Save The Date:
Octoberfest Celebration at the Cross Creek Country Club Restaurant! Saturday, October 26, 2024. 3:00 to 6 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Stein Holding Competition – who can hold up a stein of beer the longest! Register the day of the event!
50/50 raffle to support the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida
German food and beer! One drink ticket per person for either beer, house wine or soft drink! Do not have to be a beer lover to attend!
$30 per person.
Reservations Required by October 16th.
Contact the Cross Creek Clubhouse Restaurant to reserve a spot today!
October is here and so are the pumpkin themed food and beverages. Pumpkin spice this, and pumpkin spice that, well beer is also part of this trend.
Using pumpkin in beer also goes back to America’s early settlers on the East Coast in the 18th century. Barley was difficult to grow in the moist Southern Climate and the Northern States have a wet fall that is hard on barley as well. Pumpkins were native to American, grew well, and were used as the starch and sugars needed by yeast to ferment into beer. Use what you have available!
Now pumpkin ales are a fall beverage associated with Halloween as well as Thanksgiving. They show up in the beer cooler in September and are available through November. The modern version usually contains pumpkin pie type spices of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and sometimes ginger.
There are many ways to use the pumpkin in the production of beer. In the 18th century version, very few to no other grains were used in the beer. The pumpkin was cooked and chopped up to provide the sugar and starches for the yeast to ferment. Some pumpkins were squeezed, like making cider, to use only the juice.
The modern version of pumpkin ale does contain grains to provide more of the sugars for fermentation. The pumpkin can be added as raw pumpkin, roasted pumpkin, pumpkin juice, or pureed pumpkin. The pumpkin is very fibrous and if not stained out properly could make a cloudy beer. The pumpkin adds an orange to amber color to the beer, provides a nuttiness or squash like flavor, and can add sweetness. The nutty flavor can easily be overwhelmed by spices.
Pumpkin ales are usually not bitter or hoppy beers, allowing the pumpkin flavor to shine through. Spices are usually used to mimic a pumpkin pie type flavor. With spices, less is more, but some pumpkin ales are really trying to be pie in a glass. The flavor of pumpkin ale can vary widely to that sweet pumpkin pie in a glass to a subtle squash flavor with a hint of spice.
Pumpkin ales have a range of alcohol from 4.5 to 5.5% ABV, low bitterness from hops, and a range of colors from golden, orange, to a rich amber. This beer is a great addition to a Halloween party as a novelty beer but can pair well with Thanksgiving staples like roast turkey.
Local Fort Myers breweries make pumpkin themed beers and here are a few examples. Palm City Brewing makes Mommy’s PSL a pumpkin themed ale. Coastal Dayz has a Pumpkin Habanero Ale adding a bit of chili spice to the pie. For larger national breweries, Samuel Adams makes Jack O Pumpkin Ale and Elysian Brewing makes Night Owl Pumpkin Ale. Experiment with these different pumpkin ales to see which one is right for you! It may become a pick for your Halloween party or Thanksgiving dinner! Always enjoy beer responsibly!
