Does a pumpkin actually taste of anything? I'm not sure, to be honest. The few times I have had it, it’s either been in an extremely spicy soup so I couldn’t tell, or in a pumpkin pie which tasted mostly of sugar and a little bit of cinnamon. I also have vague memories of sitting in front of a plate of mashed pumpkin as a child (it was watery and kind of disgusting).

Of course, it’s good to put pumpkins to proper use instead of just gutting and carving them for Halloween and then letting them disintegrate slowly on your porch. But let’s be honest: a pumpkin is never going to win gold at the tastiest vegetable awards (if there is such a thing).

So the prospect of pumpkin beer didn’t fill me with a whole lot of excitement. The style originated in the US, where they feel pretty strongly about their pumpkins around this time of the year.

First up is Brooklyn Brewery's Post Road Pumpkin Ale. This has a lovely deep orange colour, and the aroma is a little fruity with a hint of cinnamon. It has a gentle bitterness and a light body at 5 per cent. Overall, this is a surprisingly enjoyable and easy-going beer, a good autumn drink which would be lovely to serve with a stew, I reckon.

Next was a can of Beavertown’s Stingy Jack Spiced Pumpkin Ale. This is a little more complex – and stronger, at 7.2 per cent – and very tasty. Using roasted pumpkin glazed in maple syrup, it has clove and cinnamon on the aroma, a gentle sweetness and a slightly darker amber hue. The can is pricey at €5 but it has the reliably cool Beavertown artwork, featuring a kind of skeletal pumpkin man turned space cowboy.

As for any pumpkin flavour in either beer? Couldn’t tell you.

@ITbeerista

beerista@irishtimes.com