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Seasonality is a big part of the American craft beer scene and it goes into hyper-drive around certain holidays like Halloween. Once just for the kiddies, Halloween is no longer just about candy and costumes; it’s a night now celebrated with serious beer.
Welcome to a very haunted edition of Newbies – Our guide to craft beers that might leave you howling at the moon.
Evil Dead Red / AleSmith Brewing Company (San Diego, CA) – A beer’s name is an essential part of any well-conceived Halloween beer and AleSmith’s special holiday release is not just cleverly named but it’s also a brilliant beer. Brewed only for the Halloween season, this blood Red Ale is abundantly hopped to balance out its caramel-rich malt backend. Clocking in at a devilish 6.66% ABV, AleSmith Evil Dead Red is brewed to pair perfectly with even the most terrifying horror flick.
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale / Weyerbacher Brewing Company (Easton, PA) – Pumpkin beers are always a solid choice for any Halloween outing and as we’ve reported in the past, there are almost too many to choose from. But on All Hollow’s Eve, you don’t want just another pumpkin beer – you want a PUMPKIN BEER that’s aggressive and unapologetic. And at 8% ABV, Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale is all that and more.
Zombie Dust / Three Floyds Brewing Company (Munster, IN) – Hey we get that this is a year-round beer but we think this beer more than meets our Halloween criteria (great name, awesome taste, & spooky label) and qualifies as an essential addition to any ghoulish outing. If you’re looking for a Halloween beer with real “street cred,” this is it. Hopped dangerously out of its mind, Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust is a 6.4% ABV American Pale Ale that will ensure you’ll be besieged at your next Halloween party. So just bring a 6-pack of Zombie Dust along with you this Halloween – and watch the dead rise.
Mephistopheles’ Stout / Avery Brewing Company (Boulder, CO) – Black as the darkest of nights and just as unforgiving, this massively strong 16.8% ABV Imperial Stout was the final installment of the brewery’s “Demons of Ale” series. Avery Mephistopheles’ Stout takes its name from the demon in the Faust legend who sold his soul to the devil and paid dearly for it. And if you unleash this maelstrom of a beer – it may cost you as well.
Dead Guy Ale / Rogue Ales (Newport, OR) – Thought by many to be the “mother of all Halloween beers,” we’d be remiss in not giving this beer its due. Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale is a German-style Maibock that was originally brewed to celebrate the Mayan Day of the Dead back in the early 1990s. Like Zombie Dust, Dead Guy Ale has always been a year-round offering, but over the years, the brewery has quite consciously (and successfully) marketed it at Halloween, at that association still remains today. Brewed using Rogue’s proprietary “Pacman” yeast, this award-winning beer is widely distributed and appropriately Halloween-friendly.
