Too early for pumpkin ales?

[user 108580]

Saw this on the Rogue Ales Facebook page and thought it was too good not to share:

"It's almost September and we have been asked why Rogue Ales Fresh Pumpkin Patch Ale is not on shelves or taps yet...

Answer #12: We didn't realize Halloween was August 31 this year. Or that Thanksgiving moved to September.
Answer # 3.7: Brewmaster John Maier is allergic to canned, pureed and foreign pumpkins.
Answer # 13: The pumpkins refused to take growth hormones.
Answer # 82: Beer is what it eats - eat fresh, be fresh. Eat canned, be canned.
Answer # 0: Rogue grows pumpkins, not cans.

This weekend our pumpkins will be harvested - stayed tuned for the pumpkins' journey from Patch to Batch."

I agree. We're definitely still in summer beer season in my neck of the woods. Whats the rush?

 

[nukebrewer]

Agreed. I've been seeing pumpkin beers and even Octoberfests on shelves since mid-August and I love them so much that I couldn't help trying a few. Since last weekend at my in-laws house, I have made a commitment to refrain from fall beers until it's actually fall, and no pumpkin beers until October 1st at the earliest. Those answers are hilarious, BTW.

 

[kingmatt]

Meh, sounds a little elitist to me...

Canned pumpkin, that contains no preservatives, is just as good as fresh pumpkin and will make a delicious beer. Or you could just use pumpkin spice and skip the pumpkin all together like a lot of people do.

Either way, pumpkin ales should be enjoyed all year IMO. Brew and drink what you like.

 

[jbeukelman]

I just brewed a pumpkin ale last weekend. Ready in a month or so. Like what the last poster said, you're a homebrewer: brew what you want when you want!

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Just kegged mine 3 days ago and if it's mature enough I will be serving it a brewfest this Saturday. If its still green I'm holding off drinking it for about another month since I have other beer to serve and drink.

 

[brew2enjoy]

I like to brew my pumpkin ales around this time so they are in their prime by Halloween.

 

[user 108580]

I wasnt really talking about making your own pumpkin ales. More like how I've seen pumpkin ales on the shelf since the begginning of august. I love Christmas, but you don't see me celebrate it year round.

I like the idea of seasonal beers cause it gives you something to look forward to throughout the year. When you make them year round, kinda takes the fun out of it for me. Nothin beats goin down to the local pumpkin patch and pickin out a pumpkin or 2 for brew day. Sorta makes an adventure out of the whole process.

 

[JordanThomas]

Haters gonna hate. I think Rogue is mad because breweries beat them to the punch. I say, pumpkin ales year round. MMM.

They wouldn't respond that way unless it was a cheap shot at others, because they could have simply said, "We don't release that beer until insert date here of each year."

I'll still buy their beers occasionally, though!

 

[MisterTipsy]

It's available early because other people want to buy it early. It will still be available when you want to buy it. I don't see the problem.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I have seen Easter, Christmas, Oktober and Pumpkin Ales on tap simultaneously in August, and don't mind it a bit. To me it's all about flavor - the seasonality is incidental.

 

[user 108580]

To each their own I guess lol

 

[ktblunden]

The point Rogue is making is that they grow their own pumpkins for their pumpkin ale and as such they have to wait until harvest time to be able to brew the beer. The original point of a lot of fall beers was that they were brewed at harvest time using freshly harvested ingredients. The rush to market most other breweries are participating in requires them to use ingredients which aren't as fresh, such as canned pumpkin. I have nothing against canned pumpkin at all, but if given the option I'd rather use fresh.

 

[AmandaK]

The original point of a lot of fall beers was that they were brewed at harvest time using freshly harvested ingredients.

That was the point, and sadly, now it's not the point anymore. It's mostly about marketing.

 

[BrewThruYou]

Haters gonna hate. I think Stone is mad because breweries beat them to the punch.

Who is talking about Stone?

 

[ktblunden]

That was the point, and sadly, now it's not the point anymore. It's mostly about marketing.

Right, and that's the problem. Sacrificing fresh ingredients to get on the shelves first is not a good trend to perpetuate for the industry as a whole. Boston Brewing may be able to source ingredients out of season, but the smaller breweries who are trying to keep up don't have the same kind of clout.

 

[TyTanium]

I had this very debate for my own pumpkin beer:

Wait until my homegrown pumpkins are ready for harvest and brew then,
or
Brew now w/canned pumpkin so the beer is ready at the same time as the harvest.

I went with the latter. When my friends come over this fall for football, I want them to be drinking a my pumpkin beer whilst admiring my orange pumpkins on the vine. Brewing in advance allows me to align the beer experience with the season. Plus, if it's any good, I can brew it again with my own pumpkins and serve it for Thanksgiving.

 

[scottland]

There was a great article somewhere about the death of the seasonal beer. Basically, market research has shown that the first seasonal beer a consumer buys tends to be the seasonal beer they will continue to buy for the next few months.

This has created a rush-to-market for seasonal beers, and why it seems we are drinking seasonals one full season too soon. It's still flipping August, and there are pumpkin beers on the shelves. In other words, It's not even labor day yet. I'm sorry, that's just too early for Pumpkin beers. The high here in Phoenix is supposed to be around 104*, it was 108 yesterday, sounds like it's time for an octoberfest

I plan my fall beers to be ready by late October. They are ready for Halloween, and still on tap in November. I'll usually save a few bottles of a pumpkin ale for Thanksgiving. I wish more commercial breweries felt the same. Come Halloween, there are already winter warmers on the shelves.

 

[TyTanium]

There was a great article somewhere about the death of the seasonal beer.

Yup - here was the thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/seasonals-grinding-my-gears-349286/

and here's the article:
http://www.notchbrewing.com/2012/02/24/the-death-of-seasonal-beers/

 

[user 108580]

Yup - here was the thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/seasonals-grinding-my-gears-349286/

and here's the article:
http://www.notchbrewing.com/2012/02/24/the-death-of-seasonal-beers/

I was originally gonna put my OP on the "seasonals grinding my gears" thread but I couldn't find it. I was searching pumpkin cuz I thought that was in the title. Whoops. Thanks for posting that here.

 

[vtron]

It's still flipping August, and there are pumpkin beers on the shelves.

It's only flipping August until midnight. In my mind, once August ends (and football season starts), it's time for fall beers. I tapped my pumpkin last night and couldn't be happier about it.

 

[JordanThomas]

Who is talking about Stone?

Meant Rogue... For some reason I wrote Stone...

 

[JordanThomas]

That was the point, and sadly, now it's not the point anymore. It's mostly about marketing.

It's not mostly about marketing if you don't do anything you wouldn't do anyway. I would buy pumpkin beers in June if they were available. And guess what... That has everything to do with the fact that I love those beers, and nothing to do with marketing.

Brew what you want, when you want. Drink what you want, when you want. Shouldn't let other people's choices affect you.

 

[TyTanium]

Shouldn't let other people's choices affect you.

Except, sadly, they do. I'd love to have my favorite pumpkin beers in October, but other people have bought them all so there are none left.

 

[JordanThomas]

Except, sadly, they do. I'd love to have my favorite pumpkin beers in October, but other people have bought them all so there are none left.

Well, I feel your pain, but didn't you have the same opportunity to purchase them as others?

I'm always upset when my favorite seasonals run out, but the timing is different every year, so I can't really complain.

 

[Darwin18]

Answer #12: We didn't realize Halloween was August 31 this year. Or that Thanksgiving moved to September.

I agree strongly with this. Our local grocery store was already selling Halloween candy two weeks ago. This is one of my bigger aggravations with mass consumerism and I'm sad to see it spread to craft beer. I understand the need to generate profits, but are we going to be seeing spring seasonals right before New Years now?

 

[JordanThomas]

I agree strongly with this. Our local grocery store was already selling Halloween candy two weeks ago. This is one of my bigger aggravations with mass consumerism and I'm sad to see it spread to craft beer. I understand the need to generate profits, but are we going to be seeing spring seasonals right before New Years now?

Mass consumerism? If we did see Spring seasonals before New Year's, would you buy them? If not, would you be mad when Spring came along and there were none left? I really am not seeing the issue that frustrates people. Breweries will be criticized if their product arrives late, and if they arrive too soon, and if they are underproduced, and if they are underdistributed. If pushing seasonals before the season occurs loses them customers, then they will compensate moving forward. If they sell out regardless of when they bring their product to shelves, why would they think that what they were doing was anything but acceptable. If the product is still high quality, I do not care what season it is sold in.

 

[scottland]

It's only flipping August until midnight. In my mind, once August ends (and football season starts), it's time for fall beers. I tapped my pumpkin last night and couldn't be happier about it.

Pumpkin beers started hitting the shelves two weeks ago. Middle of august.