The History of Pumpkin Beer

The 2011 season of Pumpkin Ale has proven to be one the most successful seasonal sellers for craft beer makers. The popularity of falls favorite “Pumpkin Beer” has become all the rage.  With more than 400 pumpkin beers to choose from today, modern drinkers may not be tasting anything like their beer’s colonial ancestors.

Many would be surprised to discover that Pumpkin Beer has a history in America; its tale goes all the way back to the 1600’s with “America’s first folk song”

Instead of pottage and puddings and custards and pies,
Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies;
We have pumpkin at morning and pumpkin at noon;
If it was not for pumpkins we should be undone
… Hey down, down, hey down derry down….
If barley be wanting to make into malt
We must be contented and think it no fault
For we can make liquor, to sweeten our lips,
Of pumpkins and parsnips and walnut-tree chips. 

~circa 1643

While most Europeans had never even seen a pumpkin, both pumpkins and brown sugar were easily accessible in early uncolonized America, while proper malt was not. Pumpkin was a native plant. Colonist brewed pumpkin beer for health and sustenance, replacing malt entirely with pumpkin meat.

Pumpkin beer continued to be a staple through the 18th century but its popularity began to wane by the early 1900’s as the access to quality malts became commonplace and the pumpkin itself became viewed as something rustic and less desirable.

Modern pumpkin beers tend to aim for more of a ‘pumpkin pie in a glass’ approach as opposed to ‘pumpkin in a glass’ using spices such a nutmeg and cloves rather than authentic pumpkin flavors. The rebirth of the Pumpkin beer is credited to Buffalo Bill’s Brewery which has been making their America’s Original Pumpkin Beer since the late 1980’s, using one of George Washington’s recipes as inspiration.  Although the experimental batches used pumpkin as an ingredient, the commercial version stuck with the pumpkin pie spice approach instead.