MILTON, Del. – Oh my gourd, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s Punkin Ale is back! Debuting in 1995 and now one of America’s best-selling pumpkin beers, Punkin Ale, a full-bodied brown ale, is now available on taps and shelves. Clocking in at 7% ABV, this beer is brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon.
“We’ve been brewing Punkin Ale for over two decades, since long before there was a whole category of pumpkin beer, and have seen sales grow each and every year,” said Sam Calagione, CEO and founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. “I think it’s because the complexity and authenticity of the recipe has remained world-class since we first brewed it, as it’s not made with pumpkin flavoring or concentrates – we use fresh, all-natural culinary ingredients, and that makes a big difference.”
Passionate about all things artistic and creative, Dogfish teamed up with longtime friend and highly acclaimed designer, Marq Spusta, a California-based artist known for his distinct illustrative style, to create the Off-Centered Art Series label and artwork for Punkin Ale. The label features Spusta’s version of a mystically haunted, Halloween forest with spooky characters.
The story of Punkin Ale originally began in 1994 when it won first place in a baking contest at the World Championship Punkin Chunkin, a legendary fall event in coastal Delaware that took place on and off from 1986-2016, where folks travel from around the world to see who can hurl a pumpkin the furthest. Twenty-three years ago, Calagione entered the competition with his first-ever batch of Punkin Ale, which was made (and is still made today) with real pumpkin meat, brown sugar and freshly crushed spices, and took home best in show for the homebrew, beating out the homemade pumpkin pies, cookies and cakes. In fact, the name of the beer was inspired by the name of the Punkin Chunkin competition and it continues to be the best-selling seasonal beer released by Dogfish Head annually. “Every fall, a week or so after Halloween, my wife Mariah and I will pop open a couple Punkin Ales and toast to the good karma that beer’s story has brought us,” said Calagione.
To find and enjoy Punkin Ale and other off-centered ales in your area, visit www.dogfish.com/brewery/fishfinder.
About Dogfish Head
Dogfish Head has proudly been focused on brewing beers with culinary ingredients outside the Reinheitsgebot since the day it opened as the smallest American craft brewery 23 years ago. Dogfish Head has grown into a top-20 craft brewery and has won numerous awards throughout the years including Wine Enthusiast’s 2015 Brewery of the Year and the James Beard Foundation Award for 2017 Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional. It is a 350+ coworker company based in Delaware with Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, an off-centered brewpub and distillery, Chesapeake & Maine, a geographically enamored seafood restaurant, Dogfish Inn, a beer-themed inn on the harbor and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, a production brewery and distillery featuring a tasting room and food truck. Dogfish Head supports the Independent Craft Brewing Seal, the definitive icon for American craft breweries to identify themselves to be independently-owned and carries the torch of transparency, brewing innovation and the freedom of choice originally forged by brewing community pioneers. Dogfish Head currently sells beer in 43 states and Washington D.C. and will expand into additional states in 2018. For more information, visit www.dogfish.com, Facebook: @dogfishheadbeer, Twitter: @dogfishbeer, and Instagram: dogfishhead.