Boss Rambler Beer Club described its Boogie Gourd as a “kooky pumpkin ale" in 2023.

October is a great time for seasonal beer styles, from fresh hop harvest ales to Oktoberfest lagers and, because it’s spooky season, pumpkin beers. Beers brewed with pumpkin are among my favorite seasonal specialties, due to the history as well as the novelty of the category.

Pumpkin beer can arguably be called America’s oldest indigenous beer style, dating back to the colonial era.

In 17th- and 18th-century America, malt was scarce, so colonial brewers used whatever ingredients were on hand, including pumpkins.

The oldest known recipe is found in papers from the American Philosophical Society, dated February 1771, labeled a “Receipt for Pompion Ale”:

Let the Pompion be beaten in a Trough and pressed as Apples. The expressed Juice is to be boiled in a Copper a considerable Time and carefully skimmed that there may be no Remains of the fibrous Part of the Pulp. After that Intention is answered let the Liquor be hopped cooled fermented &c. As Malt Beer.

As quality malt became more readily available, pumpkin fell out of favor as an ingredient until the 20th century.

Pumpkin beer as we know it today is entirely a modern creation — in fact, it was created by William Owens, owner of Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in California, in 1985. Owens read about George Washington brewing with pumpkin and decided to try it himself.

His first attempt used only roasted pumpkin, and he found that it didn’t add any flavor or character to the beer. He realized that the flavor profile he was looking for was pumpkin pie, which meant using pumpkin pie spices. Owens brewed a similar beer without the pumpkin, only spices, and found what he was looking for.

Thus, modern pumpkin beer was born, although most brewers today use real pumpkin in their recipes. Since then, the number and variety of pumpkin or pumpkin-spiced beers has proliferated, and while the popularity of these beers waxes and wanes in cycles, you can always reliably find them this time of year.

This season there are several new local examples you’ll want to get your hands on.

First up is Boogie Gourd from Boss Rambler Beer Club. Described as a “kooky pumpkin ale” by the brewery, this amber-colored ale is brewed with pumpkin and spices and is 7% alcohol by volume.

The spices dominate the character of this beer, in a good way. The aroma is full of nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and vanilla for a creamy-sweet impression, with notes of caramel, cinnamon toast and custard rounding it out.

The spices also assert themselves in the taste but I definitely detect pumpkin in a cooked squash, almost-vegetal flavor that I appreciate. The spice profile gives a bit of earthy bitterness in the mouthfeel, but this is a nicely drinkable version of the “classic” pumpkin (pie) ale.

From Sunriver Brewing Co. comes Cow In A Pumpkin Patch, a version of the brewery’s Cocoa Cow Chocolate Milk Stout with pumpkin puree and spices added, also 7% ABV.

It retains all of the chocolate character and cocoa powder aromas of the original, and there’s a subtle character of pumpkin pie spice, though it’s mostly overwhelmed by the cocoa. I also detect a hint of green squash.

The flavor carries the pumpkin and spice character more prominently, with a light touch of cinnamon, allspice and perhaps cloves.

A note of roasted pumpkin or sweet potato complements the chocolate and there’s a subtle spicy heat at the back of the throat from the spice.

Falling in between these two beers in color and flavor is Pumpkin Spice Brown Ale from Bridge 99 Brewery. There’s no actual pumpkin in this limited release, only spices in this 6% ABV variation on the brewery’s Broken Top Brown Ale.

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But the spices work even without the pumpkin, combining with the malty elements to offer up sweet caramel aromas with light spice that’s reminiscent of pumpkin raisin bread.

The flavor follows suit, with a caramel syrup impression and a rich and warming spice character.

Both Oblivion Brewing Co. and 10 Barrel Brewing Co. created special pumpkin ales for the Diff’rent Smokes Smoke Beer Festival that took place last weekend: Smoked Pumpkin Blond and Smoked Curryosity, respectively.

Oblivion infused its Blonde Ale with smoked pumpkin, while 10 Barrel created a smoked pumpkin curry ale. These are limited creations, so I don’t know if they will be generally accessible; check with the breweries for availability.

It’s a wonderful time of year for pumpkin beer, so be on the lookout for your next favorite pumpkin treat.

Fresh Top Fresh Hop IPA — Bend Brewing 

Black Widow Porter — McMenamins 

Pumpkin Ale — Laurelwod Brewing 

Fresh Pressed Helles Fresh Hop Lager — Cascade Lakes Brewing 

Dead Guy Ale — Rogue Ales