Pumpkin Beers: Promising Seasonal Beer or Bad Fad?
Autumn.
The air conditioners turn off. The pumpkin spice turns on.
Pumpkin beers have been a seasonal favourite craft beer for decades, years before Starbucks introduced the infamous pumpkin spice latte.
Some of the most popular pumpkin ales in Nova Scotia include:
Propeller Brewing’s Pumpkin Spiced Ale, using world-famous pumpkins from Windsor, Nova Scotia
Garrison Brewing’s Double Jack Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Schoolhouse Brewing’s Pumpkin Paddler, a tribute to the Windsor Pumpkin Regatta
Have they fallen off?
Five-year Google search results for “pumpkin beer” in Canada, showing respectable annual search spikes (Google Trends).
The short answer is yes, pumpkin beer sales have declined from their original high-point circa 2010. However, here are some promising pumpkin beer stats:
Pumpkin beers and other fall beers account for ~$1B in sales in the US.
~1 in 7 autumn beer purchases is a pumpkin beer.
Pumpkin beer searches on Google spike around mid-September in Canada and perform equivalently to non-alcoholic beer.
Along with Oktoberfest beers, pumpkin beers are the most-sold autumn style of beer.
Seasonal beers, like pumpkin ales, continue to see share gains.
Bill Burr gives his thoughts on Samuel Adams' pumpkin ale.
I, personally, love a good pumpkin beer. I still remember enjoying my first one in Disney World in my young 20s and being blown away at how tasty it was.
While we’ve seen a few regional craft breweries in Atlantic Canada producing the style, I’ve yet to witness the trend take off here as meaningfully as it has in the States.
Lack of pasteurisation in craft brewing could be a contributing factor. After all, pumpkin is a fruit, and it may harbour harmful bacteria like salmonella and E. coli. Or it may contribute residual sugars that referment in the can and cause exploding beer cans.
Not to worry. At The Beverage Factory, we can produce safe, delicious seasonal beers, like pumpkin ales, using HACCP-/GMP-accredited processes and tracking methods.
