What would Thanksgiving be without pumpkin pie, and to get in the spirit of the season, Steamworks Brewing Co. will tap its own version of the traditional dessert – the Pumpkin Pie Firkin, as Firkin Fridays continues at the brewpub.

Steamworks’ Firkin Fridays, held the first Friday of each month, is designed to introduce a range of specialty craft beers, coordinated with the season or holidays, not necessarily suited to large draft production. A firkin is an old English unit of volume, typically a wooden cask equal to approximately one-quarter of a regular barrel, or nine gallons.

“The base of our Pumpkin Pie Firkin is our award-winning Steam Engine Lager, which has a caramel flavor component derived from the malt, and I found the perfect fresh pumpkin at Homegrown Organic in Bayfield,” said Ken Martin, Steamworks head brewer. “We roasted it in the oven, and pureed the meat with some beer, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla extract.”

Martin and brewer Spencer Roper then ran the resulting mixture through cheese cloth to remove some of the pulp and transferred it in to the firkin to ferment.

“Easy as pie,” said Roper. “And that’s how it should taste. Yum!”