After years of avoiding the celebrated seasonal favorite, I recently discovered that apparently, I enjoy pumpkin spice⦠or at least pumpkin ale. Who knew! So to celebrate, I decided to sample a few local varieties, some of which can be found at RI-area breweries or in your favorite liquor store. Iāve managed to taste test a few so far and Iām looking forward to sampling the rest. Ā
Taproot Brewing Company at Newport Vineyards has a pair of offerings this season. First up, itās the more traditional “Wicked Squashed” (7.3 ABV), made from pumpkins grown on site. For a really special brew, Iām looking forward to slow sipping the “Imperial Pumpkin,” a 12.0 ABV brew, matured in bourbon barrels for over a year. Itās described as a ārich-bodied beer with big flavors of cinnamon French toast, pumpkin ice cream and brown sugar.ā For more, click here.

Cambridge Brewing Companyās āGreat Pumpkin Aleā is billed as New Englandās first pumpkin ale. I sampled a glass and found it to be quite flavorful, sweetened with cinnamon and allspice. Thereās a nice amber hue, and a mellow aftertaste, midway between refreshing and filling. The brew uses locally harvested sugar pumpkins from Lazy Acres farm in Hadley, MA, and has an ABV of 5.5%, slightly lower than similar ales. For more, click here.
Narragansett Brewery has put together a pleasing small batch of pumpkin ale available only in the new Providence brewery. I enjoyed a glass of āGourd Reaperā (6.2 ABV) with a cinnamon sugar-rimmed glass. The well-balanced ale went down smooth ā itās a tasty treat for the season. Highly recommended if you stop by the brewery. For more, click here.
Smug Breweryās āGourdās Gone Wildā certainly wins the contest for best pumpkin ale name. The beer aināt too bad either. It tasted a little sweeter than most of the others I sampled, likely due to the ātouch of vanillaā added to the brew that includes cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Highly recommended. For details, click here.
Shipyard Brewing Co.ās āPumpkinheadā (4.5ABV) is a little more like a traditional golden ale. Based in Portland, Maine, the brewery has created a refreshing bottled product that should lead to more widespread appeal. Itās tasted fine, certainly not as rich as some of the others on this list, but lighter and more refreshing. A little more like a traditional golden ale. For more, click here.
Whalerās Brewery in Kingston has brewed up a popular pumpkin beer sure to pack a punch, at 7.8 % ABV, with ānotes of warm pumpkin pie, brown sugar, & cinnamon.ā Weāll be sampling this one very soon. For more, click here.
