Monday Rant: Please Save the Pumpkin for the Fall

You wouldn't want this now, right? (Image via Wikipedia)

Towards the beginning of July, there were reports of some pumpkin ales being stocked and/or released in some parts of Pennsylvania. Over the weekend, I came across another news link saying that Harpoon has released it's new Pumpkin Cider.

The fact that seasonal releases have seemed to start appearing way before they're expected isn't a secret to many of us in the craft beer world anymore. It's my opinion that the last thing any of us want after a hot and sticky day in July or August is a thick and spicy pumpkin ale.

I can understand the situation breweries like Weyerbacher are placed in when it comes to having to meet enough demand. If you read the quote (in the first link I provided) by Weyerbacher's president and founder, you can see that the problem at hand is the fact that wholesalers don't always have the room to keep the seasonal brews until the time of release and thus began to sell some of the supply.

I'm pretty sure I summed most of that up correctly. I haven't seen any actual numbers to back it up, but I'd find it hard to believe that these seasonal beers even sell when they're offered so early. Now, there might be a few hard-core fans that want that case of Nugget Nectar, which seems like it can be devoured at any point of the year, but what about for my thick pumpkin beer plight in the heat of summer?

This is the earliest I recall any of the fall beers/ciders ever coming out? Will enough even be sold to give wholesalers a reason to do the same next year and maybe to sell even more?

To me, the bottom line is that a few seasonal beers might fit in with other seasons if they're released early, but pumpkin ales and other strong seasonals of the same type aren't meant to be consumed at this time of the year. I don't even start to think about anything with pumpkin in it until at least the end of September.