How to Make a Pumpkin Keg for Your Halloween Party

Beer meets gourd in a pumpkin keg!

By Robbie Dingeman

Published: 2017.10.25 09:00 AM

While we were researching all the different ways to drink local in Hawai‘i for October, we came upon a simple-but-fun twist on serving beer for your fall bash: Turn a pumpkin into a keg.

What you’ll need

Pumpkin big enough to hold at least three beers or 36 ounces
Carving tools or knives
A pen to guide where you’ll cut
A tap to get the beer or other beverage out in a stylish fashion
Beer or other beverage of your choice

DIRECTIONS

If you’ve carved a jack-o’-lantern, then you’re ready to do this.

We hauled out our pumpkin-carving kit with serrated knives and scoops, grabbed a Sharpie to draw a guide to cut the lid and a hole for the spigot and a bowl to catch the seeds so we could roast them later.

We did order one specialty item: a tap combo kit that we got for $17 online through Amazon. It included the tap, a locking nut to create a leakproof seal and a coring tool. While the coring tool wasn’t really needed, it made it convenient to make a hole that was exactly the right size for the spigot.

Then we drove to Aloha Beer Co. to meet up with brewmaster Dave Campbell at his Kaka‘ako brewery to help us pick the right beer.

We carved the pumpkin and cleaned it, made a puka with the coring tool, popped in the tap, tightened it with the locking nut, then we added beer, got some glasses and started tasting.

Watch for our other video to find out what three beers the brewmaster poured into the pumpkins and find out our favorites. If you don’t have a brewmaster in your contacts, some folks like Oktoberfest, pumpkin or seasonal harvest beer with spicy notes.

Variation: We thought the raw pumpkin produced a fun beer-meets-gourd flavor, but others prefer searing the inside of the pumpkin with a butane torch or candle to caramelize the inside and tamp down the raw taste a little. You can also try this with any kind of cider or juice. Some people recommend mead or wine. And we noticed that the tap manufacturers recommend using the same concept for watermelons and even pineapples. Hmmmmm.