Craft Brewing Business

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Craft Brewing Business

Pumpkin beer is the undisputed heavyweight champion of seasonals

Alltech Pumpkin beer
Looking at annual data, seasonal beers peak in interest and sales every October thanks to a signature fall flavor: pumpkin.

Signaling the start of fall, the leaves will soon turn rich shades of red, gold and amber — the same colors as the wide array of craft beers produced by the country’s small and independent brewers this season. Just in time for fall festivities, CraftBeer.com — the Brewers Association (BA) website for beer lovers — has curated a list of these choice seasonal beers from their brewery members.

“Fall is one of the seasons craft brewers love best thanks to its rich and varied crops and seasonal spices,” said Julia Herz, publisher of CraftBeer.com and Brewers Association craft beer program director. “Small and independent brewers utilize autumn’s selection of ingredients to create full-bodied beers with flavor profiles to fit the more brisk fall weather.”

Looking at annual data, seasonal beers peak in interest and sales every October thanks to a signature fall flavor: pumpkin. Pumpkin beer is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the seasonal world — Google searches for “pumpkin beer” alone triumph over Google searches for all four seasonals (“winter beer” + “spring beer” + “summer beer” + “fall beer”). Last year, pumpkin beers lead a surge in seasonal sales, turning an estimated 125,000 lag in case sales into a 300,000 case surplus that briefly put seasonals back at the front of the craft beer pack, ahead of the ever popular India pale ale.

See CraftBeer.com’s Fall Seasonals: 55 Craft Beer Releases for a complete list of the BA’s seasonal craft beer selections and descriptions. To round out your autumn craft beer experience, consider a tour of your local independent brewery.

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