Monday Rant: The Hilarity of Pumpkin Season

I went into this past weekend's beer shopping adventure with my mind set on two cases of pumpkin beer. The two aforementioned cases were Wolaver's Organic Pumpkin Ale and the ellusive Dogfish Punkin Ale. Going in I knew very well that the Punkin supply this year was extremely limited. Even the distributor I visited announced via Facebook that it had only received about 10 percent of what they ordered. I know that most distributors receive only a portion of what they actually put in for with seasonal brews, but 10 percent seemed very low to me.

I arrived to find that the Dogfish Punkin was pretty much gone. There were two cases of Southern Tier Pumking adorned with a Sharpie-written sign saying :Limit of 2 per-customer." I cruised around the seasonal beer section twice to find that the cases of Pumking were gone upon the completion of the second lap.

The Wolaver's supply was plentiful and I snagged one for myself to take home. Still, the hilarity of this beer season always amuses me. Luckily, I can laugh at the quick disappearance of the Pumking cases and the Punkin stock since I still have bottles of both from last year.

I haven't been able to try this year's versions of either, but I've heard a few rumors in the thicket that Pumking has finally taken a step backwards. We'll see, though.

Hope everyone saved a 2012 Pumking from last year it makes this year's look like a hobo
— OffTheTriBoro (@OffTheTriBoro) September 1, 2013

Punkin Crisis?

As we continue to make our way out of the blistering heat of summer and inch into fall, those of us that love pumpkin beer around the time that it's actually meant to be consumed have pretty much stocked up on what we needed to get us to this point.

With that said, most of us also know that once Southern Tier's Pumking and Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale hit the market, it means that it's pretty much a wrap on the pumpkin beer releases. At least here in the Pittsburgh area the only one I don't know of on the shelves yet is Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. I've never had a problem getting either in the past. Some odd news might imply that I might not get much of one of these beers this year.

I recall cases of Pumking last year being at the same limit of two cases per-customer, but it is in the neighborhood of $8-$10 cheaper than it was. As for Punkin, I've seen a two case limit at the very worst. I'm not entirely sure if this store on Browns Hill Road is the only one that got 10 percent of what it ordered, but it usually has one of the largest beer inventories that I know of around me.

If the batch of Punkin is small this year it might be a lot tougher to find some. I planned on getting my case this weekend. Now, I'm not totally sure it will last until then. We'll see how it goes. My worst case scenario is that I end up forced dipping into the six or so bottles I still have from last year's case. Not that bad of a fallback.