And then I learned that a small local brewery was producing a pumpkin ale. Local pumpkin ale made with local pumpkins. I was ecstatic. Off I went to pick up a bottle. But there wasn't a bottle to be found. It seems I was not the only one with a desire for Halloween beer. Propeller's Pumpkin Ale had sold out as quickly as it had appeared on the shelves.
So as this October crept closer, I plotted my strategy. Noticing a Propeller Brewery rep at a local harvest festival in September, I approached him with questions. Or more specifically, with one question: when might I buy some pumpkin ale? He was evasive. He hoped it would be available on October 1st. No guarantees of course. Apparently you don't need guarantees when you produce the only pumpkin ale available within a day's drive of the city.
When October 1st arrived, I was optimistic and went in search of the promised ale. The beer was indeed ready, they said. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the labels. Check back next week.
I didn't like where this was going. Memories of last October haunted me. Still I remained hopeful. Surely a happy ending was within reach.
Walking into the liquor store the following week, I glanced around tentatively. And there, off in the distance, on a tall central shelf, a row of bottles with jack-o-lantern labels sat grinning at me.
Victory was mine. And it tasted . . . mediocre.
Which merely reinforced my conviction that I like beer labels more than I like beer. And the bottle does fit in nicely with my growing collection.
Still, I cling to the hope that the perfect Halloween beer is out there. Somewhere. In fact, I just heard that Propeller's competitor, Garrison Brewery, has produced an Octoberfest beer. Perhaps I'll pay them a visit.
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