As the leaves change to amber hues, so do fall beers. Our local brewers are excited about the opportunity to offer these loved styles of craft beer. If you are looking forward to cozy sweaters and malty pints, please keep reading.
Fall beers generally include Märzenbier/Oktoberfest, Festbier, Schwarzbier, and pumpkin ales or Lagers. Are you a fan of pumpkin beers? Does it change your mind if I tell you there are 0 calories in a pumpkin beer? Of course I’m kidding, and it takes a little under 4,000 of these beers to equal a serving of vegetables. Don’t let this be a reason not to try our local versions of this fall classic.
What is the difference between a Märzen and a Festbier? Bryan Benedict, owner and co-founder of Moniker Brewing, told me; ”It’s always a fun conversation with people when answering this. The Märzen (or Oktoberfest) is darker in color, has a higher ABV, and is a traditional lager. It is a deep amber/copper color with pronounced flavors of caramel and sweet toffee. A Festbier is a contemporary lighter lager. It has more of a pale/straw color. The flavors are notes of cracker and biscuit with a slight hoppy kick and light sweetness. It’s comparable to a stronger, more complex Helles. This beer made its first appearance in the ’60/’70s. In style terms, it is a baby German beer. It became the official beer of the Munich Oktoberfest in the ’70s. Essentially, they wanted a beer that people could drink more of and for longer hours. A real strategic play and win if you ask me.”
Moniker plans to release a Märzen, Festbier, pumpkin beer, smoked Helles, and an Imperial red IPA. Benedict describes these as follows: “The Märzen will have notes of toffee, caramel, and dark bread crust. The Festbier will have the flavor of crackers with a spicy hop character and a light bread crust. The smoked Helles, named geräuchert (smoked in German), is light with hints of cracker and a light smoke character more like campfire and less like bacon. The Pumpkin is a basic B@!$* pumpkin latte, haha. It has notes of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg.” What makes this pumpkin unique is that the base is from an untraditional cream ale recipe. I know where I will be going this fall for my pumpkin fix!
It’s been a while since I had a beer from Moby Dick Brewing in New Bedford. After talking with Scott Brunelle, their brewer, I realized that this needs to change. Brunelle has two decades of experience. He started at Rock Bottom Brewery (formerly Brew Moon) and Harpoon Brewery. During this time, he gained national recognition at the Great American Beer Festival and won Brewer of the Year. He is currently working on a coffee porter (not yet named) that is made with coffee from Speedwell Roasters in Plymouth. “It will be about a 5% ABV porter using their Cold Brew extract to give it an amazing, subtle cold brew coffee profile.” This beer should be available mid-September. In addition, Captive King, a 5% ABV unfiltered Belgian white ale spiced with coriander and orange peel (sweet and bitter), Inward Delight, a 5.6% ABV Oktoberfest Lager, and El Gourdo. Brunelle describes El Gourdo as a “spiced ale, copper-colored, medium-bodied, full-flavored ale with pumpkin and spices.” This beer checks in at about 5.1%. It is available from mid-September until late November.
Titled Barn is celebrating fall by releasing a quintet of beers! Yes, you heard that correctly: five fantastic brews! Brad Smith, TB’s marketing, event, and social media manager, filled me in;
“We’ve got Farm to Fest, our Märzen. It is a phenomenal beer and one of my favorites we make, and I love that it signals the change of seasons here in New England, as the nights get cooler. Pouring a beautiful copper color, it showcases some deliciously layered toasted malt notes with a subtle sweetness that finishes crisp. I love it on cool nights around a crackling fire.” This Marzen-style lager has an ABV of 5.7%. Aster is a DIPA and part of the flower series release. This Imperial clocks in at 8.2%, offering notes of grapefruit, peaches, orange rind, and a touch of berries. Jack is a 6% ABV pumpkin ale made with TB farm-fresh pumpkins, with a small touch of spices. Smith explained, “We let the pumpkin and malt background illuminate the Jack. Definitely a treat!” Drip is the annual Wet Hop IPA. I am very excited to try this one. It has an ABV of 6.3%. Wet Hop beer is made with freshly picked whole cone hops. This lends to its floral, grassy, and herbal flavors. Chrysanthemum is a 6.5% American IPA that is dry-hopped with Nectaron. It provides a flavor of tropical and stone fruit along with a dominant sweet pineapple that has a balanced acidity.
On top of that, they have a series of events – as if you needed another excuse to go:
- Raise The Barn Fest on September 12, where you can sample beer from 25+ local breweries (tickets on sale now)
- Movie night on September 26, where you get to watch Jurassic Park on a big screen.
- Oktoberfest celebration on October 10. There will be a stein-holding competition, live music, and food vendors.
- Halloween Party on October 31. There’s a costume contest and prizes for best dressed in multiple categories.
Ben Weinstein, brewer of Apponaug Brewing Company, shared his upcoming fall beers.
If you have had Apponaug Brewing beer in a while, let me tell you they are killing it! Check out this planned lineup: Pozo Noche, a 5% ABV dark Mexican lager. This beer is new to the lineup, Weinstein told me, and a darker version of their Mexican lager. It has a roasty, sweet malt flavor with a crisp corn finish. Foolish Fire, a 5% ABV pumpkin ale, has pumpkin spice flavor on the front-end sip, light toffee notes, and finishes with true pumpkin flavor. It is made with pumpkin puree that is added to the mash! Oktoberfest is a 6.3% ABV Festbier that was described to me, and I quote Weinstein, as “rich with a complex malt profile, medium body, and low bitterness.” Prost!
Jami Lynn Gilly, Bravo Brewing Company taproom manager, informed me that they will have an Oktoberfest celebration on September 25 from 6-9 pm. This event will have music, pumpkin spice ale, and a traditional Märzen.
Origin Beer Project has a Märzen that was fermented in a foeder, and Tower Hill Brewing Co.’s Towerfest Märzen is back for its third straight year, with or without pumpkin or a cinnamon sugar rim.
Nichole Lourenco, owner and brewer of Crooked Current Brewery, shared her upcoming fall addition: ”The pumpkin maple ale will be on tap beginning August 29 for its 12th seasonal release. It is a copper and orange colored beer brewed with pumpkin, pumpkin pie spices, and maple syrup at 6.6% ABV. It tastes like a slice of pumpkin pie topped with a scoop of maple ice cream. There is no need for a sugar rim on this fall delight! Although we do occasionally offer pumpkin maple ale beer & ice cream floats throughout the season, just to kick the decadence up a notch!”
I generally skip dessert, but this liquid version is an exception!
Phantom Farms Brewing has a 5% ABV Festbier that is available on draft and in cans.
Narragansett Brewery will have its seasonal pumpkin beer, Gourd Reaper. This 6.9% ABV ale is made with pumpkin and spices and served with or without a cinnamon-sugared rim. This is the beer that breaks my rule of holding out for pumpkin until October!
Vigilant Brewing is bringing back their higher ABV version of Tower Hill Pumpkin Ale, Octobahfesta a Märzen, and possibly Smoke on the Water, a Rauchbier (smoked Helles).
Some brewers like to withhold information to create suspense. Nate Aiello, head brewer and co-owner of Uncommon Pair Brewing, told me, “I can’t give away too much of the secret lair happenings, but I am doing a Märzen with an uncommon addition taste that’s not considered to be traditional. We also have another dark traditional backbone beer that your uncle may approve of.”
Brian Dwyer, head brewer of Pivotal Brewing Company, filled me in on their fall beer lineup. They are bringing back Cave Ghost, a 4.9% Czech-style dark lager. ”We have a new Czech-style Pilsner called Praha we are very excited about. It just debuted and sold so quickly, we brewed a second batch.” This 4.4% ABV Czech pours a clear golden hue with a thick foamy head and lacing. It has flavors of biscuit, sweet bread, and is floral, with a touch of peppery spice from the Saaz hops. This is available on lukr pull while supplies last. Dwyer also told me about a September release I have been anticipating. It’s a West Coast IPA called C-Minus. “It’s going to be blueberry-dominant, tangy, with notes of red berries and stone fruit forward. This will be a modern WCIPA, crisp, clean bitterness, and punchy aromatics.”
The long days of summer are not over yet! I think it’s worth soaking up the sun and enjoying the last sips it has to offer. The following are some recommendations from staff and brewers:
Brian Dwyer: Shakedown Street from Pivotal. This 6.2% ABV is a hazy 100% Alora-hopped IPA. It is loaded with the aroma and flavor of stone fruits and layered with a touch of grapefruit, lemon, and lime.
Brad Smith: Lime Boy from Tilted Barn. 4.8% ABV Lager made with lime and a touch of sea salt. It is a summer twist on TB’s Lawn Boy Barn Lager. Smith tells us it “goes down quickly on these hot days!”
Scott Brunelle: Visionary Voices from Moby Dick Brewing. It is 6.9% ABV, a colonial ale representing a 1760-1780-style beer. The recipe is based on a historical recipe of Ben Franklin’s, using molasses
Ben Weinstein: Main Squeeze from Apponaug Brewing Company; “Craft beer lovers have to swing by and try the last pours of Main Squeeze! Main Squeeze is a collaboration brew with our friends at Foolproof Brewing Company (Pawtucket) and is a citrus wheat ale (5% ABV). This beer has flavors of fresh lemon and lime with a quenchable finish thanks to the addition of sea salt, harvested by Newport Sea Salt Company! This beer has quickly become a fan favorite and will be returning for the future summer season!”
The question is, what are you raising your pint glass to as the season shifts from beach days to bonfires?