Are Pumpkin Beers losing popularity?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by tomhoboken, Oct 17, 2019.

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  1. johnnybgood1999

    johnnybgood1999 Savant (1,000) Oct 31, 2008 Virginia

    I say NO, they are not losing popularity. Stores in my area can't keep the better brands in stock. Schlafly and Williamsburg lasted a couple weeks and were gone, sadly. I really like New Belgium's Atomic Pumpkin. Sadly, it was gone in little more than two weeks. Pumking and Warlock were easily obtainable until two years ago and always sold well. Now I cannot find them in my town. The only bright side is the appearance of Basic Becky from Prairie. Oh, and I picked up Elysians Pumpkin Pack that I saw for the first time at Kroger today. Looked like I grabbed the next to last one.

    Those are all great pumpkin beers I listed. Why the scarcity? I don't think they are less popular. Those beers always fly off the shelf and are gone before or shortly after Thanksgiving. I buy a ton of them and will drink them through New Year's alongside holiday ales. This year I'm thinking my next homebrew will be a pumpkin or pumpkin stout due to the shortage in my area.
     
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  2. Mike2Fst

    Mike2Fst Initiate (0) Oct 9, 2018 North Carolina

    I really enjoy the Pumpkin biers. I believe they are being released abit too early for my liking. By the time fall sets in, Halloween and Thanksgiving arrives, I'm pumpkined out. Exercising restraint would be one answer, but when they are there and your ready for a change, that strategy fails 100% of the time.
     
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  3. seakayak

    seakayak Pooh-Bah (1,823) May 20, 2007 Massachusetts
    Society Pooh-Bah

    There actually seems to be more pumpkin beers this year. But what has definitely changed is the format - 16 oz. 4-packs of cans instead of 12 oz. 6-packs of bottles for many of them, and the price went up! Even the Spencer Trappist Brewery has come out with The Monkster Mash!

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. Bshaw22

    Bshaw22 Initiate (0) Aug 29, 2013 Wisconsin
    Trader

    The problem for me has always been that I only want 1 or 2 then the rest sit. No reason to have a 6 pack of any pumpkin beer
     
  5. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,800) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Local brewers don’t need to bother with their time and money this style. Enough store options even if they are scaled way back from past years to satisfy the demand.
     
  6. nicholas2121

    nicholas2121 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,199) Sep 29, 2008 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    My personal favorite type of brew is pumpkin ale...
    Rivertown Pumpkin Ale is on the top of that list.
    But yes.... Pumpkin ales are getting harder to come by...
     
  7. beergoot

    beergoot Grand High Pooh-Bah (9,310) Oct 11, 2010 Colorado
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    They donate 100% of the profits to Venetucci Farms where the pumpkins used to be sourced but is now idle due to USAF water pollution issues (toxic firefighting foam leached into the farm's water source downstream)...

    The farm used to be a local family tradition for people getting pumpkins...
     
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  8. pat61

    pat61 Initiate (0) Dec 29, 2010 Minnesota

    One can only hope that pumpkin beers are losing their popularity
     
  9. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    The trend here is way down, now it’s token at best. The better store in Greensboro two years ago got stuck with pallets of Pumpkin beers that sat forever. He said never again and he stuck to it. Small retailers cannot afford to buy stuff that sits forever, or they have to discount to get rid of it. Margins as it is are tight and it’s not worth the risk and hassle.
     
  10. WA_Brian

    WA_Brian Pundit (780) Nov 17, 2015 Washington
    BA4LYFE Society

    In this area, pumpkin beer died with Elysian. Dick Cantwell was behind the pumpkin beer obsession and the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival and managed to get everyone to create numerous pumpkin beers for the festival on top of the 12+ Elysian would make every year.

    After Elysian sold and Dick Cantwell left, some breweries stopped attending the festival and in turn stopped producing pumpkin beers. Just like that, pumpkin beer was dead.

    The owl tells the story better than I do:

     
  11. ballardbeer

    ballardbeer Pundit (779) Nov 10, 2013 Oregon

    I regret to infor... ehhh never mind.
     
  12. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I grew up in the Springs. I remember the schools trucking us out there every year and picking a pumpkin. I also remember getting to feed rotten ones to their hogs. That's Terrible to hear about the contamination. Hopefully they can get that figured out.
     
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  13. Reidrover

    Reidrover Grand Pooh-Bah (4,886) Jan 14, 2003 Oregon
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yeah haven't seen any pumpkin beers except Elysian.
    I don't think they have ever been popular in the PNW, especially in the recent decade when its fresh hop ales , then marzens/Oktoberfest's..then on to winter ales.
     
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  14. socon67

    socon67 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,895) Jun 18, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    Pumpkin beers are not losing popularity IMO. I think far too many breweries produced them and flooded the market, including racing them to shelf space around Labor Day. Stores ended up with more than the demand and after getting burned with inventory after Thanksgiving that they won't sell, they started ordering less.

    We will see this with the NEIPA's, and I think its already starting. When there is way more production than consumer demand, the end of the supply chain pushes back by taking less. Doesn't mean it isn't popular; just means we stop seeing shelves flooded with a particular style.
     
  15. deleted_user_995920

    deleted_user_995920 Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2015

    I really like Pumpkin beer. In my area there are stores with maybe 2 or three and that is it.One store has only Shipyard pumpkin and no others. This is a fairly big chain. I have noticed a decline in the selection around my area.
     
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  16. eppCOS

    eppCOS Grand Pooh-Bah (4,570) Jun 27, 2015 Colorado
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Don't seek it out; but will occasionally buy one on tap for the eff of it. Only one that stands out over the last few years was the 4Noses Pump Action.
    Otherwise... best for carving. Cheers, enjoy!
     
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  17. Prince_Casual

    Prince_Casual Savant (1,236) Nov 3, 2012 District of Columbia
    Trader

    They were popular

    They were never good though*




    *I'll admit there were a couple good ones (that line up with BA Pumpkin rankings) that are pretty good, but I made the mistake at Wegmans a couple years ago of grabbing two MYO6pks with a bunch of Pumpkin beers I'd never tried, and I'll be honest all 12 were basically undrinkable.
     
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  18. MrManners

    MrManners Initiate (0) Jul 27, 2019 Maine

    I don't think I'll ever get over the fact that so called 'pumpkin' beers are not actually flavored with pumpkin. Yes, some brews are truthful and do say 'pumpkin spices' or some such, but imagine if you beer actually tasted like squash?
    Hopefully this doesn't give a brewery that idea.
     
  19. PORK

    PORK Devotee (311) Sep 14, 2019 Pennsylvania

    To each their own, but I would not be sad whatsoever if pumpkin beers ceased to exist. I know some people love them, but I just don't get it. Admittedly, I'll try one each year just tomake sure my tastes haven't changed....turns out they still haven't.
     
  20. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Some are brewed with pumpkin as an ingredient (I guess that qualifies as "flavored with pumpkin" for most people?), some aren't... I don't buy either kind but I'm sure, given the TTB labeling rules, the fine print revealed which are which.

    Ruling 2015-1 Examples of Adequate and Inadequate Designations in Accordance with Trade Understanding
    specifies that in the case of a "Lager to which nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice are added before or during fermentation..." these would be "Misleading designations:
    • Pumpkin lager
    • Pumpkin-flavored lager"
     
    #40 jesskidden, Oct 19, 2019
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
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