Feisty brown-sugared honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice adjuncts crowd sweet ‘n simple pumpkin ale. Creamy vanilla malts contrast vegetal pumpkin-fleshed astringency and ethyl vodka burn below pumpkin pie spicing. Mild banana, clove, ginger, marshmallow and clove undertones find room.
DU CLAW PUMPKIN SPICED LAGER
Halloween-bound dunkelweizen evenly spreads brown-sugared pumpkin spicing alongside toasted almond, pecan and caramel sweetness in crystalline well water setting. Light cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice seasoning creates tingly gingerbread spine for autumnal Munich-styled lager.
(LION) STEGMAIER PUMPKIN ALE
Mucky midrange moderation meshes pumpkin pie sugaring with ephemeral cinnamon-nutmeg-allspice conflux, candied crystal malting and distant banana-clove sweetness. Latent metallic sheen and phenol hop astringency disrupt gourd tenacity.
KUKA PUMPKIN DUBBEL
Indecisive gourd-squashed Belgian dubbel gets mellow as maca-rooted pumpkin spicing picks up musty raw molasses souring and earthen barnyard leathering. Ripe banana undertones lay beside light cinnamon-nutmeg seasoning and sweet pecan wisp.
DEPARTED SOLES GHOST OF PUMPKIN PASSED
On tap at Plank Pizza, pallid gluten-free autumnal moderation utilizes sorghum, instead of wheat, to less assuredly support evaporative brown-sugared pumpkin spicing and vegetal gourd earthiness. Lemon-seeded herbal hop astringency negates wispy vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg adjuncts.
CARTON SQUASHENATOR
On tap at Cloverleaf, unique soft-toned acorn squashed moderation retains easygoing gourd spicing, light chili flake burn and syrupy Blackstrap molasses bittering over sweet crystal malting. Meaty pumpkin astringency perfectly contrasts cinnamon-spiced pumpkin pie sugaring.
BOULDER DRAGONHOSEN IMPERIAL OKTOBERFEST
Well rounded and stylishly bold Oktoberfest evenly distributes cereal-grained caramel toasting, dewy peat earthiness, chestnut-roasted pecan sugaring and brown-sugared molasses sinew. Rye-spiced pumpernickel breading and dried-fruited raisin, prune and black cherry undertones add depth.
DU CLAW MAD BISHOP OKTOBERFEST
Brusque autumnal medium body “leads us not into temptation” with its lightly pungent raw-honeyed graining and leafy hop foliage. Mild ethanol burn weighs down brown-sugared caramel roast and gunky sour fruiting.
BOLERO SNORT BRAVEHORN SCOTCH ALE
On tap at Poor Henry’s, soft-toned hybridized Scotch ale brewed with tart cranberries and sweet orange peels picks up subtle plum-sugared goodness over dainty caramelized Scotch malts. A delicate delight.
DU CLAW SAWTOOTH BELGIAN WHITE
Richer saccharomyces yeast strain, sweeter citric spicing and heightened floral herbage distinguish complex witbier from lighter stylistic varieties. Soft-toned Curacao orange peel adjunct, emerging Valencia orange tang and sugary coriander respite engage aromatic lavender, rosemary, lotus and mint illusions over cracked wheat base. Tertiary banana, peach and tangerine sweetness contrasts sly plantain dryness.
CONEY ISLAND HARD ROOT BEER
Sassy sarsaparilla-styled suds sustains stickily sugared soda syruping over casual vanilla, licorice and birch adjuncts. Light medicinal astringency girds dainty black cherry sweetness and mild ginger spicing of heavily creamed ‘hard’ root beer. More filling and dynamic (though arguably less palatable) than viable competitor, Not Your Fathers Root Beer.
(SMALL TOWN) NOT YOUR FATHER’S ROOT BEER (ALE WITH SPICES)
Olden-styled sarsaparilla provides a “taste of nostalgia” to 21st century beer snobs. Flavored like cola-derived Muggs Root Beer, this ‘ale with the taste of spices’ perfectly re-creates cane sugared styling (with only a hint of alcohol). Creamy vanilla extract drips lightly atop sticky sugar syruping. Light herbal hops barely dent the surface while anise-derived red licorice, cardamom and ginger undertones spice up the sweet-toothed root beer finish.