Food & Beverage Intl. - Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Puts the "PUNK" in Punkin Ale

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Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Puts the "PUNK" in Punkin Ale
By FBWorld Team

Put those lighters up, craft beer fans! Dogfish Head Craft Brewery's Punkin Ale - one of the best-selling pumpkin beers in America - is back with a new, chart-topping look by Off-Centered Art Series artist Michael Hacker. A fan-favorite, full-bodied brown ale, Punkin Ale is brewed to 7% ABV with real pumpkin meat, brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon.

This year, Punkin Ale makes its 25th annual encore wearing playful artwork adorned by animated pumpkin characters playing in a punk rock band.

"Punkin Ale made its first commercial appearance in 1995, but its story begins back in 1994 at the World Championship of Punkin Chunkin, a legendary fall event that brings folks from around the world to the Delmarva area to see who could hurl a pumpkin the furthest," said Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head. "It was there that I entered my first-ever batch of pumpkin beer into a baking contest. It ended up winning first place - beating out a boatload of homemade pumpkin cookies, pies and cakes - and Punkin Ale as we know it was born. I even named the beer after the festival's Punkin Chunkin competition."

Since its debut, the recipe for Punkin Ale has remained the same, but the beer's artwork has seen many variations. This year's label lends a spirited nod to Dogfish Head's longtime love of music, especially punk rock music. Hacker's design features a melodic trio of cartoon pumpkin characters 'rockin' it out' on stage in front of a live audience. The band includes a singer, a guitarist and a drummer, all of which are fully engrossed in their hard-hitting tunes. The small details in Hacker's work - like pumpkin people throwing up the 'rock on' sign and crowd surfing through a sea of fans - amplify the scene's allure, drawing beer drinkers deeper into the imaginary concert until sounds of shrill guitar runs and booming bass drums become audible.

"As a beer geek with a music problem, I couldn't be more excited about this year's Punkin Ale packaging," said Calagione. "It captures the essence and energy of a punk rock concert in an interesting and lighthearted way. Makes me want to grab a bottle of Punkin and take my turn up on the stage!"