Yes, we admit, the clock struck midnight for us this week, and we temporarily turned into pumpkins. We’re completing our trio of pumpkin features by looking at some of the best of all time.
ICYMI: Make sure to check out these pieces first:
Are Pumpkin Beers ‘Squashed’ For Good?
The 11 Best Pumpkin Beers Available in Most Stores Right Now
From the easiest-to-find squash to the preeminent pumpkin beers, our squash-filled week has given you all you need to…en-gourd yourself.
Untappd’s All-Time Top-Rated Pumpkin / Yam Beers
Editor’s Note: These are not Hop Culture’s personal ratings. This list is based on Untappd’s ratings on the All-Time Top-Rated Pumpkin / Yam Beer. The list shows the top beers based on Untappd’s weighted average formula, which effectively rates all beers against each other. A beer must have 150 ratings or more to qualify for this list. For more information on our rating system, please view the Untappd ratings explainer.
We’re simply reporting on Untappd’s list based on statistics from check-ins from people all around the world.
Bishop’s Barrel No. 9* | Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Houston, TX
The apex of pumpkin beers, according to Untappd, Bishop’s Barrel No. 9 (BB9) sits snugly at number one with 5,123 ratings and a crazy 4.29 average.
Clearly, those who are on the opposing end of pumpkin beers haven’t tried BB9.
Starting with a base of Saint Arnold’s Pumpkinator, BB9 then spends time in Woodford Reserve and Willett bourbon barrels.
Unsurprisingly, you’ll find many of the highest-rated pumpkin beers on this list maturing in spirits barrels, but what sets BB9 apart is a deft hand.
Although hitting 12.9% ABV, this pumpkin beer goes down as smoothly as velvet.
Pouring a dark brown to black, BB9 exudes pumpkin spice, oak, bourbon, vanilla, and dark fruit.
On the sip, expect luxurious melted dark chocolate with a bit of spiced heat on the back end.
Saint Arnold recommends that you let this beer come up to between 55°F and 65°F because “the warmer this beer gets, the better it tastes.”
Pumpkinator Aged in Bourbon Barrels (2020) | Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Houston, TX
Saint Arnold, the purveyor of pumpkin beer, hits this list six times, including in the top two spots. Pumpkinator Aged in Bourbon Barrels (2020) slips right underneath BB9 with an average of 4.23 from 1,483 ratings.
Similar to BB9, this version of Pumpkinator ages in Woodford Reserve barrels for almost thirteen months.
You can expect similar notes of oak, bourbon, vanilla, and dark fruit.
Saint Arnold said, “It’s even bigger than the original!” With a 12.9% ABV, we believe it.
Good Gourd™ Have Mercy* | Cigar City Brewing®
Tampa, FL
According to Cigar City, “Since man began pondering the great mysteries of the universe, one question has persisted: Is the pumpkin, the most obtuse of the gourds, inherently good in nature?”
That’s the question Cigar City tries to answer with Good Gourd™ Have Mercy. A play on the brewery’s original Good Gourd, a pumpkin beer you can easily find in a store near you, this specialized version marries pumpkin with Ceylon cinnamon, Jamaican allspice, Zanzibar cloves, and nutmeg. The imperial pumpkin ale, which hits 12.2% ABV, spends time in two different barrels—rum and bourbon.
So, does Cigar City find its answer? We’ll leave that up to you.
The Spice Must Flow (2017)* | Bottle Logic Brewing
Anaheim, CA
If Frank Herbert, author of the epochal Dune taught us anything, spice is life.
Although not a quote from the books but rather from the 1984 film, The Spice Must Flow follows this mantra.
“Awaken the dormant parts of the mind with this melange of seasonal flavor finished with heaping masses of vanilla bean and chocolate Salvadorian Coldbot Coffee beans, capable of folding the very fabric of space and time,” writes Bottle Logic in the beer’s Untappd description.
Originally brewed in 2017, this imperial pumpkin beer pays homage to the autumnal Pumpkin Spice Latte, proving that adult pumpkin beverages very much have a place in our lives.
Good Gourd™ Almighty (Rum) | Cigar City Brewing™
Tampa, FL
Cigar City keeps things simple with this 11% ABV imperial pumpkin ale: take its iconic Good Gourd™ and age it in rum barrels.
Voila…Good Gourd™ Almighty (Rum).
Capturing two places in this ranking, both in the top five, Cigar City certainly proves that it’s pretty good when it comes to the gourd.
Picture If You Will… | Bottle Logic Brewing
Anaheim, CA
Bottle Logic likes to get a little meta with its pumpkin beers. Picture If You Will… travels through another dimension of sight, sound, and taste to bring you a boundary-pushing pumpkin beer defying the limits of time.
Let your imagination go with this one, or as Bottle Logic says, “Your next stop, the Pumpkin Zone! End transmission…”
Divine Reserve No. 9* | Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Houston, TX
Pouring black and ruby, Divine Reserve No. 9 is a real gem of a gourd beer.
Waves of nutmeg, caraway, and vanilla swirl into chocolate and spicy alcohol.
Uniquely, this beer finished with a bitter hop bite. Not too much, but just enough to add to the spiced complexity.
Finishing relatively dry, Divine Reserve No. 9 is best drunk slowly over time. Warming the beer brings the spices to the front and the chocolate to the back.
Oak Aged Pumpking* | Southern Tier Brewing Company
Lakewood, NY
If you’re a fan of pumpkin beers or grew up during the early craze, chances are you’ve tried Southern Tier’s Pumpking.
The classic king of pumpkin beers set the standard for years.
A more imperial version, Oak Aged Pumpking doesn’t knock out as high as some other versions on this list (a mere 8.6% ABV), but it does add an exciting level of oakiness you won’t likely find with any other beer on this list.
Pumpkinator (2020) | Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Houston, TX
Starting with a combination of pale two-row, caramel, and black malts, Pumpkinator (2020) pours “big, black, and full of spice,” according to Saint Arnold.
An addition of Cascade and Liberty hops lingers in the background before the pumpkin kicks in with all its earthy molasses, sweet brown sugar, and glazed spice glory.
As Saint Arnold writes in the beer’s Untappd description, “Makes you feel like you just walked into your mom’s kitchen while she was cooking thirty-seven pumpkin pies.”
That sounds nice.
Pumpkinator Aged in Bourbon Barrels With Cocoa Nibs (2020) | Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Houston, TX
Another standout from Saint Arnold, Pumpkinator Aged in Bourbon Barrels With Cocoa Nibs (2020) ages in wood barrels for twelve months with ten-pound Tejas Chocolate cocoa nibs.
More dessert than beer, this indulgent 12.9% ABV pumpkin ale loads you up with notes of caramel, chocolate, bourbon, toffee, and, of course, pumpkin.
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Punkless Dunkel | Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company
Croydon, PA
In 2013, Neshaminy Creek stowed away some of its standard pumpkin beer, Punkless Dunkel, in Wild Turkey bourbon barrels.
The love child, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Punkless Dunkel, takes an already complex pumpkin dunkel and makes it even more enticing.
“The dark roasted malts and subtle bourbon character combine for a delicious and unique treat to get you through the cold winter months,” writes the brewery in the beer’s Untappd description.
You’ll get plenty of notes of “sweet toffee, toasted wood, fragrant vanilla, and warm whiskey.”
BBA Pumpkin Underverse | Masthead Brewing Company
Cleveland, OH
According to Masthead, BBA Pumpkin Underverse came from the darkness of Pumpkinverse.
The imperial pumpkin stout slumbers in bourbon barrels with pumpkin, milk sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg for a pumpkin beer that’s more layer cake than ale.
Pump[KY]n | Avery Brewing Co.
Boulder, CO
![avery brewing co pump[ky]n pumpkin beer](https://www.hopculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/avery-brewing-co-pumpkyn-credit-rob-del-pozo-untappd-1000x1000-1.jpg)
You may be wondering about the spelling of Avery’s revered pumpkin beer—Pump[KY]n.
By far the beer on this list with the most ratings—22,532—Avery’s 18% ABV pumpkin ale is something of lore and legend.
“What’s in a name? Sometimes, the simplest can be the most descriptive, and in this case, derisive and divisive! After much internal debate (ad nauseum! Bourb[KY]n, anyone?), we decided a single letter change was the best way to embody the bourbon barrel-aging that adds layers of complexity to an already exquisitely spiced pumpkin porter,” writes Avery Brewing.
(You know, it’s kind of like removing the “e” from Untappd, right?)
First released in 2014, this pumpkin beer is a statement.
Pumpkinator (Aged in Bourbon Barrels With Coffee) (2022)* | Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Houston, TX
Saint Arnold’s last entry on this list, Pumpkinator (Aged in Bourbon Barrels With Coffee) (2022) follows in the veins of its predecessors—bourbon barrel aging, spices, etc.
But here, Saint Arnold punches up its pumpkin beer with one crucial ingredient—coffee.
To make this pumpkin beer, the Texas-based brewery lets its Great American Beer Festival gold medal-winning pumpkin stout sit in bourbon barrels for over twelve months.
The coffee comes from Java Pura.
“The result is a rich ale with mellowed spices, complex malt character, and balanced barrel notes,” writes Saint Arnold, noting the coffee adds “an extra layer of roasty flavor.”
Barrel Aged Pumpkin* | Schlafly – The Saint Louis Brewery
St. Louis, MO
As we’ve seen with a few different beers on this list, taking an OG version and amping it up through barrels or adjuncts seems to get pretty ‘gourd’ results.
Barrel Aged Pumpkin takes Schlafly’s archetypal Pumpkin Ale and makes it big and boozy. Although not too boozy—just 9.5% ABV.
Like a beer-soaked pumpkin, in the best way.
Looking for more?
FIND ALL THE BEST PUMPKIN / YAM BEERS
*These beers are no longer produced by their respective breweries.
