Could it really be that there are no Oregon breweries producing a pumpkin beer? I’m sure that can’t be entirely the case, but my preliminary investigations (on BeerAdvocate) strongly seem to indicate that. Come on, Oregon, what’s up with that? You’re at the forefront of the craft brewing movement!

Here’s what I’ve found thus far: going through all the listed entries for the "pumpkin ale" style on BeerAdvocate—as well as checking a good number of breweries specifically—there were only two for Oregon breweries: a "Punkin Pie Ale" for Steelhead Brewing, and a "Pumpkin Patch" for Klamath Basin Brewing.

However, the one review for that Steelhead beer was from 2004, and it indicates the beer was sampled from the Burlingame (California) Steelhead location—not the Eugene one. And in fact, I can’t find any evidence of a pumpkin ale on their website.

And the one review for the Klamath Basin beer was from 2006, and the brewery appears to have no website to reference. So I gave them a call, and found out that no, they didn’t brew a pumpkin beer this year, part of the reason being it doesn’t keep as well as other beers; they opted for a winter spiced seasonal instead.

However, the woman I talked to thought that there are in fact other Oregon brewers producing pumpkin beers, and she would talk to the brewers and get back to me via email. Awesome! So when I find out more, I’ll be sure to write it up.

In the meantime, I thought I’d put together a wish list of Oregon brewers that I would love to see brew a pumpkin beer. Perhaps someone at one of them will read this and take pumpkin under consideration?

• Rogue: If ever there was an Oregon brewer who should make a pumpkin beer, Rogue is it.
• Deschutes Brewing: Home town advantage, naturally. They make some really good, tasty beers, and I’d like to see their take on a pumpkin.
• Barley Brown’s Brewpub: The remote little brewpub in Eastern Oregon producing some amazing beers, at least the three that I’ve had (courtesy of my friend Kina). Shake things up in Baker City!
• Hair of the Dog: They just brew some amazing and unique beers, and I’d love to see what they’d come up with.
• Golden Valley Brewing: An interesting little brewery, with one of my favorite beers from the Oregon Brewers Festival this year. They’re located in McMinnville, right in the heart of Oregon harvest country (especially for vineyards and hops)—a pumpkin beer seems like a natural fit.
• Roots Organic Brewery: They are brewing some mighty interesting beers—Coconut Porter, a Gruit—so a pumpkin seems like it would fit naturally in with their lineup. Plus, they could totally play up the organic thing with the pumpkins.