Field Pumpkin Beer

What is Field Pumpkin Beer?

Field Pumpkin Beer, or simply pumpkin beer, is beer brewed with pumpkins or pumpkin juice, often accompanied by various spices and seasonings. This is typically a seasonal beer, brewed mainly in the autumn and winter.

Depending on whether the beer is brewed with spices or without, there are two types of pumpkin beer: pumpkin squash beer (made only with pumpkin) and pumpkin spice beer (made with pumpkin and spices).

The spices used are typically those characteristic of pumpkin pie, such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. These spices are also noticeable in the beer’s aroma and flavour. 

The taste and aroma of beers brewed solely with pumpkin depend primarily on the base beer, which can vary from pale ale to stout.

Origin Story

Centuries before Europeans arrived, Native Americans used pumpkins for both food and drink. They fermented pumpkin juice into a refreshing beverage and flavoured it with various spices.

The first European settlers in America, who wanted to produce beer, lacked sufficient barley malt and used various local products as substitutes for barley. They used corn, apples, and pumpkins to make beer. In the 16th century, pumpkin beer found its way to some European countries, though it did not become a significant competitor to barley beer.

Over time, the availability of barley malt improved in America and the use of pumpkins decreased, causing pumpkin beer to fall into near-obscurity. It wasn’t until the 1980s that American craft breweries began brewing pumpkin beer again, making it a popular holiday beer.