In Search of the Great (Roman) Pumpkin

To many Americans, October means Halloween.  To beerophiles, October means pumpkin  beer… the finest brews made with pumpkin, cinnamon and often dark brown sugar. 

This fine overcast Sunday in Rome, I decided to search for the Great Pumpkin in Rome.  I knew it wouldn’t be an easy task considering Italians don’t share the same squash-beer love ratios that Americans do. Nonetheless, I was ready for the challenge.

I decided to start with the place I figured would most likely have it… Open Baladin Roma.  I sat down at the bar immediately and looked over the multi-page menu.  If you are unfamiliar with my previous posts about this place: Open Baladin has about 46 varieties on tap. (See Best Places in Rome for Craft Beer and Autumn Beer Festival for more details.)  After flipping through the various categories, I finally found the object of desire.

Wait a minute… it’s from America?  Not what I was looking for guys.  I wanted Italy’s interpretation of the ultimate pumpkin beer.  I will have plenty of time in my future years to taste liquid pumpkin pie from the safety of my American home.  So I threw the menu on the bar top in a fit of anger.

The bartender looked at me, inquisitive at the least.

“Excuse me”, I asked in Italian, “but don’t you have artisanal beer made with pumpkin from Italy?”

The bartender turned around and searched through the mini-fridge behind him. Coming up empty-handed, he explained, yes, Baladin makes a pumpkin beer, aptly named Zucca, the word for squash in Italian, but they were out of stock. All I wanted was a taste of the good old days.  So I grumbled a few curses under my breath, fondly mixing the two languages I knew so anyone and everyone might know the pain I was then suffering, and I said, “I’ll take the Pumpking Ale from Southern Teir.

Pumpking Ale by Southern Tier at Open Baladin Roma

At that point, it didn’t matter what country made the beer.  I had pumpkin on the mind and it wouldn’t go away until I had my fix. So it arrived, a lovely light amber color with a fine cream head and I sniffed the pint to my heart’s content.  Aromas of pumpkin, cinnamon, dark brown sugar filled my nose making my mouth water instantly and a nostalgic feeling took over my mind. It’s like I’d just gone back to the U.S. to visit my family for Thanksgiving. More specifically, it was the moment I woke up in my old home, smelling of pumpkin pie at its last minutes of baking in the oven, ready to for dinner later that day. Buttery, sugary, spiced.

Then I took a sip.  At 8.5%, this beer packs a punch, but the brew master at Southern Tier has done an outstanding job of balancing the high alcohol to flavor ratio.  My beer-tasting palate is more advanced than some, and I could easily tell where that the alcohol was there, but it blended so perfectly with the rest of the overall taste, I knew this was a beer anyone would enjoy, especially beer-snobs.

The Translation: Pumpkin Ale - Now a typical American tradition, beer brewed with pumpkin and cinnamon.  PUMPKING ALE 8.6% - by Southern Tier - An amber beer that tastes of grain, somewhat sweet with notes of cinnamon.

The search still continues for Italian pumpkin beer.  Can Italy create a quality pumpkin brew in the likeness of U.S varieties? Will the love for this seasonal taste catch on internationally? Only more samples will tell.