DENVER (NBC) — Pumpkin beer fans may be disappointed this fall season.
According to brewers, heavy rain at the beginning of the season resulted in the delayed growth of pumpkin seeds.
They said pumpkin beer has a short shelf life and demand sharply decreases after Halloween. The plants will grow but not until later in the year.
Most brewers said they also use cooked and packaged pumpkin product from the previous year to make the beer, but last year’s crop was poor so there wasn’t much puree to go around.
They also said the little product that was available was expensive.
“I know that we were told if we wanted to buy some more this year that we wouldn’t have any available until the end of September or early October. And the season being over in October, and beer taking three weeks to a month to produce, it didn’t really help us out,” said Jason Buehler, head brewer of Denver Beer Company.
Luckily, brewers said the start to the 2016 pumpkin outlook is off to a good start.