Lakefront Pumpkin Lager

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

Pours a perfectly transparent amber with a small white head. Tons of sweet pumpkin pie in the nose, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a light hopping. Taste is very sweet and light malty. All the pumpkin pie is present, if this brew were as thick as darklord it would be like drinking pumpkin pie. Very well balanced. Slightly thin on the palate with the cinnamon trailing off in the background.

Pumpkin meat orange with a thin, whispy head. Strong notes of spice: coriander, ginger, cinnamon, clove. Pumkin pie is the best way to describe the nose, the taste is first laden with spice and vegetable, with lots of dryness at the finish. One of the best pumpkin beers out there.

Rerate based on two follow-up tastings: one was a fresh bottle from the 2005 batch, the other from the Autumn 2004 run in the spring of 2005. I would swear that this recipe has changed for the worse over time. Nowhere near as good as it is fresh on tap at the brewery, or newly bottled in 2002 and 2003. Regardless, my original review, slightly tweaked to reflect what you’d get today, is below...

One of the better pumpkin beers I’ve had. Glorious aroma of pumpkin paired with spices - nutmeg and cinnamon are the most prominent. Cleansing, crisp and slightly spiced on the palate. Creaminess is interrupted by an acidic bite, distorting the other wise similar flavor to pumpkin pie with a scoop of buttercream on top. Always a tradition to get a sixer of this when it’s in season.

Pleasant pumpkin pie spice aroma with some Christmas spice and cinnamon in there as well - quite nice - mostly downhill after that. Light off white head sits atop the light copper pour with some floaties speckled about. Flavor has a brief pumpkin pie spice splash, but settles to a bland vegetable like flavor. Has a bit of pepper in there as well and as it warms, tastes similar to spiked hot cider. The aftertaste is not unlike some malt liquors - slighlty fusel alcohol-like. Started with high possibilities.

Clear amber body. Tastes like pumpkin pie filling but with less sweetness and more of a cooked vegetable and bitter spice flavor. A "gardeny" taste. Pretty light aroma - features more of the organic parts of pumpkin. Not that great overall. I think the aroma has better "pumkin beer" character than the flavor does, mostly due to the cooked vegetable notes.

I am very impressed with the aroma of this beer. From the bottle it is like Campari and soda; from the glass it takes on a hoppiness and when taken in closer the aroma exhibits malts, elegant women’s perfume and spices. The flavor of this beer is unique to me as this is my first pumpkin flavored beer (figured it’s Halloween time so why not). Sort of hard to put a handle on, still a lot like Campari but with some tangy spice elements; perhaps the standard hops and malt elements should be more prevalent to make it seem less like a high-quality wine cooler. In fact, I don’t like its texture at all - carbonation is present but seems stifled, and there is a watered-down syrupiness. One thing that strikes me is that pumpkin doesn’t seem to figure too strongly anywhere in this beer - since this is claimed to taste like pumpkin pie I’ve decided to deduct 2 Overall points based on this. Note: if you're in Milwaukee I'd recommend this brewpub - truly a fun place with a sense of class, and many great brews to say the least.

This beer is ok. Some pumpkin in the aroma. Copper color. Flavor of sweet citrus and some spice. Little pumplin. Very nice aftertaste with mild spices and fruit.

Pumpkin Coloring. No Head. Nice Spice on the Nose. Spices and Pumpkin on the Tongue but Very Subtle Throughout. A Little More Oomph and This Would Be a Great Brew.