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For a true taste of autumn in a glass, look no further than these pumpkin beers.

Tuesday Oct 20, 2009.     By Karl Klockars

Bars + Clubs Feed

Pumpkin beers are often the red-headed stepchild of fall beer releases, overshadowed by Oktoberfests and even stouts and porters as the weather gets cooler. That's a shame. While they can simply be a repository for cinnamon, nutmeg and other basic spices, pumpkin beers can also taste like true autumn in a glass.

Also, unlike other beers that taste the same every time you drink 'em, pumpkin brews vary so much from year to year that sampling and comparing is as entertaining a fall pastime as flag football or raking leaves. Well, for beer geeks, it is. Even if you don't go pumpkin-crazy like we tend to do, we've assembled a list of the various pumpkin beers around town - try a pint or three of any of these, and see if you don't catch a little pumpkin fever.

Tyranena's Painted Ladies Pumpkin Spice Ale at Map Room
This Bucktown beer haven always has something new up its sleeve, and this year it's made space in its refrigerators for this special Tyranena brew. Painted Ladies pays tribute to the annual fall festival of the same name in Lake Mills, Wisconsin (the brewery's home). Last year, the pumpkin offering was draft only, but this year's expansion into bottles is our gain. Need more encouragement? The Pumpkin Spice Ale is brewed with almost 160 pounds of pumpkin and a few pounds of pumpkin pie spices.

Also available at Map Room: Southern Tier Pumking Ale, $14 per 22-ounce bottle

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale at Risque Cafe
While it's hard to imagine how this craft-beer bar has survived amidst the sea of Miller Lite-lovers in Wrigleyville, Risque Cafe brashly continues to serve up tons of bourbon and microbrews to patrons. Now the bar is throwing some seasonal pumpkin selections in to the mix, including Buffalo Bill's ale ($5).

Despite its masculine name, the Hayward, California brewery has a refreshingly light touch with fruity flavor (it's known for its Blueberry Oatmeal Stout and Orange Blossom Cream Ale). Translation: You won't feel like you've chugged an entire pumpkin pie after a couple bottles. Which means you can settle in for a long session - long enough to try some of Risque's impressive barbecue menu.

Also available at Risque Cafe: O'Fallon's Pumpkin Ale, $5 per bottle

New Holland's Ichabod at Quenchers Saloon
If you want bottles of Brazilian beer, or a 22-ounce bomber of a rare microbrew, Quenchers is going to be on your short list without a doubt. So it should come as no surprise that this Logan Square bar carries a hearty selection of pumpkin libations, topped by this local classic. Brewed just up the Michigan coast in Holland, Michigan (a short two-and-a-half-hour drive away, if you're in a road-tripping mood) the Ichabod bucks the gourd-centric title trend, but take one drink off the bottle featuring the headless gentleman and you'll have no doubt you're in pumpkin territory. With a well-rounded balance of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin spices in the nose of the drink and a crisp body, the Ichabod is worth shoving aside all the two-hundred-odd other Quenchers beers.

Also available at Quenchers: Southern Tier Pumking, $14 per 22-ounce bottle; Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale, $5 per bottle; O'Fallon's Pumpkin Ale, $5 per bottle

McAuslan's St-Ambroise Citrouille at Hopleaf
Tracking down rare brews is something of an obsession for this Belgian-centric Andersonville bar, and its pumpkin selection fits right in with that philosophy. The St. Ambroise Citrouille, aka the "Great Pumpkin Ale," comes from Quebec's McAuslan brewery, a 20-year-old beer-maker which also makes such fruity concoctions as an Apricot Wheat and a framboise. The Great Pumpkin is actually somewhat gingery as well as pumpkinny, while remaining light-bodied, a little buttery and well-balanced.

Also available at Hopleaf: Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale, $6 per pint

Southern Tier's Pumking Ale (draft) at various locations
If you've experienced the bottled version of this imperial ale, you know that it's a gargantuan pumpkin hammer smashing your face with traditional pie spices, caramel malts and pure pureed pumpkin power. Now that it's on draft (a rarity), you can get all that flavor and strength (it's about nine percent alcohol) with the smoothness and clarity that you expect from a keg version of any quality beer. If you drink only one kind of pumpkin beer this year, make it this one. You can find it at any of these different places around town (call first for availability):

Bad Apple: 12-ounce pour, $6
Sheffield's: 12-ounce goblet, $7
Local Option: One-third liter, $7