Born this way or learned behavior- the age-old debate.

I'm pretty sure I was born a beer drinker.  It wasn't simply a choice, It's in my blood. Many have tried to refine my taste by building a case for wine enthusiasts but it just never appealed to me. Not even my grandmother, who I brag is the Godfather of Napa, (due to her area knowledge & connections) nor living in Temecula (mini wine country) could get me to relinquish my beer drinker's card. I could feign interest in the belief that wine drinkers are simply superior beings, and pretend to be one of them, but I don't. I find beer drinkers much more worldly and interesting... I remember the look Trav gave me when I ordered Peroni with my Fettuccine Alfredo on one of our first dates at a nice Italian spot.. Is there a problem? Nice to meet you.

One could argue I am a product of my environment. I was born in Denver, Colorado so my Dad is a Coors Man. I remember him judging a camping spot by the size of the snow drift nearby which would soon be used to refrigerate his Coors for the duration of the trip. I could always tell my Dad's favorite t-shirts by the holes at the bottom where opening too many twist offs had taken their toll. We share the love of cooking and football but most importantly, we share the love of beer. 

But growing up, like most young people, I always knew there was something better out there for me. Of course everyone gets through college drinking whatever they can afford & not complaining about it. But following collegiate binge drinking is a blur of countless kegs, filled with boring domestics, where putting fruit in my Blue Moon was considered mixing it up. I couldn't be the only one hopping, I mean hoping, and dreaming of a better world, complete with better beers.

Enter craft brews..

Microbreweries have taken the world by storm becoming synonymous with innovation and uniqueness. While we continue to tread water while trying unsuccessfully to recover from The Great Recession, we now have plenty of options of which brew to drown our sorrows. Beer sales may have been down in 2010, but the wiser get drunker as craft brew sales were up 15% in the beginning of 2011. The President may not have a clue how to create new jobs but apparently knows a thing or two about beer. The White House brews their own suds with honey from the White House Garden. And in the most important political news, Sierra Nevada is shipping the White House hops from the West. Complete with their own personalized bottles and labels, this has to be the answer to World Peace. 

I discovered my own peace in this world upon moving to Long Beach at the dawn of fall. Discovering the only good thing about winter and Halloween: Pumpkin Ale. 

Call it love, call it obsessed, here's what I've discovered. 

Here are a couple of my favorite pumpkin brews. A tribute to the season and a reason to give thanks!

The best pumpkin ale should be served on tap in a chilled glass rimmed with cinnamon & sugar. The best ales pour a good head so you can lightly dust with cinnamon. The result is perfection!

A little about your judge’s impeccable taste. While living in San Diego, my brewery of choice was Karl Strauss and my beer of choice was Red Trolley. Whenever I couldn’t get my hands on this amazing local brew, I would settle for a New Castle aka Newky Brown. When I moved to Temecula, aka wine country, I found myself at Killarneys Irish Pub much more often then the popular wineries like Wilson Creek, home of the famous Almond Champagne. When I moved to Manhattan I drank whatever I could afford. A six-pack of New Castle was close to $15 at the bodega beneath my apartment. In the summer, I like to drink Stella, but only as a shandy. Upon moving to Long Beach, my first question for the realtor was how much LB locals paid for a six-pack of beer. He thought it was funny but I was dead serious. Some people work for food, I work for beer.

Now that you’re highly confused by my eclectic (or not so much) taste in beers, here’s my top Pumpkin Ales!

TOP CHOICE: Punkin Ale by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. 

I don’t care what anyone says, Dogfish Head can quite simply pee in a bottle, label it,  and I would think it was the best thing on earth. This is my favorite brewery by far. So much so that my current read is Brewing Up A Business- Adventures in Beer by Sam Calagione, the founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, a very thoughtful gift from Trav. (Does he know me or what?)

Dogfish Head beers are the best thing to happen to New York (although they are located in Delaware). Everything they touch is gold. While I love the 90 and 60-minute IPA’s, they are my least favorite, though the 60-minute IPA accounts for 95% of Dogfish Head sales. My all-time favorite brews include Aprihop which is limited in Spring, Raison D’Etre- a Belgian-style brown ale with beet sugar and raisins, and Midas Touch brewed with papaya and saffron.. amazing. These are my special treat beers as a Midas Touch FOUR-pack costs $15 in Long Beach... ouch.

This very hard to find pumpkin ale is brewed with "pumpkin meat", organic brown sugar and spices. For $14 a four-pack, it better be brewed with gold but this beer is too good to pass up... if you can find it!

Named after the local & famous Punkin Chunkin event,  where it claimed First Prize in the 1994 Punkin Chunkin Recipe Contest.  If you can even possibly still grab one of these before Thanksgiving, consider yourself thankful!

#2) Bluepoint Pumpkin Ale

Bluepoint is the most served pumpkin ale on tap in Long Beach. Makes sense as it's Long Island's only microbrewery. The Brewing Up Business book by Dog Fish Head states that the average person lives within 14 miles of a microbrewery- I think if that were true, the world would be a much happier place...

Already a big fan of Bluepoint's Toasted Lager and Blueberry Ale, I fell hook, line, and sinker, for their pumpkin ale.

The crisp pumpkin flavor is refreshing, and is 6.0% alcohol by volume. Not bad for a flavored brew.

#3) Lakefront Brewery's Pumpkin Lager

Many could argue that Milwaukee is the beer capital of the world. Home to the Brewers and Laverne and Shirley. Before Lakefront,  I honestly didn't care much about Milwaukee.

Known for their gluten free beer (sounds not so awesome), this Pumpkin ale is light and pours with perfect head to hold the cinnamon on top. The flavors of nutmeg, cinnamon and clove give a nice finish to the beer that gives it a sweet and overall refreshing taste. You are left with a candy taste in your mouth due to the caramel and munich malts. A great after dinner beer.


#4) Small Patch Harvest Ale- Tommyknocker

Maybe the witty name or the fact it came from my home state of Colorado attracted me more to this beer than the taste. It doesn't overwhelm you with pumpkin flavors, although the smell might lead you to believe differently. I like that it resembles a basic nut brown ale. It goes well with everything which is refreshing when flavored beers can get a little out of control.

#5) Fire Island Pumpkin Barrel Ale

Fire Island is an island off Long Island that is only accessible by ferry and no cars are allowed. Sounds perfect. Their Red Wagon IPA is inspired by their car-less ways on the island.

This is only the third beer and the first seasonal beer for this brewery. Apparently in a quest to provide the utmost quality, this LI brewery joined forces with a sustainable New York farm to source local hops. In addition to copious amounts of pumpkin, this ale is brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice.

This beer is actually better left in the bottle as the sweetness of the cinnamon and sugar on the rim seem to overpower the brew.

#6) Sam Adams- Harvest Pumpkin

I like Sam Adams contribution to the pumpkin ale fest mostly due to it's pumpkin pie spices. Who doesn't like pumpkin pie? Sounds like a match made in heaven.

Of course not everyone was successful at the pumpkin ale brew. Brews that should be left in the bottle, in the fridge or better yet at the store, are Smuttynose Pumpkin-a New York brew, Shocktop Pumpkin Wheat (although everything is decent when on tap), Sixpoint Autumnation, and of course Harvest Moon- which I was told was the largest selling Pumpkin beer in the nation. Give me a break America...

Tis the season and CHEERS to amazing pumpkin beers!