“A full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar. We brew our Punkin Ale with pumpkin meat, organic brown sugar and spices. This is the perfect beer to warm-up with, as the season cools.
Punkin Ale is named after a locally-famous and seriously off-centered event here in southern Delaware - Punkin Chunkin. In fact, Punkin Ale made it’s debut as it claimed First Prize in the 1994 Punkin Chunkin Recipe Conest - yes, that was a full 6 months before we even opened our doors for business. Punkin Chunkin has grown in size and scale with pumpkins now being hurled more than 4,000 feet through the air! If you come down to see if for yourself - come by and visit us.
Since then, we’ve brewed Punkin Ale each and every fall. It is released right around September first each year. When you find it, grab some extra because it’s usually gone by Thanksgiving.”
So here’s the deal. I’m really skeptical about pumpkins. I hate raw pumpkins. When they are whole. When they are gutted. The smell, the texture and sliminess inside. I can still remember back to church youth group days and the smell of unloading pumpkins off a semi trailer for the pumpkin patch. On the other end, I like pumpkin pie and pumpkin seeds. Not those sweet pumpkin so called coffee drinks though. Sometimes I forget that I like the cooked version of pumpkin and only think of the raw, stringy, slimy insides.
Anyways, I thought I would do a tribute to fall with a brew from my favorite brewery, Dogfish Head. I also learned that this was the very first beer that Sam made before DFH even opened. As for other pumpkin ales I have had, they just seemed like any other medium to dark ale. This one was a bit different though. My pour was a little off so the head was pretty much non-existent. Color was copper. The pumpkin spices come through in the nose, also a yeasty biscuit aroma. Taste is really smooth and malty. A bit of spice too. The pumpkin flavor doesn’t come through really hard, but it’s there, a good amount and not too much or little. I think this is a quality beer, it’s just not my style. I’m sure anyone can enjoy this beer, if you can find any, as they usually sell out by Thanksgiving. Cheers!
