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Change is coming to Upstate New York's pumpkin beers in 2016. Ithaca Beer Co. has discontinued its Country Pumpkin, while Saranac has changed its Pumpkin Ale recipe, making it more robust and flavorful.

Yes, the pumpkin beers did start to flood the store shelves back in July, an annoying trend that started several years ago.

But have you noticed there seems to be less pumpkin beer this year overall?

It seems to be true. Brewers, including many in Upstate New York, have either stopped making pumpkin beers or are cutting back production. It's a big change: Pumpkin (or pumpkin-spice) beer was one of the biggest trends in craft beer in the past five years.

The change dates back, in part, to the nationwide overproduction of pumpkin beers that reach a peak last fall. Pumpkin beers sat on shelves, and in some cases brewers had to buy it back from their distributors.

It was the "Great Pumpkin Debacle of 2015," said Gregg Stacy, director of sales and marketing for Ithaca Beer Co. Ithaca this year discontinued the fall seasonal beer, Country Pumpkin, which it had introduced in 2011.

Overproduction is just part of the problem, Stacy said. Ithaca is moving away from seasonals in any case, and is looking for different beers to add to its portfolio. This year, it launched Hellish Lager, a more traditional light-colored German-style beer (such traditional beers may be the "new" trend in craft beer).

Hellish Lager is "the anti-pumpkin ale," Stacy said, noting that the pumpkin ale was never a big part of its production in any case. "Pumpkin beer is cute, but it's not really what we do."

Change is coming across the spectrum, from the biggest craft brewers to the smallest.

Large brewers like Southern Tier in Jamestown (maker of Pumking and Warlock) are cutting back production, according to a story published at forbes.com. That story also noted big pumpkin producers like Harpoon Brewing in Massachussetts and Shipyard Brewing of Maine cut the volume of pumpkin beer they're making this year. Samuel Adams, which had been making two pumpkin beers, cut back to one this year, Forbes reported.

In Utica, the relatively large Saranac Brewery (Matt Brewing Co.) still has its Pumpkin Ale for 2016, but tweaked the recipe to make the flavor "more more prominent and robust," according to its digital marketer Anthony Jackson.

Smaller breweries Upstate are paying close attention to the market. Cortland Beer Co. plans to make two batches of its Pumpkin Ale this year, but may not do a third, as it did last year. That was one batch too many in 2015, said Cortland Beer president Dan Cleary.

Cortland expects to fill its accounts in the immediate Cortland area, but Cleary has found other markets, like Ithaca, have experienced pumpkin beer overload. "I asked an Ithaca account about taking pumpkin this year, and he said, 'naaah.' " Cleary said.

In addition to the number of breweries that jumped into the pumpkin market in recent years, the early start in delivery to markets and bars may contribute to the fatigue factor, Cleary said.

"Definitely by Thanksgiving, it's dead," Cleary said. "Maybe even earlier."

Even a brewery that also operates its own pumpkin patch is cutting back.

Critz Farms in Cazenovia is making just a small batch, said owner Matthew Critz.

"We heard about the over saturation last year, so we were careful this year," said Critz, who makes hard apple cider and beer at his farm, where he grows everything from apples and pumpkins to Christmas trees and makes maple products.

From a famer's perspective, Critz doesn't think the cut back in pumpkin beers will hurt many growers. Most pumpkin beers base their recipes on the spices, and many also use squash instead of actual pumpkin anyway. (The pumpkin or squash adds body to the beer, but not much flavor).

"Frankly, our brewery and Empire (Brewing Co. in Syracuse) are some of the only ones that use real pumpkin anyway," Critz said.

For those who still crave authentic pumpkin beers, his Critz Farms Pumpkin Ale may fit the bill: It's made with real pumpkins, not over-spiced and the pumpkins are drizzled with Critz maple syrup before they're roasted and added to the brew.

"Pumpkin beer became sort of a big marketing thing," Critz said. "We can take it back to being a real farm product."

Don Cazentre writes about food, beverages, restaurants and bars for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact him by email, on Twitter, at Google+ or via Facebook.