Here at Tröegs, we started working with local ingredients back in 2002. And now – over 20 years later – we’re using more than we ever imagined possible!
Every year, we brew with more than 200,000 pounds of Pennsylvania grain. Our holiday favorite Mad Elf is sweetened with 25,000 pounds of local honey. We even source a cornucopia of seasonal ingredients and produce for our Snack Bar from right in our backyard.
And every fall, when pumpkin beer season arrives, we brew Master of Pumpkins with 3,000 pounds of pumpkins grown and harvested in Pennsylvania.
It takes a long time to plant, raise, pick, slice, clean and roast all those crooked beauties, but if you ask us, Master of Pumpkins is worth the wait.
“To us, a pumpkin beer should have pumpkin,” says brewmaster John Trogner. “We’re a Pennsylvania brewery, and pumpkins grow really well here, so using Pennsylvania pumpkins just makes sense. Our fans definitely appreciate the connection to local agriculture.”
Pumpkin planting in Pennsylvania happens early in the year… when the frost permits, of course. For Master of Pumpkins, we use longneck pumpkins, a hearty heirloom variety that taste similar to butternut squash and can weigh up to 20 pounds each.
Then, in late August or early September, we get a delivery of ripe pumpkins, and our kitchen team swings into action, de-stemming and roasting every last one of them right in our Snack Bar kitchen.
Finally, we purée every last gourd and the whole lot goes right in our mash tun at the start of the brewing process.
Our spice mix pulls through nutmeg, cinnamon and clove notes with a hint of vanilla, all over a backbone of caramel malt. A Belgian yeast amplifies the dried spice notes.
Look for Master of Pumpkins in 16-oz. cans everywhere our beer is sold starting Monday, September 18. Use our Brew Finder to score some near you!
