We Tried the Pumpkin Spice Latte Beer

Pumpkin Spice Latte Beer
Lee Breslouer & Oren Aks/Thrillist
Lee Breslouer & Oren Aks/Thrillist

 Pumpkin Spice Latte beer is a real thing brewed and canned by Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado. The limited-edition beer just landed on shelves, finally eliminating the hassle of just straight-up dumping beer in your coffee. But is it any good? Let's find out!

Does it taste like a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte?

Let's get this one out of the way. No. No it does not.

So what does it taste like?

If you've ever had nitro coffee in a can, or any nitro beer in a can (like Guinness), you know the drink's smooth, creamy sensation. And since this Pumpkin Spice Latte stout is "nitrogen charged" according to the can, the beer starts off swimmingly. Can't argue with a nitrogen-enhanced stout.

Things go a little downhill from here. To me, the very best pumpkin beers are overloaded with pumpkin pie spices -- much like Starbucks' flagship PSL drink. Sadly, there aren't a whole lot of pumpkin spice notes to be found. Instead, it tastes like a coffee stout with some nutmeg notes thrown in at the end as an afterthought. I wanted so badly for there to be more pumpkin spice -- after all, it's called Pumpkin Spice Latte.

If you love pumpkin beers, you'll find this one to be middle-of-the-road in terms of quality, despite its impeccable branding. My recommendation is to go to Starbucks, steal its pumpkin spices, and mix them into the beer. Then you'll be in business.

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Lee Breslouer is a senior writer for Thrillist, and enjoys pumpkin everything. Follow him to fall flavors @LeeBreslouer.