THE BREWSPAPER / RICH FLAVORED SEASONAL BEERS / U.S. & CALIFORNIA

Here’s Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s twist on the German Märzen bier:  It’s a Paso Märzen.  Traditional imported malts offer subtle honey-like aromas with hints of Noble hop spice.  The stars of this brew are the imported Pilsner and Vienna malts that offer malty sweetness that carry through to the end.  German Hallertau hops add rich Noble hop character to balance this exceptional Marzen. This beer is 100% stainless steel and gets the name Oaktoberfest as an ode to FW's hometown, Paso Robles, Spanish for "Pass of The Oaks". 

AUTUMN ADVENTURE--Indian summer is fading and Fall’s true colors are beginning to show themselves-- the same colors as the wide array of craft beers produced by the country’s small and independent brewers this season. Just in time for fall festivities, CraftBeer.com—the Brewers Association (BA) website for beer lovers—has curated a list of these choice seasonal beers from their brewery members.  Take the adventure taste an available NEW seasonable brew from your favorite retailer.

“Fall is one of the seasons craft brewers love best thanks to its rich and varied crops and seasonal spices,” said Julia Herz, publisher of CraftBeer.com and Brewers Association craft beer program director. “Small and independent brewers utilize autumn’s selection of ingredients to create full-bodied beers with flavor profiles to fit the more brisk fall weather.”

Looking at annual data, seasonal beers peak in interest and sales every October thanks to a signature fall flavor: pumpkin. Pumpkin beer is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the seasonal world—Google searches for “pumpkin beer” alone triumph over Google searches for all four seasonals (“winter beer” + “spring beer” + “summer beer” + “fall beer”). Last year, pumpkin beers lead a surge in seasonal sales, turning an estimated 125,000 lag in case sales into a 300,000 case surplus that briefly put seasonals back at the front of the craft beer pack, ahead of the ever popular India pale ale.

Make it a crisp, crackling fall with some of these pumpkin beers and other tasty seasonal offerings from U.S. craft brewers:

·         Firestone Walker Brewing Co. | Oaktoberfest | Paso Robles, CA·         

·         Bear Republic Brewing Company, Inc. | Racer X® | Sonoma County, CA

·         Big Bay Brewing Company | Üfer Oktoberfest Lager |  Shorewood, WI

·         Brewery Ommegang | Scythe & Sickle | Cooperstown, NY

·         DESTIHL Brewery | Samhain Pumpkin Porter | Bloomington, IL

·         Dust Bowl Brewing Co. | Black Blizzard | Turlock, CA

·         Evil Genius Beer Company | Trick or Treat | West Grove, PA

.         Ale Syndicate Brewers | Richie Imperial Porter | Chicago, IL

·         Flat 12 Bierwerks | Flat Jack Pumpkin | Indianapolis, IN

·         Florida Beer Company | Gourd Shorts | Cape Canaveral, FL

·         Indeed Brewing Company | Sweet Yamma Jamma Sweet Potato | Minneapolis 

·         Ithaca Beer Co. | Embrr Rye Porter | Ithaca, NY

·         Nebraska Brewing Company | Wick for Brains Pumpkin Ale | La Vista, NE 

For the West Coast region, West Coaster Magazine points out the following seasonals  and semi-seasonals from California breweries:

           

 --Dead Ringer Oktoberfest Lager / Ballast Point / San Diego, CA

            

--Cedar Plank Pale Ale Hop Odyssey / Green Flash / San Diego

            

--Celebration Fresh Hop IPA / Sierra Nevada / Chico, CA

--Southern Hemisphere Harvest / Sierra Nevada

--Harvest Wild Hop IPA / Sierra Nevada            

--Fall Seasonal Oktoberfest / Karl Strauss / San Diego

OTHERS

--Witch’s Hair Pumpkin Ale / Twisted Manzanita Ales / Santee, CA

--Nutbrown Ale / Alesmith / San Diego

--Fall Release Imperial Red / Lagunitas / Petaluma, CA

See CraftBeer.com's “Fall Seasonals: 55 Craft Beer Releases” for a complete list of seasonal craft beer selections and descriptions. To round out your autumn craft beer experience, consider a tour of your local independent brewery.

The Brewspaper is a regular column appearing in Pillar to Post online magazine.  This blog is a media partner with West Coaster, a Southern California-based craft beer centric print publication and website: www.westcoastersd.com.