Avery Brewing to Release Rumpkin

26 Sep 2014 --- Falling just a week after the release of their new beer, Pump[KY]n, batch no. 4 of Avery Brewing Company’s Rumpkin is ready to be harvested.

This is the fourth year Avery has brewed Rumpkin, a 16.73% ABV pumpkin ale aged for four months in fresh rum barrels. While the first three batches were extremely well-received, the availability was far too limited, so Founder and CEO Adam Avery tripled its production.

“The demand for our barrel-aged beers has been much bigger than what we could produce, so we’ve put a huge emphasis on increasing the barrelage of these projects. We need to keep pushing the envelope.”

Last year Avery made 600 cases of Rumpkin and this year they made 1600, plus 2000 cases of Pumpkn. “The pumpkin harvest at the brewery was huge this year!” joked Avery.

Avery’s Chief Barrel Herder Andy Parker says this beer isn’t easy to make. “You have to take the time to make sure the barrels properly mature, and it’s hard to get yeast to do what they need to do in 16 percent alcohol.”

Avery used 2300 pounds of pumpkin to make this brew—7.5 pounds per barrel—and added 38 pounds of cinnamon, 32 pounds of nutmeg, 25 pounds of allspice, and 4 pounds of ginger. “The idea behind Rumpkin was a pumpkin pie soaked in rum,” says Avery. “And I think we definitely nailed it.”

The name Rumpkin was easy to come up with. “Just like with the name Pump[KY]n, we changed one letter and we’re able to describe exactly what’s in the beer.”

Batch no. 4 of Rumpkin will be released on Sunday, September 28th at the Avery Tap Room in Boulder. The line party starts at 11am and will feature rare and exclusive beers on tap. Bottle sales begin at 1pm and will be sold for $12 each with a 1 case limit.