Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale

Review Date 10/3/2023  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Pumpkin Ale   Brewery: Whole Hog   Country: USA   State: Wisconsin   $ Per OZ: $.18 (B)   ABV: 7%

Have you ever gone whole hog on something? That expression, if you are not familiar with it, means to go all in on something, to attack it with gusto, to go the whole nine yards. I know what it means, and so do the folks at Whole Hog Brewing, subsidiary of Stevens Point Brewing of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. I recently went whole hog on a bottle of their tasty Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, and I never looked back after taking the first sip.

The brewery motto is “Go Bigger. Go Better. Go Whole Hog.” They certainly did all of those things on Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale. Just look at some of the awards this beer has garnered, according to Whole Hog:

2021 Great American Beer Festival | Bronze Medal | Pumpkin Beer

2019 Great American Beer Festival | Gold Medal | Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer

2018 Great American Beer Festival | Silver Medal | Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer

2015 European Beer Star | Gold Medal | Herb and Spice Beer

2015 Paste Magazine | Gold Medal | Pumpkin Beer

2014 Great American Beer Festival | Bronze Medal

2012 Great American Beer Festival | Gold Medal | Pumpkin Beer

That is, my friends, an extremely impressive string of wins. They also say this about the beer:

Of all the gold medal-winning pumpkin ales, one factor sets Whole Hog apart: spice. Pumpkin pie spices, natural cinnamon, nutmeg, and real pumpkin are perfectly balanced in this sweet, fully enveloping Pumpkin Ale.

Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale has an alcohol content of 7% by volume with 38 IBUs, both stats a little higher than normal for the style, but I like it. I paid $3.99 for my 12-ounce bottle from Half Time. Total Wine sells it for $12.99 a six-pack which is, I think, a few dollars higher than it should be.

Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale pours to a bright orange color with a light head of spritzy, short lived foam and a nose of vegetal pumpkin and pie spice. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body and I get notes of fleshy, vegetal pumpkin. There is a hint of caramel and pie spice, clove perhaps, definitely nutmeg and cinnamon. The beer finishes dry from the spice and very delicious.

This beer is truly pumpkin pie in a glass, just what I want from the style.  This is my first Whole Hog beer, and you may be wondering, would I buy it again? I would, and after enjoying it as much as I did, I am eager to try more beers in this line.