History of Pumpkin Ale

Fingers · 09-22-2008, 02:03 AM

I write an article on brewing for an online newsletter and I was asked to write something about pumpkin ale. I wanted to touch more on the history and various general techniques (pumpkin spice vs pumpkin itsef) of brewing but I haven't been able to find much on the history of it.

I haven't actually brewed a pumpkin ale myself so my article will be based entirely on research. Through searching I'm able to find lots of recipes that I can analyze for myself to satisfy the technique requirement, but I haven't been able to find anything other than brief anecdotal references to its history.

Can anyone help me out with links for my research? I have to have something together by the end of the month.

**Coastarine** · 09-22-2008, 02:06 AM

All I can really give you is that this beer claims to be the original pumpkin ale: Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale Is Here And Ready To Be Poured - Beer Advocate

Fingers · 09-22-2008, 02:22 AM

I read a bit from Buffalo Bill's, Coastarine, and they referenced George Washington having brewed a pumpkin ale but it was only a brief reference. By inference they related their ale to the original, but they didn't actually claim the honor. I got the impression that they wanted the reader to assume a relationship.

**Nurmey** · 09-22-2008, 02:32 AM

I can find references to pilgrims using pumpkin for beer (they didn't have much barley) and apparently George Washington made a nice pumpkin porter but I'll be darned if I can find the sources of such knowledge.

I hope you find some good stuff because pumpkin beer is definitely an North American original.

**Edcculus** · 09-22-2008, 02:46 AM

I've never done research. Its always semed to me that pumpkin ale is more of a recent invention from creative home/micro brewers.

Bob · 09-22-2008, 12:05 PM

Pumpkin ale as we know it today is entirely an invention of the craft-brewing "revolution".

Pumpkin beers did exist in the early days of the American colonies. The pumpkin was not used as it is used in modern pumpkin beers, however; historically, the pumpkin replaced malt as the source of fermentables. Pumpkin was used out of necessity in the malt-scarce North American colonies, and as soon as malt was available it replaced alternatives and adjuncts.

Here is a method dated to 1771, from the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia:

Quote:

Receipt for Pompion Ale: Let the Pompion be beaten in a Trough and pressed as Apples. The expressed Juice is to be boiled in a Copper a considerable Time and carefully skimmed that there may be no Remains of the fibrous Part of the Pulp. After that Intention is answered let the Liquor be hopped cooled fermented &c. as Malt Beer.

There is no cinnamon, no nutmeg, no malt; it's getting sugars for yeast to metabolize from the flesh of the fruit. Hard-up colonists used all sorts of stuff for these sugars, including pumpkin, parsnips, molasses, cornstalks, ad infinitum.

Modern brewers must always remember that many beers we think are historical are in fact decidedly not. We must remember that people didn't necessarily drink beer for the same reasons we do - they drank it because drinking water wasn't safe; it'd make you ill. Yes, the quality of the product was important - that's why they used malt when they could get it, and alternatives only in duress - but the really important thing was that there weren't any illness-causing microbes in the fluid.

I know little of the history of modern pumpkin ales. I can only report that they have no basis (as spiced/fruited malt beers) in history longer ago than maybe 1980.

Cheers,

Bob

bierhaus15 · 09-22-2008, 04:30 PM

I came across this when I was doing some research for my recent pumpkin stout...

(The True Story of the First Pumpkin Beer!)
Pumpkin Beer Â« Beer and Food

And to disagree some, while a historical 'pumpkin ale' may not have traditionally used cinnamon, mace, ginger, cloves... in the form as we know it, we do know that such spices were used in colonial brewing. There are many colonial recipes for ginger beers, spiced hard ciders, spiced metheglin, and other brews that utilize the same spices found in our modern pumpkin ale - and the association between pumpkin and 'pumpkin spices' was well established since the 17th century. Various recipes exist for pumpkin puddings, pies, and torts exist that use said spices - including a recipe from the first American cookbook (by Amelia Simmons).

Therefore, while we do not have a historical 'spiced' pumpkin ale that fits our own style, I believe it is rather foolish to assume that it was only in 1985 that an ale brewed with pumpkin and spices was made. The colonial association between such spices and pumpkin was well established and such spices were already being used in other fermented beverages.

Lastly, while there is undoubtedly a difference between modern brews and historical ones, the difference between them is not necessarily because of a profound change in ingredients or brewing processes, but instead due to a refinement of ingredient proportions, as to fit our modern tastes and purposes.

Here is a book that may help. I’ve read it a few times and it’s pretty interesting – Beer in America: The Early Years--1587-1840: Beer's Role in the Settling of America and the Birth of a Nation: by Gregg Smith.

Also the Library of Congress has a decent collection of early American recipes/brews that are relatively accessible.

Good luck!

Donasay · 09-22-2008, 04:31 PM

also remember as with pumpkin pie filling, many pumpkin beers are not made with pumpkin but rather with other types of squash. So you may want to call it something like brewing with squash.

Bob · 09-22-2008, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bierhaus15

I came across this when I was doing some research for my recent pumpkin stout...

(The True Story of the First Pumpkin Beer!)
Pumpkin Beer Â« Beer and Food

And to disagree some, while a historical 'pumpkin ale' may not have traditionally used cinnamon, mace, ginger, cloves... in the form as we know it, we do know that such spices were used in colonial brewing. There are many colonial recipes for ginger beers, spiced hard ciders, spiced metheglin, and other brews that utilize the same spices found in our modern pumpkin ale - and the association between pumpkin and 'pumpkin spices' was well established since the 17th century. Various recipes exist for pumpkin puddings, pies, and torts exist that use said spices - including a recipe from the first American cookbook (by Amelia Simmons).

Therefore, while we do not have a historical 'spiced' pumpkin ale that fits our own style, I believe it is rather foolish to assume that it was only in 1985 that an ale brewed with pumpkin and spices was made. The colonial association between such spices and pumpkin was well established and such spices were already being used in other fermented beverages.

I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree.

Nothing you've said proves anything. Provide proof those spices were used in beer brewing at that time in Colonial America. That ginger beer and other spiced potables existed is not evidence that spiced pumpkin beer existed. The extant recipe I quoted above, for example, lacks any mention at all of traditional pumpkin pie spices. I've never seen one that does mention the spices, and it isn't for lack of trying!

Vegetable oil, mustard, vinegar and eggs have existed for thousands of years. That doesn't mean mayonnaise existed before 1756. Unless it can be definitively proved that traditional pumpkin pie spices were used in beer - not flip, cider or mead/metheglin, but beer - all anyone can say is that they were not. That's the difference between fact and conjecture.

Call it foolish if you like; it was and remains responsible historiographical practice. I'd rather practice solid, academically reliable history than haul out the tired old, "They had X, so they must have done Y" straw man. Without proof they used X for Y, there's nothing more than conjecture. Conjecture is, without proof, a useless waste of time and bandwidth.

Quote:

Lastly, while there is undoubtedly a difference between modern brews and historical ones, the difference between them is not necessarily because of a profound change in ingredients or brewing processes, but instead due to a refinement of ingredient proportions, as to fit our modern tastes and purposes.

True and not true at the same time. Even a cursory examination of the development of brewing's raw ingredients shows the profound differences between historical and modern ingredients. That said, tastes have changed also, and that has had a significant impact. For example, before Wheeler's invention of the drum roaster in 1817, brown malt was a diastatic base malt used in the brewing of porter. After 1817, the grains we know as chocolate, roasted, and most importantly black patent were invented. Make a porter with brown malt as the base and further color and flavor provided by molasses or essentia bina. It will be like no other porter you've ever tasted. Now, did that come from tastes changing or from ingredients changing? For all I know - I haven't exhaustively researched the topic - it's a chicken-egg argument.

Quote:

Here is a book that may help. I’ve read it a few times and it’s pretty interesting – Beer in America: The Early Years--1587-1840: Beer's Role in the Settling of America and the Birth of a Nation: by Gregg Smith.

I've got a very tattered and dog-eared copy of Smith's book, from which I've gone on to collect most of his sources.

It's a lovely book, written in an easy-to-digest manner, and very informative. Amazon usually has it at a good price, and I've seen it on the shelf of my local B&N/Borders stores.

Bob

Fingers · 09-23-2008, 02:14 AM

Thanks for all the information, guys. The article is a general interest piece related to beer and since most of the information I can gather, including that which you guys have kindly furnished, points to little history, I've decided to write my article on Oktoberfest instead.

Thanks for your input.