What’s
in a name anyway?
My
favorite comment made upon hearing our moniker, Jolly
Pumpkin Artisan Ales was:
“You
really ought to think about hiring one of those marketing
companies. They can come up with names for you and everything.
Is it too late to change?”
Jolly
Pumpkin Artisan Ales. Seems people either love it or
don’t understand it.
People
always ask about the name, asking “where did
it come from?” I usually just put a finger
to my temple, smile, and sanguinely state “I
have a very strange brain.”
And
then I tell this story:
The
name bubbled forth years ago on a warm spring afternoon.
It was one of those rare sunny March Michigan days,
the kind that seems much warmer than March really has
any right to be. Small piles of snow still dotted the
yard as my wife and I sat on the patio in our shirtsleeves.
Sipping beers and enjoying the sun on our faces after
the long dark, cold Michigan winter. After firming up
our business plan for months, the dream had finally
evolved enough to need a name. So we sat, pen and paper
in hand, brainstorming, smiling and laughing.
Many great names came forth that afternoon, but as the
weeks passed, and spring finally sprung, the name that
always made us smile was Jolly Pumpkin. It encompassed
everything we wanted to express about our brewery. Fun
and quirky, all that needed adding were the last two
words; “Artisan Ales”, the description
of the brewery’s products and mission; The creation
of fantastic beers of truly outstanding artisan quality.
Maintaining traditional small scale production, keeping
beer a beverage of both outstanding complexity and simplicity,
this would be our laudable goal. Complexity of flavor,
simplicity of ingredient and process. This duality was
perfectly balanced in the name. Simple and complex.
Complex yet simple.
To
our delight with our wonderful new found name we were
able to combine some very fun and exciting images:
Everyone’s
favorite holiday; Halloween (Who doesn’t enjoy
the grinning Jack O’ Lantern?)
Everyone’s favorite Halloween costume; the pirate!
Some of my favorite locations; the tropics!
And my two nicknames: Brewmaster Spooky, and Captain
Ron
And
hence was born the strange name by the brewer with the
dedication to rustic county beers!
With
much aloha from my family to yours,
Captain Spooky Ron J
