Fall Seasonal Beers

If you have been in your local beer store lately you probably have noticed that the fall seasonal beers are appearing on the shelves.  When I say fall seasonals I am talking about Pumpkin beers and the Oktoberfest beers.  Both are sure signs that Fall is quickly approaching and unfortunately that means colder weather is not far behind.

Both are associated with Fall but for different reasons.  The Pumpkin beers is a harvest beer, using the gourd you grew all season in your beer.  The Oktoberfest beer came from the annual Bavarian harvest festival first celebrated in 1810 to honor the marriage of Prince Ludwig and Therese of Saxe- Hildburghausen.  I will attempt to give a background of each and some of the more classic examples, as well of any local examples in the QC.

First up Pumpkin beer, the base beer is usually a mild beer with little bitterness and a good malt backbone.  In other-words it is quite frequently an amber ale, but it is not the only beer used I have seen pumpkin stouts and sour Belgian beers.   The pumpkin is added at various times, sometimes in the mash, sometimes in the boil or even as the fermenting vessel itself.  Also the pumpkin is added in various forms raw hand cut, pureed, roasted and canned.  Since it is a starchy gourd it can contribute to the mouthfeel of the beer and if it is mashed some of the starch could be converted to sugar thus adding to the potential alcohol content of the beer.   A key to just about any pumpkin beer is that it tends to be spiced with pumpkin pie spices, such as: cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice and clove.  The alcohol runs the gambit from 4-11%+ ABV, just depending on the beer style and if it is imperialized or not.

On Beer Advocate there are over 250+ beers listed as pumpkin beers http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/72/?start=0, with almost all of the beers if not all coming from the US.  The pumpkin is truly an American original, the world did not know of the pumpkin until it was discovered in America.  This is a fruit that the American craft brewer loves to play with.  Some of the more recognizable pumpkin beers are Punkin Ale from Dogfish Head Brewery, Pumking from Southern Tier Brewing,   Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale from Buffalo Bill's Brewery, Schlafly Pumpkin Ale from St.Louis Brewery, and Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin from Shipyard Brewing.  The last two I mentioned are favorites of my wife and I, she really loves the Schlafly because as she says, " You can taste the whip cream on top of it!".  

Please do not think that you should only look for the ones I mentioned, follow the above link to find some that you may like.  The proceed to your local beer store and purchase your choices.  If you do not find the ones you want on the shelf at your local beer store, just ask the staff if they will be receiving the pumpkin beer you want.  If not try some of the ones on the shelf, some beer stores will have a section where you can do a mix and match so you may be able to pick up six different pumpkin ales in on six pack.

I am not aware of any local brewery currently working on a pumpkin ale.  I know last year Great River had a Pumpkin Ale, but unsure if that is in the plans for this year.  Also I know that traditionally Bent River has made a Sweet Potato Ale each year, spiced with pumpkin pie spices.  So be on the look out to see if either of these beers show up this Fall.

The Oktoberfest beer is a traditional German beer that has been well received by the American beer drinker and because of that has become a staple of many American craft breweries.  Traditionally the beer was brewed in March, thus the alternative name Marzen.   Before modern refrigeration March was still cool enough to properly brew a beer and then stored in cool caves under a coating of ice harvested during the winter.  Oktoberfest beers are lagers, this is a type of beer made with bottom fermenting yeast and fermented for a long period of time at cool temperatures.  The beer is rich, full-bodied and usually light to dark copper in color.  Most are between 5-7% ABV, but there are some Imperial Oktoberfests  that check in at up to 10% ABV. 

On Beer Advocate there are over 600+ beers listed as Oktoberfest beers http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/29/?start=0, since this is a classic German beer some of the best examples are from Germany.  Look for such names as Spaten,  Paulaner, Ayinger and Weihenstephaner at your local  beer store.  There are some American craft brewers that make very good examples as well so search for Oktoberfest from these breweries as well Great Lakes, Samuel Adams, Victory, Great Divide, Sprecher and New Glarus (New Glarus is sold only in Wisconsin).  If you can not find any of these or you are unsure which one to purchase as for assistance from the staff at your local beer store.  As I mentioned with the Pumpkin Beer you maybe able to build your own six pack, that way you can try six different Oktoberfest beers in one six pack.  

The only local craft brewery that I am aware of producing an Oktoberfest is Great River Brewing.  They are having a special tapping on Thursday, September 15th from 5-11PM at their Davenport Tasting Room.  So if you are able head on down and try a locally produced Oktoberfest.

Hopefully I have intrigued you enough that you will do some exploration on your own and find your favorite Fall seasonal beer.  Do not be afraid to ask our local beer store for a specific beer, they may surprise you and be able to order it in for you.  Just because you may not see it on the shelf it does not mean that it is unavailable to your local beer store.

QC Beerguy