Bottom line, pumpkin beers might be polarizing, but the medal count doesn’t lie.

Love them or leave them, pumpkin beers are here to stay—and some of them are walking away with serious wins at major US and international beer competitions.

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