# New rule for beer makers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [September 26, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126 "2010-09-26T19:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/1 "2010-09-26T19:03:48Z")
Stop making ale out of goddamn pumpkins. Every Autumn a dozen or so breweries pump this shit out and it’s gross. The very idea of drinking a liquefied pumpkin makes me want to gag. It’s a squash for kripes sake. Ma Nature did not intend for us to drink it. If you’re a brewer and you’re bored, how about trying to make a light beer that has some malt & bitter hops to it. Or a cheap beer with some actual flavor. But leave the pumpkins for pie and jack-o-lanterns. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/2 "2010-09-26T19:23:17Z")
I like pumpkin ale. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/3 "2010-09-26T19:26:38Z")
I heartily agree with the OP. Never saw the attraction of “pumpkin” beers and, besides, most of these beers aren’t really don’t have that much to do with pumpkin, but are more like “pumpkin-pie-spiced” beers. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/4 "2010-09-26T19:36:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I like pumpkin ale. Seek help. Drink 2 Boston Lagers and call me in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/5 "2010-09-26T19:48:14Z")
It’s a shame that craft beer doesn’t have scads of other styles. Look, I don’t care for saison all that much, but it takes up about as much shelving real estate as pumpkin ales, so who cares? Pale ales, IPAs, IPAs brewed with rye, barleywines, bocks, doppelbocks, hefeweizens, pilsners, imperial pilsners, stouts, Russian imperial stouts, ambers, browns, porters, dubbels, tripels, quads, ESBs, and whole lot more: love 'em. ETA: Light beer is for men who cry after they jerk off. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/6 "2010-09-26T19:48:15Z")
My current brew of choice is Mack & Jack’s. Haven’t tried Boston Lager. (I tend to drink local brews.) I don’t mean to say that I’d like to drink pumpkin ale all the time. But I like it for a change. . ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/7 "2010-09-26T20:00:53Z")
Agree whole-heartedly with the OP. Pumpkin ales are made by brewers with shoddy products to begin with. Reinheitsgetbot Forever! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/8 "2010-09-26T20:11:47Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Agree whole-heartedly with the OP. Pumpkin ales are made by brewers with shoddy products to begin with. [Dogfish Head](http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/seasonal-brews/punkin-ale.htm) disagrees with you, as do I. > [@](#): > > Reinheitsgetbot Forever! They did repeal the law, you know. 😉 Good thing, else we wouldn’t have any hefeweizen. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/9 "2010-09-26T20:20:48Z")
I like pumpkin ale. Of course, I also have a six pack of Yuengling light lager next to me, so I don’t qualify as a real beer drinker to a few in this thread. I’ll live, somehow. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/10 "2010-09-26T20:29:35Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Reinheitsgetbot Forever! Don’t get crazy now. There’s plenty of great beers out there that have ingredients in addition to malted barley, hops, and water (and yeast.) (I never really was quite clear how wheat beers fit into the reinheitsgetbot.) I mean, really, do you want to throw out the Belgian ales? It’s not my favorite style of beer, but on a cool autumn or winter evening, sometimes that’s exactly what hits the spot. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/11 "2010-09-26T21:24:03Z")
For that matter, I’m a little sick of dark beers that have coffee and chocolate in them. It’s not that I don’t like those flavors (I don’t) or think that they don’t go well in the beer (they do, actually), it’s just that I’m sick of it. Come on, something different, please! It’s not creative or innovative anymore. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/12 "2010-09-26T21:31:43Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > > [@silenus](#): > > > > Agree whole-heartedly with the OP. Pumpkin ales are made by brewers with shoddy products to begin with. > > [Dogfish Head](http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/seasonal-brews/punkin-ale.htm) disagrees with you, as do I. > > > [@](#): > > > > Reinheitsgetbot Forever! > > They did repeal the law, you know. 😉 Good thing, else we wouldn’t have any hefeweizen. Couldn’t prove it by me. I’ve never had a Dogfish I’ve liked yet. The price of purity is purists. Pumpkin ale blows. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/13 "2010-09-26T22:08:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Don’t get crazy now. There’s plenty of great beers out there that have ingredients in addition to malted barley, hops, and water (and yeast.) Ah yes, let’s not forget they didn’t know about yeast at the time. I guess we have to go back to wild-fermented beers now. 😛 (Screw outmoded concepts of “purity,” hooray for innovation.) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/14 "2010-09-26T22:10:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > My current brew of choice is Mack & Jack’s. Haven’t tried Boston Lager. (I tend to drink local brews. I don’t get the attaction of Mac n Jacks? Just had a pitcher at lunch today. Then again I’m the guy that says you can benchmark mosst beers against an Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and a Guinness. These are not necessarily the “best” beers in the world, but you have to be better or don’t make any claims. thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/15 "2010-09-27T00:45:55Z")
About 95% of beers flavored with stuff other than malt or hops or a grain of some sort (wheat/rye/etc) suck. That last 5%, though, can be heavenly. I’ve never had a pumpkin beer I liked until I had New Holland Ichabod; now I can’t wait for it to show up every year. And one of my all-time favorite beers is Dark Horse Raspberry. Both are very subtle with their flavoring, and not at all sweet. The Ichabod has a good pumpkiny taste, not a pumpkin pie spice taste. I’ve been drinking it for the past week or so and man, it’s a great beer. And I can’t agree more with **China Guy** when he says “Then again I’m the guy that says you can benchmark most beers against an Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and a Guinness. These are not necessarily the “best” beers in the world, but you have to be better or don’t make any claims.” Those are all benchmark beers; yes, there’s better, but if I spent the rest of my life with only those 3 to drink, I’d die happy. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rule-for-beer-makers/555126/16 "2010-09-27T04:30:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > My current brew of choice is Mack & Jack’s. Haven’t tried Boston Lager. (I tend to drink local brews.). Mac and Jacks African Amber is my absolute favorite. Boston Lager is what I drink because Mac and Jacks doesn’t do bottles and they sell it at Costco. Always wanted to do the brewery tour in Redmond. > [@China\_Guy](#): > > Then again I’m the guy that says you can benchmark mosst beers against an Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and a Guinness. These are not necessarily the “best” beers in the world, but you have to be better or don’t make any claims. thanks! I HAVE, however, toured the Anchor Steam brewery in San Francisco though. Really cool experience but REALLY hard to get into. Probably not in small part due to the free beer at the end. 🙂 Got myself a kick ass Anchor Steam hoodie.