Smashing Pumpkin (Beers)
City Roots Pumpkin Cider
Katrinas rating: 8/10
Not to sweet, nice and dry, hint of pumpkin, I’m feeling Christian Girl Autumn vibes. It makes me want to play hillsong and light a cinnamon candle as I kick back in my sweaters and riding boots.
Elena’s rating: 7/10
Ok I tried a different pumpkin cider last week that was not excellent and tasted like chemicals so I had very low expectations, but this truly surpassed them. So tasty! Also went down easy and I might already be a lil drunk!
Ghostfish Lunar Harvest Pumpkin Ale
Katrina’s rating: 5/10
No Gluten-free beer is getting above a 50% in this house (sorry to our GF fans!) It didn’t taste strongly of pumpkin…it did taste strongly buckwheat and rice so if that’s your jam…this is your beer.
Elena’s rating: 5/10
When I bought this beer the bartender said: “You know that’s gluten free right” and I thought, yeah, whatever, why would I hate hate on the celiac sisterhood? And then I tried it and was like, OH, that’s why. Did this taste like beer? No. Did it taste like pumpkin? No. Did it get me drunk? Yes. Seriously it went right to my head despite being 5%. I should have eaten before we started this.
Central Waters Octoberfest Lager
Katrinas Rating: 6/10
Easy, breezy, beautiful: Octoberfest. This beer was v drinkable and light, and each sip made us want to tailgate (but in a socially distant and safe way. Also quick aside: Tailgating is the best part of football.) Only 6/10 because it didn’t wow me.
Elena’s Rating: 8/10
This is not a pumpkin beer and yes we know this but we had to have a palate cleanser! Also I saw the word October and I panicked! I was in charge of finding all of these and it was not as easy as you’d think (shoutout to Covenhoven for securing the bag tho). Overall it was a solid Octoberfest-style beer, and it was a nice break from all the pumpkin spice energy.
Central Waters Wendy Coffee Milkshake IPA
Katrina’s Rating: for the beer, 6/10, 12/10 for the description, read above.
If you like PSLs and you want that in a beer, you’re going to love this. Do not be scared off by the IPA label (Yes we are assuming if you are hardcore into PSLs, you’re not into IPAs. Prove us wrong). If you are a classic beer drinker this will be too much for you. It’s good but I don’t want another one.
(Also, at this point we were drunk enough that Katrina spilled half her beer so…take everything with a grain of salt)
Elena’s Rating: 4/10
I am….overwhelmed. Very strong pumpkin taste-this was far and away the most pumpkin-y beer we had, but they also put in a coffee flavor, AND it’s a milkshake IPA (so it was like as heavy as a stout but still very hoppy?)….and then there’s all these spices…I trust them more in a bakery than a brewpub.
Montauk Pumpkin Ale
Katrinas rating: 7/10
Extremely drinkable, not overly pumpkin. It’s like you’re going to a Halloween party and you just put on a little witch hat or animal ears. Low key, low effort halloween- a pumpkin beer for those who want the idea of Halloween but don’t want to be overwhelmed.
Elena’s Rating 9/10
I have been buying and drinking this beer since Sept. 1st because it just tastes like fall to me (and our favorite pumpkin beer EVER Roadsmary’s Baby, is not available in the city). Yes I love this beer, yes I normally drink a full six-pack in one sitting. It’s local as well! Roll Montauk we love Long Island!
Our level of intoxication is very cleverly hidden from you, dear readers, because of Elena’s excellent editing skills, but you really should have seen our first draft. Us girls had a Good Old Fashioned NFL Sunday, complete with copious day drinking and, our favorite tradition, yelling at the players even though we don’t fully understand all the rules.
Did we accidentally get a little drunk while writing out recap this week? Maybe. Did we watch all of the same games, because we were together?? Also possible! Neither of us fell asleep but let me tell ya, these weren’t thrillers! The takeaway here is that pumpkin beer might be… a little overrated. Getting that sweet balance of fall flavor without taste like pumpkin spice latte concentrate in a beer that actually still tastes like a beer is…too difficult. But yes, we will bravely continue trying them because we’re suckers and we are glad to be your guinea pigs. Cheers!
