Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale

We may have a winner (or, more accurately, a loser) for lousiest pumpkin beer of the year, despite the fact that it's still early in the fall-- still technically summer as of this writing--and plenty more bad beer no doubt awaits us. However, I can say with relative confidence, that we have hit the low point of our pumpkin journey. As the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons might put it: Worst. Beer. Ever. Does that sound overblown? We'd invite you to try it for yourself, but we'd rather spare you the $7.99, or at least have you spend it on Saranac or UFO Pumpkin. If you don't want to take our word for it, go ahead and buy it, but then if you didn't take our views on pumpkin beers seriously, you wouldn't be among the small handful of people reading this blog.

So, the beer itself.  The PumKing and I bought a six pack of Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale and sampled it this past week. I must admit that at first blush, in the craft beer aisle of Wegman's, we were pretty excited. Regular Blue Moon is mostly tasty and refreshing, and the Harvest Moon the brewery used to release in the autumn (which we assume is being either replaced or supplemented by this experiment to tap into the pumpkin market-- the former theory is confirmed on wikipedia) was definitely above an average malty brew. We were, in the words of the King, "delighted" to see Blue Moon try its hand at the great pumpkin game (not to be confused with the Great Pumpkin). Sadly, we found only disappointment inside that particular bottle. We each took two or three sips from our pumpkin goblets (no joke, we have them) and poured the rest of the beer down the drain before running into the waiting arms of better pumpkin suitors.  Unlike Harvest Moon, which had a bold, Oktoberfesty taste, Pumpkin Moon's flavor was repugnant. We actually recoiled as the brew hit our tongues.  It has ZERO pumpkin flavor, and only a very dull and light smattering of unidentifiable seasonings. In the end, we likened this beer to a very amateur, earthy, Nut Brown, which is not a knock on that variety, but is not what one wants when one seeks out the Pumpkin.

Grade: F