Poland Halloween Pumpkins
Pumpkin ales have been on the market for months. But two Northeast Ohio brewers - Great Lakes Brewing Co. and Thirsty Dog Brewery - take pride in using real pumpkins.
(Czarek Sokolowski, Associated Press)
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Luke Purcell could not have been more hands-on when Great Lakes Brewing Co. started making pumpkin ale about 10 years ago.
He would roast pumpkins in the restaurant's pizza oven, go home, nap, and then return to work.
One year, he started seedlings and then gave them to staff members who volunteered to take them home and grow them.
"A lot of people brought them back," he said. "It was so cool."
Many pumpkin ales hit the market months ago, a nice trick considering pumpkins weren't harvested yet. Some began landing on store shelves as early as July. That means artificial flavors are used. (We ran a pumpkin-ale guide in early September and covered 19 brews. Soon after, more than a dozen more were in Northeast Ohio stores.)
But at least two local brewers - Great Lakes Brewing Co. and Thirsty Dog Brewery in Akron - take pride in using real, home-grown pumpkins in their ales.
While Great Lakes' ale has a multitude of spices – allspice, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg – its not overly seasoned. It's selling well, too; brewer Joel Warger said the brewery went through 37 kegs worth of the ale in less than two weeks, Oct. 18-29.
"It's consistent with Luke's original recipe, because we struck gold the first time," he said.
Hale Farm in Bath Township supplies the pumpkins, as does Swan Farm/Canal Corners Farm.
"They are all crazy shapes and sizes," said Purcell, who noted the ale can have a challenging aspect: A couple of years ago, gophers at Hale Farm had a bit of a feast, depleting the supply for a while.
Preparation is key in making the ale. A brewer has to break them down and scoop them before baking, braising and roasting.
"They're so mushy," Purcell said about working with pumpkins. "You've got your own pumpkin puree."
Said co-owner Pat Conway: "It's time-consuming and cumbersome, but look at the end result."
That end result of well-balanced flavor is what Thirsty Dog's John Najeway also strives for.
He crafts his pumpkin ale with about 4,000 pounds of pumpkins from his farm in Randolph in Portage County.
It's on draft as well as bottle (Great Lakes is draft only) and will be out through November, he said.
"We're bucking the trend of putting the pumpkins (ales) for sale before you see pumpkins out," Najeway said. "We've trained the market around here to look for it around Halloween. It's natural tasting and creamy (tasting)," he said.
Both brewery owners take pride in their pumpkin ales.
"I'm proud we do that the right way," Conway said.