This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another.

In past years, our household has engaged in an exercise every autumn, performing an extended taste test to determine the best pumpkin beer from the bevy of contenders that enter the marketplace around the time Halloween decorations start going up. It’s been a pleasant — if somewhat liver-pummeling — diversion for us, but it seemed time to open up the process. We invited a group of skilled imbibers over and gave them blind samples of twenty different pumpkin beers. It was like a beer fest condensed to one woozy night.

We’ve had a clear favorite over the years, but our beloved Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, from the Stevens Point Brewery, had to settle for a runner-up position in the 2017 beer battle. The clear winner was the Warlock Imperial Stout from Souther Tier Brewing Company. The New York brewer also has a pumpkin ale in their lineup, but the darker beer prevailed. For now, Warlock is our worthy champion.