Hoppy Travels & Cider Sightings

As a follow up to pumpkin beer collaboration article that I did we’re now going to talk about the history of pumpkin beer. Whether you love the seasonal drink or not Pumpkin Beer actually has a very important history in the United States.

Samuel Stearns actually said in his book “The American Herbal” that pumpkin beer proved to have a lot of health benefits. In fact many beers were brewed with prescriptions that doctors prescribed and pumpkin was one of the main ingredients.

However, before the health benefits were discovered pumpkin was highly used in beers and cocktails because pumpkin and cinnamon were easier to find in America and barley was not. Because of this Pumpkin became a main ingredient and even replaced barley.

In “A History of Connecticut” published in 1771 and geared towards the British audience who knew very little about the crop, explained that not only could pumpkin make beer but also molasses, bread, custard, and many other foods.

Pumpkin beer continued to be a staple in the 18th century but its popularity began to decline in the 19th century because malt had become more readily available and pumpkin was viewed as rustic. However it did not go away for long as it showed back up in the 1840s but only as an ingredient for flavor.

Now most pumpkin beers are more of a “pumpkin pie in a glass” than “pumpkin a glass” but now who decided to bring back pumpkin beer? We have to give credit to Buffalo Bill’s Brewery who has been making George Washington’s Pumpkin Beer recipe since the 1980s.

Some breweries that make pumpkin beer with actual pumpkin are Brooklyn Brewing and Dogfish Head so if you don’t want that pumpkin pie in a glass you should definitley try Post Road and Punkin Ale.

If you guys haven’t seen my collaboration with Path to Hoppiness, Travelers Beer Log, Beery Hoppy Family, Beer and the Baker, Bright and Brewtiful, Brunch N Breweries, and Hoppy Sunsets go check it out here: https://www.beeryhoppyfamily.com/home-1/the-best-pumpkin-beers-of-2019. Until Next time Hoppy Travels!