Al’s of Hampden in Enola, PA announced the arrival of their shipment of Pumking today, like it or not (photo via Instagram)
Hell officially froze over today, June 30th, as the pumpkin beer trend became a mockery of itself with the release of this year’s Southern Tier Pumking. A pumpkin beer. In June. Which, according to reports from BeerPulse, was bottled in late May, and brewed even earlier than that.
I’ve documented Seasonal Creep for years here on this site, and it wasn’t long ago that we mocked the release of Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead when it was at the end of July. Last year, we pointed out the irony of Samuel Adams Summer Ale being released on a snowy day. In recent years, we’ve pointed out that many of these beers aren’t even available in the season they’re inspired by.
But now, brewers are just throwing the calendar out the window for good. Summer officially began just nine days ago, and with it comes fall beers that most level-headed beer geeks wouldn’t want to drink in 90-degree weather.
I always wonder who would ever in their right mind consider buying a pumpkin beer in June. But they’re out there. One commenter on Pennsylvania beer outlet Al’s of Hampden’s Instagram feed cheered, “HELL YES. FINALLY.” Standings in the East Village tapped a keg of 2013 Pumking just last week. And while sitting at the bar at The Sampler in Bushwick last Wednesday, a woman turned to me and said, “I really can’t wait for pumpkin beer season.”
I jokingly replied, “don’t worry, it’ll only be another week or two,” unaware that I was dead-on accurate.
There’s clearly a market for pumpkin beer now with people like this around, and that’s why brewers keep doing this. But at this point, why even pretend the seasons matter anymore? Just produce your pumpkin beer year-round, because you’re obviously not using real, actual seasonal ingredients, like fresh pumpkin. Those beers would have to be released in November, along with all the spring seasonals.
At the very least, enough with the charade that these are beers brewed for fall. Pumking’s label still claims it’s “brewed in the spirit of All Hallows Eve,” which seems unlikely unless the pagan calendar has shifted by five months.
So, if you like pumpkin beer, I just gave you some good news. It’ll be on shelves very soon here. For the rest of you: enjoy the summer. It hasn’t even hit 90 degrees in the city yet, and there’s plenty of it left, no matter what the beer calendar tells you.
– Chris O'Leary