The weather is finally cooling off and leaves are beginning to fall – autumn is officially here! Prepare your wardrobe for warmer layers and sweaters, hot mugs of pumpkin spice lattes, and switch out your beer rotation with the following autumn themed beers and ales that will keep you all warm and cozy while the temperatures (and leaves) drop.
Who said you can’t enjoy some candy and beer at the same time? For your upcoming Halloween party, be sure to bring a pack of Ommegang’s All Hallow’s Treat. This concoction of chocolate and peanut butter will put you under a witch’s spell. It’s a smooth delicious treat in the midst of a bundle of tricks!
We’re smack dab in the middle of Oktoberfest 2024! This yearly tradition celebration once started as a festival honoring a royal wedding, but now it’s a bash of all things German, especially beer. The true Oktoberfest experience might be across the world, but you can have a taste of the Bavarian tradition in Chicago thanks to several breweries at home and abroad.
If you’re looking for some Oktoberfest beers for your party, try out these!
- Goose Island Oktoberfest – This light German-style lager is a Goose style tribute to the Munich style lager featuring a mild earthy bitterness.
- Point Oktoberfest – An authentic Marzen lager using Mount Hood hops and Vienna roasted malts.
- Shiner Oktoberfest – It’s Oktoberfest – Texas style! Made with two-row barley, Munich and caramel hops – this lager is a yeehaw style tribute to German tradition.
- Spiteful Oktoberfest – This Munich style lager is a smoothy, easy drinking tribute to the German classic. Toasted and biscuit esque maltiness gives way to an elegance.
- Hopewell Oktoberfest – Simple and no-nonsense. This lager is rich and malty, with a bit of hop spice.
- Burnt City Oktoberfest – A cult classic, this lager is full on German malts and hops, while also giving part a slight floral aroma.
- Founders Oktoberfest – Imported hops meets lager yeast for a copper, malty, and slightly sweet finish that pays tribute to Bavaria’s finest.
- Buckledown Oktoberfest – A malt forward lager creates a medium, golden hue and gives way to a smooth finish.
Eight different beers each create their own specific tribute to the yearly German tradition. Try out a few, or all of them, and transport yourself to Oktoberfest!
The best thing about Fall is that there’s soooo many pumpkin themed foods and drinks. Pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I often include beer in my yearly pumpkin-fication – and this year, the folks at Elysian made it easy for me. They have a pumpkin variety pack featuring four of their pumpkin flavored beers – including Night Owl, a seasonal fan favorite, but also three other beers that can only be found in the variety pack.
- Dark O’The Moon – A pumpkin stout which will sure be a favorite when out on a porch one crisp autumn evening with friends enjoying each other’s company.
- Punkuccino – A personal favorite – I love combining my beer with coffee flavors so this pumpkin coffee ale combined with nutmeg and cinnamon is a slam dunk.
- The Great Pumpkin – The world’s first imperial pumpkin ale! Full bodied with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves added to the fermentation process. The ultimate pumpkin beer.