Top 10 Seasonal Craft Brews

This article is dedicated to those who wasted a Monday night drinking mouthfuls of pumpkin and hops.

As we say goodbye to warm weather, summer concert lineups, and fruity ales, we say hello to a new season complete with a selection of festive fall beer flavors. Thanks to a handful of writers, climbers, beer enthusiasts, and one radio director, we collectively got drunk and crafted a list of our personal fall beer recommendations.

10. Santa Fe Brewery – Oktoberfest

It may have been that Oktoberfest came at the end of our testing and, by then, we had become beer snobs, but this is a beer whose ode is more dedicated to the end of summer than to the beginning of fall. Regardless, Oktoberfest is a mug full of Germany. Drink up if you’re looking for a crisp, clean taste. Also, it makes for a great shower beer.

9. New Belgium – Tour de Fall

If you’re looking for an easy-drinking fall pale ale, this is it. The caramel malts and slight floral notes provide an excellent balance, making it distinguishably more drinkable than some comparable pale ales.

8. Southern Tier – Pumking

Note to our editor, Berlin: To most beer aficionados this rates higher than most of the other beers on this list. To Out Front writers and drunken friends, this is where it landed.

The smell of the Pumking will make you think you’ve fallen into a Pumpkin Spice Latte with the intense aromas of pumpkin, cinnamon, clove, and a hint of nutmeg. Be careful with this one — while it tastes like you’re indulging in a thick pumpkin milkshake, it actually has an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 8.6%, so beware.

7. Dogfish Head – Punkin Ale

Pumpkins, pumpkins, punkins. One of Delaware’s finest beers can be paired perfectly with turkey, stuffing, dessert dumplings, or sharp cheddar. Since it’s not Thanksgiving, we can attest that it tastes great with Cheez-Its.

6. Shipyard – Pumpkinhead

The rest of the world appreciates Southern Tier’s Pumking much more than Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead Ale. That’s probably because it has a hint of spiced rum that will take you back to that frat boy’s bedroom you once threw up in during freshman year. Often called a chick beer, we basic bitches give it two thumbs up.

5. Strange Brewery – Pumpkin Saison

You can’t go wrong with the boiling of 150 pumpkins. There’s just no way.

4. Drydock – Imperial Pumpkin Ale

We all bow down to Drydock’s wonderful apricot ale of the summer months. Now throw on some leggings and boots and cozy up to their Imperial Pumpkin Ale. Are you drinking an autumn spice tea or a very delicious beer? Does it matter?

3. Breckenridge Brewery – Autumn Ale

If you’re afraid of moving too deep into the beer spectrum, settle in with a nice Autumn Ale from Breck. With a malty smell and a caramel taste, this is a great transitional beer from summer to winter.

2. Epic Brewery – Fermentation Without Representation Imperial Pumpkin Porter

This is one of the big dogs. This thick porter was described as having “hints of fall,” so prepare for flavors of vanilla bean, ginger, and cinnamon to swirl through your nose and settle on your tongue. We’d like to recommend it as number one, but the following absolutely takes the cake.

1. Southern Tier – Warlock

We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy! Just like the bottle says, this beer is probably really brewed with black magic. Get ready to confuse your beer with a pumpkin pie, because this is the spiciest of them all. You must drink this one at room temperature, but it gets better with time regardless.

So drink up, y’all. Winter is coming. l