Seasonal Pumpkin Flavored Ales

In my hometown, Toledo, Ohio, a restaurant called the Maumee Bay Brewing Company, 27 Broadway, in the Oliver House, is brewing up pumpkin beer for Halloween. There are eight towering tanks full of the mixture that will eventually reap about 20 kegs of pumpkin ale. Starting on October 19th, the restaurant will start serving the delicious brew that will last approximately one month. Pumpkin beer is becoming increasingly popular. There are at least 100 different pumpkin ales on the market.

Coors and Anheuser-Bush have jumped on the trend offering Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale and Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale. Peeled , seeded pumpkin goes into the mixture along with nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. This pumpkin brew is strictly an American idea. During the colonial era, pumpkins were sometimes used when barley wasn't available.

Pumpkin ale goes great with roasted foods and spicy Asian foods. It goes great with the American Thanksgiving dinner too.

If you can't get to Ohio to try their special pumpkin ale, here are some bottled pumpkin ales available :

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale, produced by Portland Brewing, Oregon. It contains 4.75% alcohol. It's a light to medium bodied brew that has more spice than pumpkin. It starts out slightly malty and thins out quickly. There are citrus flavors with some bitterness at the end.

Post Road Pumpkin Ale, brewed by Brooklyn Brewery, New York. It contains 5.0% alcohol. This is a medium bodied and easy to drink ale. It has a sweet and spicy balance. There are some herbal aromas and flavors near the end.

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin, brewed by Blue Moon, Colorado. It contains 5.7% alcohol. This is widely available offered from a unit of Coors. It is an amber colored brew and light bodied. It's a little sweet with more malt than pumpkin. Strong spice with a dry finish.

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale, brewed by Smuttynose, New Hampshire. It contains 5.0% alcohol. This one is a light brown beer with a medium to full body. It's malty with a good balance of spices. Nutmeg and cloves are noticeable but not overpowering the pumpkin flavor. It is a bit hoppy at the end.

Shipyard Pumpkin Ale, brewed by Shipyard, Maine. It contains 4.5% alcohol. This is a yellow, light beer with a fruity taste of apples and pears and pumpkin. It's a thinner version with less body .

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, brewed by Dogfish Head, Delaware. It contains 7.0% alcohol. This is a brown ale with pumpkin, nutmeg and ginger. It's a little sweet but very balanced taste.

Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale, brewed by Anheuser-Busch, Missouri. It contains 5.5% alcohol. This is a light amber colored brew, with pumpkin, nutmeg, ginger and clove. Spiced sweet flavor with a light malty backround.

Remember this is a seasonal brew. Taste while you can!