Great things happen when the ocean meets the pumpkin patch.
Each year, it seems like Starbucks’s Pumpkin Spice Latte hits their menu and Halloween candy fills the drugstore aisles before Labor Day plans are even made. The same can be said of fall-themed beers and, this year, Montauk Brewing Company joined the roster of craft breweries welcoming the new season with a fresh take on a pumpkin ale.
True to their nautical roots, the orange and white can resembles the iconic blue Summer Ale can it’s changing places with. We tend to think of Montauk as a summer-only spot, and it is—for most people. But not for the brewery, which remains open year round. “Fall is a beautiful time in Montauk. The leaves change color, the air cools, the traffic thins and the beaches clear out,” says Vaughan Cutillo, one of the breweries founders. “Montauk Pumpkin Ale is a sign of the season—just the right amount of spice along with subtle hop aromas, this beer highlights the time of the year just perfectly.”
The ale first appeared on Montauk’s menu last year, in kegs available only to visitors of their tasting room. With an overwhelmingly positive response, they decided to increase production this year and can the seasonal ale, which is brewed with coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove. When asked if they are planning on canning any other seasonal beers, Cutillo told us, “We have a rotating list of brewery exclusive beers that are constantly changing,” so we’ll have to find out for ourselves whether a wintry brew might make it into an evergreen-colored can, pulling us into what will hopefully be a short winter.
The brewery, which celebrated its six-year anniversary this summer, prides itself on being a destination for travelers and a neighborhood fixture locals can count on year-round. The intention behind the brewery’s founding was to give back to Montauk what the small fishing town gave to Cutillo and his co-founders in all their years living out east. While the town can stagnate during slower, colder months, the brewery is alive and churning out small batches of exciting-yet-drinkable beers.
Montauk Brewing Co.’s motto, “Come As You Are”, really pulls at our inner PSL-loving, flannel-hoarding selves with the Pumpkin Ale. September may still see days that hit 80 degrees, but we’re ready for the crisp fall days ahead of us and, with that, a new beer to enjoy it with.
