"Pumpkin spice latte season began at a well-known coffee chain in late August. Thanks to the phenomenon known as pumpkin creep the earlier and earlier arrival of pumpkin-flavored beverages each year pumpkin beer season starts earlier now too. But that's not a bad thing: beers made with pumpkin, and more often pumpkin spice, are already on store shelves and will be hanging around through Thanksgiving or until they run out."
"Like the saying, everything old is new again, pumpkin beer has a much longer history than many people realize. Modern versions of pumpkin beer were first brewed in the mid-1980s, but the style goes back to colonial America, out of necessity. When early colonists first arrived in New England, they discovered that barley didn't grow very well, and they looked around for an alternative fermentable substitute."
"Some of the crops that Native Americans taught the settlers to grow were corn and pumpkins, which were grown together to more efficiently use farm space. Since beer was safer to drink than water, they couldn't be too picky, so they started making beer with pumpkins, as well as other locally grown ingredients, like artichokes, parsnips, persimmons, spruce tips and molasses."
Pumpkin-spiced beverages and beers arrive earlier each year, with pumpkin-flavored beers appearing on store shelves by late August and lingering through Thanksgiving or until sold out. Pumpkin beer originated in colonial America when settlers used pumpkins and other local crops as fermentable substitutes because barley failed in New England. Early brewers produced beers with pumpkins and ingredients such as artichokes, parsnips, persimmons, spruce tips and molasses. Industrial-scale brewing and expanded barley cultivation diminished the practice until craft beer's rise led to a revival. Modern pumpkin beers, brewed with barley and hops plus pumpkin flavor, reappeared in the mid-1980s, notably at Buffalo Bill's brewpub.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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