One of my pet peeves as autumn approaches each year is the dearth of pumpkin and other Halloween-themed beers in my city. The country to the south seems to be absolutely overflowing with these concoctions. Starting right about now. But here? Nothing. Nada. Zippo. Zilch. The most I can hope for is a pumpkin-spiced beer from Quebec which may (or may not) appear on local shelves in time for October and Halloween. Or the lone locally-brewed pumpkin ale which, quite frankly, bears absolutely no resemblance in flavour to anything even remotely pumpkin-y.
So on my recent road trip to the US, I took the opportunity to purchase a few seasonally-themed beverages. And while I had no set time frame for consuming them, the fact that September is only two days away and with it the beginning of autumn (at least in my mind) seemed as good a reason as any.
So here I sit. On the back deck. In the hot August sun. Enjoying a Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale. I think I'm ready for fall.