It was earlier this month when the press releases for pumpkin beers started coming out. Is August too early? With the pandemic still raging I’m going to say no, drink what makes you happy, though I hate to miss the opportunity to link to my Pumpkin Beer Manifesto from a few years back which touches on this. At any rate we’re heading into late summer and early pumpkin beer season!

Here’s a roundup of the pumpkin beer releases I’ve seen so far (or rather, that landed in my inbox).

Schlafly Beer releases its pumpkin beer, with a new look.

Schlafly Beer, the original, independent craft brewery in St. Louis, announces the return of Pumpkin Ale (8% ABV), a fan-favorite fall beer with a brand new look. Schlafly’s Pumpkin Ale is available now in 6-packs across Schlafly’s distribution as well as the Schlafly brewpubs.

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale is a well-balanced beer with notes of caramel and ginger. Fermented in pounds of fresh pumpkin, as well as brewer’s wort and a sugar mix before being filtered through a spiced infusion of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, Schlafly’s Pumpkin Ale tastes just as it was intended: like a slice of pie in a bottle.

Here’s a before and after of the label design:

Rogue Ales Pumpkin Patch Ale returns in new 16-ounce cans.

Pumpkin Patch Ale is made with real, whole pumpkins from a local farm in Independence, Oregon. The pumpkins were chopped and roasted by hand. The hand roast caramelizes the natural sugars, which when combined with a delicate balance of spices, creates the signature flavor of this classic fall-themed brew. Fans will appreciate the effort and notice the difference roasting real pumpkins makes.

“This beer is typically released later in the season since we use real pumpkins, but fans have been requesting an earlier release and we listened,” says Jack Waibel, VP of Production. “Instead of waiting until September when the pumpkins are ready to harvest, we purchased real pumpkins from a local farm in 2020 and froze them so we could brew Pumpkin Patch Ale a little earlier this year. This beer is the same world-class product that it has always been in a rad, new 16 oz. can.”

According to the press release, availability is August through October; but I don’t know if the Independence farm-grown pumpkins will be used for another batch this year as well. I’d hope so, because it would be interesting to compare the beers brewed with two different sources of pumpkin.

Pumpkin Patch Ale is 6.1% ABV with 25 IBUs.

Odyssey Beerwerks Fluffy Pumpkin Toasted Marshmallow Pumpkin Porter returns to the Denver area.

Fluffy Pumpkin will be available in limited release in the Odyssey Beerwerks Taproom and in select liquor stores, bars, and restaurants in the Denver Metro area.

The release of Fluffy Pumpkin brings with it the anticipation of cooler Autumn days. Deep flavors of spiced pumpkin and toasted marshmallow dance with notes of chocolate and graham cracker, leaving you longing for those Fall treats enjoyed around the campfire.

It’s 6.3% ABV and brewed with roasted pumpkin, spices, vanilla, and yes, marshmallows.

The Dunkin’ Donuts collaboration beers from Harpoon Brewery are back, spearheaded by the returning Pumpkin Spiced Latte Ale. (A beer I reviewed last year.)

Our new fall favorite returns! Inspired by Dunkin’s Pumpkin Spiced Latte, this “Spiced Latte Ale” is brewed with Dunkin’ coffee, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and lactose for a delightfully autumnal beer that’s equal parts creamy, roasty, pumpkin-y, and spiced. ABV: 5.2%.

Harpoon Dunkin’ Pumpkin will be available on draft and in bottled 6-packs as well as in the new Harpoon Dunkin’ Dozen mix pack, which features three cans of each seasonal beer flavor. These limited releases will be available everywhere Harpoon is sold beginning in September.

Portland Cider Pumpkin Spice Cider returns. While there’s no actual pumpkin in this recipe, it’s still pretty tasty and balanced with the spices, and fits right in. From the press release:

There’s a feeling of fall in the air, the sunlight is a little more golden, and the Pumpkin Spice Cider is ripe and ready to drink at Portland Cider Company. This fan-favorite release contains crisp Northwest apples paired with warm autumn spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger and allspice, incorporating all the best flavors of the season.

The overwhelming popularity of Pumpkin Spice Cider last fall prompted the company to add 12-ounce six-packs to the lineup this year, joining the previous year’s draft and 19.2 oz can options. The semi-dry cider has an ABV of 6%, and pairs well with pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes, and cinnamon sugar donuts.

And then of course the Pumpkin Pack from Elysian Brewing is returning, containing the brewery’s four mainstay pumpkin ales, Night Owl Pumpkin Ale, Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale, The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and Dark O’ The Moon Pumpkin Stout. I’ll have more on this one coming up in the next week or two.