625. Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee, WI) - Pumpkin Lager

“Real pumpkin and pie spice join Munich and caramel malts in our brewhouse, then lager for four weeks in our cellar, and come together with all the flavors of a lush pumpkin pie.”

And on the can it says, “Lager brewed with real pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and mace.” I think I can taste the mace. (This is a bad joke, which means it has a good chance of being confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense.) The cinnamon leads the way and sort of buries everything else, but the general effect is solid; and all of that baking spice imparts an unusually dry finish for a lager. The 6.1% ABV is just icing on the cake. I haven’t made a list of the best pumpkin beers I’ve tried, but this would have to be top five.