What They Say: Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale is a crisp and refreshing wheat ale with delightful aromatics and subtle spiced flavor. Hints of cinnamon and nutmeg make this fall brew a flavor sensation. Available September – October.

Website: Not remotely fancy, but informative. Everything I need is right there in front of me. Events featured prominently on the front page as well as a link to a blog where I can get recent news. Info on brewery tours. If I had one complaint it was that I couldn’t copy and paste the description of a beer on the “Taste” page because all the info changes on mouse over. Good stuff though.

Why I Picked It: I’m not sure where the whole Pumpkin beer phenomena started. Three years ago I was in Boston for The Big Show’s annual Octoberfest celebration. Boston has a bar with roughly eleven billion beers called The Sunset Grill and Tap. This was the first place I saw Shipyard’s version of the pumpkin beer and figured it was worth a shot. After we discovered it was basically a glass of pumpkin pie with a touch of alcohol, most of us were in. The draft version is so good that I decided to try the home version.

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Presentation (5): Pumpkinhead’s label uses the headless horseman and actually came up with a name for it other than “Pumpkin Ale” or something, so I have to give them points there. In fact, I have to give a lot of points for the cool jack-o-lantern logo for the beer in general. 4

Originality (5): Shipyard was the first brewery I came across that made this beer. Whether or not it was created on the east coast or whether it made its way here form somewhere else — I have to give it to them. Everyone has a pumpkin of some sort now but, so far as I know, Shipyard did it first. At the time, it was original.5.

Body (10): Here’s where it starts to break down. While I understand that the draft version is generally going to be better than the bottled version, it’s usually not THIS stark of a difference. The draft variety is thicker — almost bordering on porter. The bottled version is significantly thinner. If I hadn’t ever had the draft, it might be OK. Since I have, it’s not. 5.

Taste (10): Again, the draft version of this beer tastes like a glass of pie. The bottled version… well… doesn’t. The flavor of the bottled version is just… off somehow. The bottled version tastes like a Hoegaarden with sprinkle of Pumpkin flavoring in it. I was not thrilled. 4

Efficiency (10): At a very low alcohol content (4.5%) and a too-sweet flavor, it’s a bit too hard to catch a buzz with. The sweet flavor makes it hard to drink quickly so the relatively low alcohol content doesn’t ever really do anything for you. 1

Versatility (10): It would be almost impossible to consume this beer in any type of rapid fashion. However, the low alcohol content and speed-regulating flavor makes it perfect for drinking when you may have to keep your wits about you. 4

Final Grade: 23 (of 50) – OK Beer. Minor Caveat — the draft version would probably be 35ish.