What sets pumpkinator apart from other pumpkin beers and is there something comparable that is available on the west coast?
I have seen some very small batch stuff out here but cannot recall the names off the top of my head. You just have to hit a store with a good long selection list. (Plump Jack does nicely in SF, for one). I don't go near the novelty stuff, but to each his/her own of course.
Well no beer is exactly the same. It's a good stout on it's own. It's also a lot more "pumpkin forward" than other pumpkin beers which may just have a hint of pumpkin. Southern Tier Pumpking is good too, though not a stout. There are a lot of pumpkin beers out there.
Pumking is too much for me. Also, not impressed with this year's Pumkinator so far. Will age for a year.
Southern tier almost exclusively makes garbage aNd pumpking is among their worst. I took 2 sips and threw it away. Absolutely terrible I did get my hands on 2 Avery Rumpkins this week (18%abv). Although I have not found any Pumpkyn this year which is better
Avery makes such great beers. Avery 5 Monks is probably my favorite beer of all time. At 19% abv, they do such a great job of masking it. Best bourbon barrel aged ale out there.
I still got a case of them, seasoned/aged from last year. Bout to pop some this weekend. Really waiting on the weather to fully change though.