The 10 Best Pumpkin Ales

October means it’s time for a new Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror and a new list of the Best Pumpkin Ales at Paste. We’ve tried a bunch more since last year and feel even more qualified to declare the 10 Best Pumpkin Ales. Let us know what we’re missing and we’ll update the list again in October 2013.

10. Harpoon Pumpkin UFO
City: Boston
ABV: 5.9%
Tastes like: It just came out of the oven
Pumpkin flavor: Medium
Spiciness: Low
Perfect for: Making sure First Contact is a friendly affair.
The verdict:: This unfiltered ale smells like pumpkin bread with mild but tasty pumpkin and spice notes.

9. Tommyknocker Small Patch Pumpkin Harvest Ale
City: Idaho Springs, Colo.
ABV: 5%
Tastes like: Pumpkin pie flambe
Pumpkin flavor: Low
Spiciness: Medium
Perfect for: A late-night campfire
The verdict:: In addition to pumpkin and spices, molasses gives Tommyknocker an almost smoky malt flavor

8. New Belgium Kick (Lips of Faith Series)
City: Fort Collins, Colo.
ABV: 7%
Tastes like: Cranberries
Pumpkin flavor: Mild
Spiciness: Medium
Perfect for: Thanksgiving dinner
The verdict:: New Belgium’s Kick should have turkeys on the bottle instead of pumpkins. This cranberry and pumpkin sour is delicious and very much the flavor outlier of the bunch. Our tasting panel either loved it or hated it, which is pretty much the case with any beer this sour. I personally had it at #2, so if you have a taste for farmhouse ales, this is something special.

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7. Heavy Seas The Great Pumpkin
City: Halethrope, Md.
ABV: 8%
Tastes like: An IPA
Pumpkin flavor: Low
Spiciness: Medium
Perfect for: Watching some Charlie Brown
The verdict:: Heavy Seas took the best name for a pumpkin ale, but it’s a PINO (pumpkin in name only). That’s not to say that it’s not still yummy. The hoppiest beer of the bunch, The Great Pumpkin is a little soapy on the head but with hints of spice that still make for a tasty fall beer.

6. Terrapin Pumpkinfest
City: Athens, Ga.
ABV: 6.1%
Tastes like:
Pumpkin flavor: High
Spiciness: Medium
Perfect for: Carving a masterpiece in your jack-o-lantern
The verdict:: A flavorful beer with more hops and even malts peeking through the always-present pumpkin notes—all the more surprising since this is technically a pumpkin lager, not an ale. Creative stuff.

5. Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale
City: Hayward, Calif.
ABV: 5.2%
Tastes like:
Pumpkin flavor: Medium
Spiciness: Low
Perfect for: Halloween in May.
The verdict:: This is a year-round pumpkin beer, ‘cause that’s how they roll out in California. It’s a mildly pumpkin beer, but very drinkable.

4. Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale
City: Boston
ABV: 5.7%
Tastes like: Fall
Pumpkin flavor: Medium
Spiciness: Medium
Perfect for: Any day between Sept. 21 and Dec. 21.
The verdict:: They may be just a few barrels shy of mass-produced but Sam Adams often beats the craft brewers at their own game. This was one of the best balanced beers of the bunch—darker, maltier and full-bodied.

3. Southampton Pumpkin Ale
City: Southampton, N.Y.
ABV: 5.5%
Tastes like: Fall
Pumpkin flavor: Medium
Spiciness: Medium
Perfect for: Gearing yourself up for the onslaught of Trick-or-Treaters.
The verdict:: Neither the pumpkin or spice is overpowering, but it all blends together in a way that says, “keep drinking me; I’m only 5.5%!”

2. Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
City: Rehoboth Beach, Del.
ABV: 7%
Tastes like: Your spice rack
Pumpkin flavor: Medium
Spiciness: High
Perfect for: A better football-watching party than your neighbors
The verdict:: The pumpkin is subtle, but Punkin still tastes like fall thanks to all spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and a hint of brown sugar. It’s a well-balanced, delicious beer—just what we expect from our favorite American brewery.

1. Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale
City:Easton, Penn.
ABV: 8%
Tastes like: Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin flavor: High
Spiciness: High
Perfect for: Every day in October
The verdict:: This is what a pumpkin beer should be. It tastes unmistakably pumpkin-y while still very much tasting like beer. The label lists cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves, but no single spice throws it off balance. Their logo might as well be comic sans, and their labels are routinely the worst on the shelves, but the beer is undeniably great.