Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo Illustration

A little bit of nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon, a pinch of ginger, a bit of cloves and a healthy helping of pumpkin.

As soon as the top comes off, the aromas hit you – you’re about to sample one of the flavors of the season: pumpkin beer.

“There are some very pleasant and drinkable pumpkin beers,” says Steve Bradt, brewmaster for Free State Brewing Co., 636 Mass. “It’s a pretty unique flavor. I think, though, that it’s not something that many people will sit down and drink more than one at a sitting.”

Bradt says the key to a good pumpkin beer is bringing out the pumpkin flavor without relying too much on pumpkin pie spice.

“When I’m drinking a pumpkin beer, I’m looking for a beer that if you’ve got any spices, it’s very subdued,” he says. “You want to be able to taste the pumpkin.”

While Free State doesn’t have a such an ale on tap, local liquor stores offer several options for anyone looking to try a pumpkin beer. Some are from well-known international breweries, like Molson Coors’ Harvest Moon and Anheuser-Busch’s Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale.

Mike Strano, a beer enthusiast and employee at Cork and Barrel liquor store, 2000 W. 23rd St., says for the most part, people pick up pumpkin beer on a whim.

“There’s a following, but for the most part people who buy it are doing so for the first time,” he says.

Bradt says seasonal beers – of which pumpkin beer is invariably one – tend to be brewed to take advantage of flavors people identify with in that season. In fall, in particular, people are more willing to drink heavier beers, and consequently pumpkin beers tend to be more full-bodied and sweeter than a seasonal beer you might find in the summer.