USA, CO: Upslope Brewing releases Pumpkin Ale in cans

In 2009, Mike Munson of family-run Munson Farms in Boulder approached then-co-worker Matt Cutter, founder of upstart Upslope Brewing, about his interest in brewing a pumpkin beer, The Denver Post reported on September, 26.

After baking and tasting six or seven varieties, Cutter and his crew settled on organic baby bear pumpkins.

"The flavors are very intense, sweet, slightly squashy," said Upslope head brewer Alex Violette. "It reminded us of pumpkin pie the most. That's kind of what we were going for."

Just a couple of years later, Upslope's Pumpkin Ale won a coveted gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the field and pumpkin category, making it one of the most sought-after beers of the fall.

The Boulder brewery — which packages exclusively in cans — increased production of the pumpkin beer fivefold this year and for the first time is selling it in limited quantities of 16-ounce-can four-packs.

While some brewers rely only on spices or canned pumpkins, Upslope uses freshly harvested pumpkins.

In the past, employees baked the pumpkins at home. But this year Upslope employed a commercial kitchen to bake and process the pumpkins, and supply the brewery.

The 7.7 percent alcohol-by-volume ale also includes a custom blend of six spices. The spices are carefully blended to minimize astringency, a risk with cloves and nutmeg, in particular, Violette said.

"We also wanted it to taste like a beer first," he said. "There is going to be a little astringency from the pumpkin added, but at the end of the day it's not cloyingly sweet or a dessert beer you can only have a few sips of. You can easily drink a couple of pints and not be burned out."

The beer will be available until the end of October.

02 October, 2012