Recently, craft and macro-brewers alike have seized upon a formula that's worked for the greeting card industry and the Food Network for years now: holiday-themed product. It's an easy sell for Hallmark and its ilk, and televised cooking shows have made a good go of showcasing cooking focused more on big holidays than seasonal ingredients. But beer? Shoehorning iconic flavors into brews — available for a limited time only! — seems more of a stretch.
Which brings us to the spate of pumpkin ales hitting the market right about … now. There are dozens available, with flavors derived from fresh pumpkin, pumpkin puree or the usual formula of scientifically-derived pumpkin essence. And, as usual, the better the ingredient, the better the beer.
Post Road Pumpkin Ale — from the exciting Brooklyn Brewery — and Wolaver's Will Stevens' Pumpkin Ale both go the all-natural route, using whole pumpkins blended directly into the mash.
This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2009.