Tipsy Jack

 

Fall is here (even if it’s still reaching over 75 degrees outside, grrr), and you’re probably celebrating the seasonal change with some brews, like you celebrate a change in anything else. Or if nothing changes...or if there’s nothing to celebrate, really. Pumpkins are going to become widely available pretty soon, and instead of just carving that grinning face into it for Halloween, you could do something a little festive and turn it into a keg.

The process isn’t too difficult. You’ll simply need a pumpkin, beer, a pumpkin carving kit, a marker or pencil, and, obviously, a tap.

If you can carve a jack-o-lantern, you're already ahead of the curve!

The fairly easy steps are as follows:

Supplies:

one large pumpkin

marker or pencil

carving kit

Plastic Spigot (aka tap)

lots of Sam Adams Oktoberfest beer, or your fall beer of choice.

Directions:

Step 1: First, draw a ring around the top of your pumpkin. This will be your guide to carve the lid. Try to keep this pretty close to the top of the pumpkin so you optimize the hollowed out space that will hold the beer.

Step 2: Once that's done, carve it! If you're sans carving kit you can use a serrated knife. Whatever your tool of choice, poke it in at an angle and work your way around the ring.

Step 3: Pop the lid off once you've gone all the way around and clean out your pumpkin. Make sure you get all the seeds out and most of the pulp, but don't worry if some of that's left behind since it's responsible for flavoring the beer.

Step 4: Now, find the spot where you want to place your spigot. Using your pencil or marker, trace around the rim once you've decided upon the spot. Cutting the hole here will require a pretty fine serrated knife, so the carving kit proves really worthwhile at this point. Make the hole as clean cut as possible, then pop in your spigot. If your pumpkin is as thick as ours was you'll have to thin out the pumpkin's inner wall to fit the spigot properly. Don't be afraid to dig in - the pumpkin can take it.

Step 5: Once your spigot is secured, you're ready to go! Pour in your Sam Adam's Oktoberfest (because that IS the official beer of fall as far as we're concerned) and pop the lid back on your pumpkin.

Step 6: Celebrate fall and all your hard work with a cold brew from your new pumpkin keg!