As Summer comes to close, we begin highlighting fall seasonal brews.

Smuttynose, of Portsmouth, NH, begins shipping their Pumpkin Ale this month calling it “our homage to the craft and heritage of America’s brewers.” At 6.3% ABV, the beer follows local New England traditions of employing pumpkins that dates back to colonial times. Using squash and pumpkin allowed brewers to extend their supply of malt.

With the weather we had in New England earlier in the week, it isn’t hard to believe Autumn really is around the corner.

Despite earlier suggestion that we are sick of coffee, that couldn’t be farther from truth. (To confirm: Selectism LOVES coffee).

We love coffee so much that we are genuinely excited about learning as much as possible about the “powerful influence of coffee on the environment, human culture and economies worldwide.” Coffee: The World in Your Cup, on view through September 19, 2010, at Yale’s Peabody Museum, shares over 1000 years of caffeine fueled stories. Informing consumers is the core goal… something we can get behind.

Need a break from the desert heat?

Knowing that many of our peers are in Sin City, we figured what better time to highlight a craft brewery from Nevada. Ruby Mountain has been knocking out beers since 1994, but the story differs a bit from the normal craft tale. Owners Steve and Maggie Safford operate Ruby Mountain from their working ranch, the brewery established as a way to diversify the ranch economy. The beer complements bales of hay and Black Angus cattle.

The Wild West Hefeweizen has thrice been awarded a Gold Medal of Distinction from the National Brewers Association. It boasts all the signature flavor of a proper Bavarian Hefeweizen, fruity and spicy notes both.

At roughly 5 years old, Thornbridge Brewery holds more silverwear than the Williams sisters. Their brewer, Mr. Steffano Costi, is UK brewer of the year. His distinction tops off just about 100 different awards Thornbridge has won in its short history.

Located in Derbyshire, they say “Culinary alchemist Heston Blumenthal would approve of the Thornbridge approach to brewing beer.”

My brother reports that both the Kipling (a South Pacific pale ale) and the Jaipor (an India pale ale) are delicious. He also claims, “It is an ace brewery on the rise.” Everything mentioned above should make that statement all the more obvious.

Thornbridge has a great blog, so if you’re truly interested in your suds, head on over to their site.

Located in Redlands, California, Hangar 24 is the creation of 6-year brewing veteran Ben Cook. His summer seasonal, the Hangar 24 Polycot Wheat, locally grown, organic apricots, pureed at their peak (around mid-July) to provide a refreshingly tart finish. At 7.5% abv, the beer is a tad sneaky, and gives punch to the smooth finish.

Those in Southern California should certainly seek it out.

Hitting shelves on August 2, 2010, Anchor Brewing Company’s Humming Ale celebrates the legacy of San Francisco brewing. “HUMMING is an ancient term, used centuries ago to describe both ales and beers. Although its origins are shrouded in mystery, it suits this bold hoppy ale, which we have created to celebrate the anniversary of our first brew at 1705 Mariposa Street. From that very day we were humming!”

The current owners revived an almost fallen brewery in 1965, starting small before moving into an old coffee roasting plant on Mariposa Street in 1979. It is the sixth home for Anchor since its founding in 1896. Humming Ale, in essence, serves as a late Summer/Autumn brew. In this, the first bottling, it will be available through November.

Though slightly old news, “The End of History” by BrewDog still deserves space for its outrageous packaging. Now sold out, “The End of History” holds records as the most alcoholic (55% abv) beer and the first beer to be packaged in side of dead animals. The Scottish brewers, two 26-year olds that founded BrewDog  in 2007 with the desire to shake up the British brew industry, suggest it is the “Beer to end all beers.” For the bottles they used seven stoats, four squirrels, and a hare.

While “The End of History” might just end with a legacy of insanity, BrewDog’s general range is inventive and typically delicious. That said, I can’t imagine that sniffing out a stout cloaked bottle would be a bad idea… the investment potential seems quite high.

More images, via Dezeen, of the bottles after the jump.

Following the success of their ROOT spirit, Art in the Age has announced the second in their line-up of historically informed organic spirits. SNAP takes its name from the Pennsylvania Dutch ginger snap cookie and will be available from Hitmewine beginning in August.

About SNAP -

The formula for SNAP is based on the Pennsylvania Dutch recipe for ‘lebkuchen’, or ginger snap. ‘Lebkuchen’ dates back to the late 1600s, when German Anabapists, seeking freedom from state-mandated religion, settled in present-day Pennsylvania. These original colonists were farmers who used hearty blackstrap molasses to sweeten their baked goods and meals, since refined sugar was not readily available. Neighboring British colonists considered this practice to be crude and unsophisticated, but today we know otherwise. Blackstrap molasses retains vital mineral complexes and antioxidants that are later stripped away during the white sugar refining process. The full-bodied, earthy flavor of molasses is unlike any other sweetener. Although the Pennsylvania Dutch did not distill ‘lebkuchen’, Art in the Age has succeeded in reviving this nostalgic recipe and fully realizing its potential as a unique distilled product.

More images of the bottle design after the jump.

Are you looking for a Summer swill “as invigorating as the morning rays of the Summer sun”?

Sunrise Weissbier, Victory Brewing Company’s answer to warm weather thirst promises to answer this need. It is an unfiltered Bavarian Ale – crisp, fruity, tangy, and all those other good qualifiers for heat busting brews. The beer is available in both bottles and on select drafts through Autumn.

Also from Victory, Whilrwind Witbier is new for 2010. They’ve produced an amazing video to introduce it and suggest food pairings. Don’t miss it after the jump. (Yes, they call it a Spring beer, but you can still drink it right now… but come August it’s gone).

Normally, I’d link an article about the glory of regional beverages in the daily round-up.

Thanks to sun-induced holiday confusion, I’ve only just realized that today is Tuesday and not Monday. Bollocks.

Anyway, Christopher Brooks’ run down of four Connecticut soda makers (”Old-Fashioned Soda Makers that Never Go Out of Fashion,” NYT, July 1, 2010) covers the unique flavors that have helped the family-run business survive despite competition from (much) larger multi-nationals. Included in the article is Hosmer Mountain Bottling Company, which we’ve featured here before, along with New Britain’s Avery’s Beverages, Castle Beverages of Ansonia, and Foxon Park of East Haven.

The article is more than just a pro-America celebration, but a fine presentation of the change and continuity required to keep small local business running smoothly. Read it here.