Mashing-In News: Pumpkin Beers, Vice Beer Turns Three
GOOD MORNING, SOUTH PUGET SOUND!
Friday, Sept. 26, 2025 — Linda Hamilton turns 69 today!
Today’s craft beer news pours out a seasonal feast—pumpkin ales on trial, fresh hops in bloom, anniversaries raging, gothic cider rising, and even Simcoe and Sierra Nevada pausing to reflect on their legacies.
Grit & Grain Samples 15 Pumpkin Beers in Episode 160
In Episode 160 of the Grit & Grain Podcast, the hosts taste through 15 pumpkin beers—praising classics, questioning oddballs, and embracing the spice as a seasonal counterpoint to fresh hops and Märzens. (Grit & Grain Podcast)
Formula Brewing’s Jesse Brown on Lagers, Fresh Hops, and the Future of Craft
On the latest episode of the Brewer to Brewer Podcast, host Spencer Longhurst of Barrique Brewing and Blending sits down with Jesse Brown, head brewer at Formula Brewing Co., for a candid conversation about his decade-plus journey in craft beer. Brown shares his deep commitment to lagers and offers insight into how Formula Brewing approaches this classic style while also leaning into the Pacific Northwest’s seasonal fresh hop craze. He reflects on how entering competitions and receiving judge feedback has sharpened his skills, while also opening up about the ongoing challenge of finding balance between the demands of brewing and personal life. (All About Beer)
Vice Beer Turns Three With a Three-Day Throwback Bash
Vancouver’s Vice Beer celebrates its third anniversary this weekend with three days of ’80s/’90s-inspired mayhem—$3 pint specials, food truck collabs, three new collaboration beers, live art, music, DJs, custom hat printing, and daily surprise photo ops. (Washington Beer Blog)
Elvira Brings Gothic Glam to Cider With Bauman’s Spicy Pumpkins
Cassandra Peterson—better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark—has teamed up with Oregon’s Bauman’s Cider Co. to launch Elvira’s Spicy Pumpkins, a cinnamon-and-clove-infused cider that blends gothic glam with farm-fresh fall tradition, debuting October 5 at Bauman’s Farm. (New School Beer)
Simcoe at 25: Vinnie Cilurzo and Perrault Farms Reflect on a Hop Icon
To celebrate 25 years of Simcoe, Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo joined Perrault Farms for a podcast recorded among Yakima’s hop rows, tracing Simcoe’s breeding, farming legacy, role in Pliny the Elder, and its evolution into a cornerstone of modern craft beer. (Craft Beer & Brewing)
Brian Grossman on 45 Years of Sierra Nevada and the Future of Craft
On the latest episode of The Full Pint Podcast, they sit down with craft beer royalty—Brian Grossman, chief brewer and second-generation owner of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.—to reflect on 45 years of one of America’s most influential breweries. (The Full Pint)
Strata: The Post-Citra Hop That Changed the Game
Born in Oregon fields and first used in a Fort George IPA, Strata has risen from experimental hop X331 to one of the most iconic, versatile, and terroir-expressive hops of the modern craft era—now as trusted on a tap list as Citra or Mosaic. (Pellicle)
FoBAB 2025 Brings 150 Breweries and 300 Rare Pours to Chicago
The 23rd annual Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer returns to Chicago November 7–8, 2025, showcasing 150 breweries, 300+ rare pours, a prestigious national competition, and exclusive one-off barrel-aged creations, all in support of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild. (Craft Brewing Business)
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
