Ballast Point Pumpkin Down

Some might think we’re out of our gourd for making a pumpkin ale, but our Pumpkin Down is not like the others. The caramel and toffee maltiness of our Piper Down Scottish ale is the perfect backdrop for a boatload of roasted pumpkin. Just before bottling, we add a subtle amount of spice to complement, but not overwhelm, the earthy flavor. It was a smash at the brewery, and we think you’ll agree.

3.5

264 reviews

San Diego, United States

Community reviews

3.9 Deep red pour with a tan head. The aroma is full of pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It has a medium body with slightly slick texture and lively carbonation. The taste is sweet and malty with a pleasant, spicy finish.

3.5 12 oz. bottle. Murky brown, with a small, bubbly, tan head. Smells of pumpkin seeds, rye, toast, cinnamon, and peat. Nice, mild, malty sweetness, with a light bitter flavor. Medium body, with a chalky, malty feel. Pretty nice, malty, beer. Not overly sweet or spicy, just malty pumpkin.

3.5 (Tap) clear, bright amber brown colour with a small tan head; aroma of pumpkin pie; clean, balanced flavour with a long, light bitter finish

3.6 Nice burnished copper pour, absent head. Nose is earthy spice and light peat. Middle is mild toffee, an oily coating of the tongue, spice that reminds me of mild garam masala, carmelized grain, and something indistinctly vegetal. Finish is earthy and mostly malty. Not my style, but an interesting beer.

3.5 Bottle from the Kyoto Station Seijo Ishii for about 600 yen which isn't too bad. Ballast Point Pumpkin Down 5.8% Red-brown in color with a beige head and a sweet cotton candy cinnamon like. Medium bodied and dry. The taste is balanced spice, sweet and fruity. I'm kind of disappointed I didn't have this in my thistle glass but I gotta say it is one of the better balanced pumpkin beers I've had.

3.5 Pumpkin Down has a thick, beige head, which fizzes away, quickly, a semi-translucent copper appearance, tight bubble streams, and lots of powdery sediment. No glass lacing. Aroma is of pumpkin pie spices and maybe some faint malt. Taste is of mild pumpkin pie spices, light malt, and a touch of background bitterness. Mouthfeel is rather thin, and Pumpkin Down finishes medium dry. RJT

3.4 From the 12 fl. oz. bottle with no date on the bottle. It is a nice looking amber-red color with a short-lasting off-white head. Decent clarity. The nose emits an abundance of cinnamon and All Spice with a muted sweet malt character underneath. Little pumpkin. Maybe a hint of peat moss. Medium to full body. The cinnamon in the flavor was almost burning with bitterness. Since this is meant to be a Pumpkin Scotch Ale, I get little pumpkin vegetable and even less peat moss than the nose. Both are characters that I felt should be more prominent given what it is.

3.8 copper pour with reddish tint. no head. pumpkin spice and bread aroma. pumpkin flavor is subtle, earthy, bread, and slightly sour. it's not bad for a pumpkin ale.

3.8 Pours a clear copper orange color, with a off white fluffy head. Aroma is very mild, but has some orange, pumpkin, and clove. Taste is also mild, orange, citrus, caramel, pumpkin, mild floral. Not a lot of spice in this one, which is fine with me. Its not over spiced. A little thin but not bad. Smooth and easy drinking. Easily poundable seasonal beer right here.

3.6 This is very drinkable: pumpkin down is smooth, flavorful, and puts you in a fall mindset--even if you live in San Diego. The pumpkin, malt, and additional festive ingredients create a nice profile. Good job on this one. 12oz bottle

3.1 Pint glass served up at Dark Horse before Frightened Rabbit show at Palace Theater. Deep amber/ruby color with slightly off white head of a minimal amount. Nose isn't quite where it needs to be for a pumpkin effort. It comes through but at a muted level and no real sign of spices accenting the pumpkin component. Taste is again showing a surprising level of restraint which is not where I want my pumpkin ales to fall. There are some autumn spices towards the end with maybe nutmeg and light cinnamon and cloves. Almost feels like a late throw in though. Malty qualities with a little pumpkin bread feel. Mouthfeel is thin though which is slightly disappointing. Overall it's a pretty underwhelming effort for this style. Good for those who want a subdued version of a pumpkin ale.

3.3 Bottle from local Seijo Ishii store. Spicy nose, with cinnamon, sugared pumpkin, medium roast malt, and clove. Clear dark reddish/brown color. Flavors of pumpkin, caramel, and clove. Fades fairly quickly. Rather thin body. Okay. One of my least favorite styles. Maybe a little more malt and more body?

4.0 My wife's favorite beer. And she's not a beer drinker

3.1 From tap. Pours hazy dark orange with a small tan head. Aroma is nutmeg, cinnamon and herbal. Mild sweet. Spiced, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardemomme. Medium dry. Herbal and dry. Toasted dry malty finish.

3.7 Dark brown pour, nose of pumpkin and toffee. Sweet toffee/caramel with a subtle pumpkin/spices touch. Nothing is overpowering and well blended.

3.5 Pours brown with a head that dissipated almost instantly. Plenty of pumpkin in the nose as expected, with a good amount of nutmeg, some roasted malt, cinnamon, and caramel. The taste is mostly dry. Its lightly bitter and with a consistent, very mild, sweet touch. Flavors mimic the nose, and thats kind of expected as well. The trio of nutmeg, pumpkin, and cinnamon are found on top, and brown sugar, caramel, and bread serve as compliments. Long pumpkin finish. Medium bodied and with a chewy texture. Not bad at all. These guys have achieved the difficult feat of making a pumpkin beer inoffensive.

3.5 Rich brown color. Has a fantastic aroma of caramel, pumpkin and spice. The flavor is good. Caramel, Toffee, pumpkin pie, cinnamon, baking bread, and roasted nuts. I just want the flavor amped up a bit. I would love to see this with higher abv, and a thicker mouthful. A thick scottish ale, with the flavor amped up would make this a 5/5

3.7 LCI. Uit de fles geschonken. Lekker kruidig, zoet, pompoen, kaneel, caramel. Lekker!

3.4 You typically can't go wrong with Ballast Point, and this is no exception. Rather sweet with pumpkin spices and toffee / caramel taste. Hops are there In the background. One note throughout. A decent pumpkin ale, but I'm not sure if it's worth the premium price.

3.4 Sweet, malty. Lots of caramel with a hint of pumpkin. Malts throughout. Not as potent as I was expecting.

3.3 Bottle from Ithaca beverage center budget bin. Nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, and caramel malt aroma. Copper with large tan head. Moderately sweet nutmeg, cinnamon, caramel malt, and mildly bitter hay flavor. Body a bit light. Decent, straight forward - not over-spiced

3.6 The aroma has pumpkins spice and caramel. The appearance is brown with a small head. The taste is like the aroma. The palate is smooth. Overall a very good pumpkin beer.

3.1 355ml bottle from Systembolaget. Deep amber, tanned head, some lacing. Big gingerbread aroma, cookie dough and peppery. Smooth mouthfeel, medium bodied, soft carbonated. Gingerbread and cinnamon taste, caramel and toffee, earthy notes. Mild bitterness in the finish.

3.6 12 oz bottle. Pours a mostly clear deep Amber color and topped by a small head of tan colored foam that quickly settles to a thin film. The aroma shows notes of toasted caramel, toffee, light peat smoke, pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Smells pretty nice and not overly spiced. The flavor follows with toasted caramel and toffee malts adding a nice sweetness to go with the pumpkin and pie spices of cinnamon and nutmeg. A touch of vanilla adds depth while a hint of peat smoke adds balance. Medium bodied with average carbonation that leads to a toffee and pumpkin finish. Not heavy on the pumpkin which is good. The pumpkin was actually a nice addition to the scotch ale style. Pretty tasty beer that surprised me.

3.2 Bottle. Reddish color, semi clear. Faint aroma. No hops on the aroma. Some malt, low sweetness. Subtle spice. Loads of cinnamon in the flavor. Gingersnap spice.

3.9 Pours a nce amber color with a small off-white head that dissipated rather quickly. The aroma is very sweet, cane sugar, pumpkin pie, and some spices. The flavor is brown bread with some spices, cane sugar, and pumpkin.

3.5 Bottle.Pours copper orange with a small off-white head. Aroma of pumpkin spices, caramel and cinnamon. Flavor of pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, caramel, nutmeg and subtle toffee.

3.3 Thin dense light orange head of fine bubbles. Typical pumpkin spice aroma with some gingerbread and soft roasted malts. Color is a medium reddish brown. Lots of spice in the flavor. More cinnamon and ginger, dry roasted grains and a hint of cherry. Mouthfeel is dry and a bit chalky from the spices. Lingering spice and roastyness. A decent brew. Not sure what about this is scottish.

3.5 Pour out of 12 oz bottle, slightly hazy orange pour with white head, aroma brought notes of caramel, toffee, hints of slight spice, nutmeg, hints of pumpkin, slight vanilla. Taste was a mix of vanilla, caramel, toffee, slight spice with cinnamon, nutmeg, finishing fairly sweet, slightly spicy.

2.8 Bottle. A- Subtle gourd, nutmeg, cinnamon, spices. A- Dark copper color, hazy liquid, off white head. T- Strong spice, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, subtle pumpkin, burnt caramel. P- Medium body, average texture, average carbonation, boring finish. O- Pretty heavy on the spice and not a ton of pumpkin. Alright but far from the best of this type of seasonal offering.