STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale’s popularity has grown rapidly in the five years it has been on the market. Consumers just cannot seem to get enough of this extraordinary pumpkin ale. Each year the Stevens Point Brewery continues to increase production of this delicious fall favorite, and this year is no exception. Pumpkin ale fans don’t mess around when it comes to this delicious beverage; they buy early and stock up.
This limited release specialty “big beer” is only available while supplies last. Four-packs of 12-ounce bottles and draft ┬╝ barrels of this bold and spicy seasonal brew have hit the trade in Stevens Point Brewery’s core Midwest markets and will last until the supply runs out.“ We wanted to make sure craft-beer consumers were able to enjoy Whole Hog Pumpkin ale throughout the fall, so more than doubled our production to give pumpkin-beer fans what they want” according to Joe Martino, the brewery’s operating partner.
Great American Beer Festival Success
Consumers flock to Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale for its full-bodied taste and exceptional flavor while perhaps not even realizing they are drinking a brew that holds a prestigious award. In 2012 Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale won gold in the Field Beer or Pumpkin Beer Category (63 entries) at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, Colorado. 2012’s GABF included 4,338 beers from 666 U.S. breweries judged by an international panel of 188 experts who conducted an all-encompassing blind tasting of the beers by category.
“A gold medal from the Great American Beer Festival represents true brewing excellence, and to win one for our pumpkin ale is very exciting for our brewery,” said Stevens Point Brewmaster and Director of Operations Gabe Hopkins.
Field Beer or Pumpkin Beer was one of the 84 categories judged at the GABF, America’s largest and most prestigious beer competition.
“This award is a testament to the quality of our hand-crafted beers,” states Operating Partner Joe Martino. Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale is very successful in the marketplace each fall, so the GABF gold medal is not a surprise. “We are grateful to our loyal consumers who continue to support our craft beers,” he added.
Brewing Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale
Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale is brewed with Perle hops, Munich, caramel and roasted malts and real pumpkin puree creating a very bold, spicy beer with a big body. “We add real pumpkin at the beginning of the brewing process,” Hopkins explained. “The spices—cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger — are added at three points during the brew process: to the mash at the beginning, to the wort just before the boil and to the finished beer after fermentation is complete. The Perle hops help to balance the sweetness of the malt and pumpkin.”
The spices and malts complement each other while the hops balance the sweetness of the malt and pumpkin. While brewing, delicious pumpkin pie spices fill the brew house, leaving you with a comforting fall feel.
Point’s handcrafted specialty beers
The Whole Hog Brewmaster’s Specialty Series limited-release brews represent the epitome of the brewmaster’s art. They are handcrafted in small batches to appeal to the most discerning craft-beer enthusiasts and round out the Stevens Point Brewery’s specialty portfolio.
In addition to Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, the Whole Hog series includes Whole Hog Six-Hop IPA, an India Pale Ale brewed with six varieties of hops from the Pacific Northwest; Whole Hog Russian Imperial Stout, a strong English stout; Whole Hog Barley Wine, a warm and velvety English barley wine; Whole Hog Scotch Ale, a wee heavy ale with sweet notes of toffee and caramel and the recently introduced Whole Hog Espresso Stout, a robust stout brewed with espresso coffee beans.
Year-round brews for the Stevens Point Brewery- founded in 1857- include flagship Point Special Lager, a premium American lager; Point Onyx Black Ale, a full-bodied dark ale; Point Belgian White, a Belgian-style wheat ale; Point Cascade Pale Ale, an American-style pale ale; Point Drop Dead Blonde Ale, a 110 calorie ale; Point Amber Classic, an American-style amber lager; and Point Beyond the Pale IPA, a robust, hoppy India Pale Ale. Point also offers a variety of seasonal beers in their line including Point Oktoberfest, an authentic Marzen Style Lager; Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat, a refreshing, award-winning unfiltered wheat ale; St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, brewed for the winter months; and the newest addition Point Coast Radler, a thirst-quenching mix of beer and natural citrus flavors for summer.
For the third year in a row Point will host its annual “Pointoberfest” on September 20th. This beer-tasting festival will run 4-8pm and feature a variety of Point beers as well as live-music and German food.
Stevens Point Brewery also brews four unique and flavorful James Page specialty beers available in convenient 12-ounce cans: A Cappella Gluten-free Pale Ale, Casper White Stout, Yabba Dhaba Chai Tea Porter and Ould Sod Irish Red Ale.
Also included in the Point line are four year-round IPAs available only in its IPA variety 12-pack: Point Spruce Tip IPA, sweetened with Colorado blue spruce tips; Point Peach Mango IPA, a lively, fruity ale; Point White IPA, a golden brew flavored with Japanese Sorachi Ace hops; and Point One Shot IPA, a series of limited-edition brews featuring different hop varieties and malts in each batch.
In addition to award-winning beers, Stevens Point Brewery produces gourmet sodas, including Point Premium Root Beer, Point Premium Diet Root Beer, Point Premium Orange Cream, Point Premium Vanilla Cream, Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda and the newest flavor Point Premium Kitty Cocktail.
For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, visit www.pointbeer.com or call (715) 344-9310. Tours of the brewery are available, with schedules listed on the Web site.