5 Beers to Enjoy This Halloween Season

Often, it can be hard to tell who enjoys Halloween more, the kids or the adults. While the annual autumn event offers little ones the opportunity to dress up in costumes, go to haunted houses, frolic in corn mazes, and hit up the neighborhood for candy, all awesome things, often it seems that the adults act like big kids. They, too, pull on costumes and often end up either hosting or heading to a party. Especially when the tick-or-treat day falls around a weekend like it does this year. But where the little ones are searching for Kit-Kats and Snickers, the adults are often looking for something with a bit more kick.

While Halloween parties can offer the perfect mixture of rowdiness and good-natured fun, they do require the right mixture of libations to ensure everyone is comfortable hanging out as their favorite superhero, meme, or whatever other crazy idea pops into their minds. But, while many people will search for recipes to make themed drinks or punches to offer to their friends, you also need to have a good selection of beers that fit the mood for the season.

The good news is that many craft brewers roll out a wide selection of brews that fit perfectly with the holiday and the changing weather. Bigger brews with more flavors are perfect for warding off the chill in the air, and maltier beers seem to taste better in the twilight. Here are five beers to stock up on for either for a Halloween party, to sip while handing out treats, or to keep in the fridge for whenever you feel the urge to crack one open and enjoy the approaching twilight.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

As one of the original innovators of craft beer, Dogfish Head’s founder Sam Calagione is known for his off-kilter flavor combinations and unique brews. He is among the few brewers ever to win a James Beard Award and was featured in the documentary Beer Wars. His Punkin Ale sets the bar in a category that is often filled with pretenders. Brewed every year since 1994, it is a full-bodied ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar.

Southern Tier Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Stout

Located on the western edge of New York state on the shores of Lake Erie, the Southern Tier Brewing Company team knows a thing or two about turning out beers that will help ward off the cold. Their Imperial Pumpkin Stout is part of their acclaimed Pumking Family of beers. A limited release, it does an excellent job of marrying the sweetness of pumpkin with a stout’s big, bold flavors.

Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter

As America’s oldest brewery Yuengling has been brewing great beer for almost two hundred years in Pottsville, PA. So, it only makes sense that they would annually brew a collaboration beer with their nearby neighbors, Hershey’s, one of the largest chocolate purveyors in the world. This brew is packed with sweetness and allows adults to partake in the chocolate flavors that Halloween is known for and a hearty porter as the sun dips below the horizon.

Three Floyds Zombie Dust

Every party, or at least your fridge, needs to have an excellent pale ale in it these days. The problem is there are just so many to choose from. Luckily the award-winning team at Three Floyds has solved that problem with their fantastic Zombie Dust Pale Ale. A year-round product, it has a powerful citrus rush up front that is quickly followed up with pine and malt flavors with a smooth finish. It’s an ideal sipper, and its comic book-inspired label fits the season perfectly.

Sanitas Munich Lager

While Halloween does grab most of the headlines this time of year in America, large parts of the world are just getting over their hangovers from Oktoberfest. This fine Munich Style brew from Boulder, Colorado, based Sanitas Brewing, pays homage to the event. A traditional German-style dark lager is loaded with barley and malts. Each sip perfectly balances those flavors with a slight hop kick.