Ah fall, that wonderful season when the temperatures drop, the leaves change colour, and breweries release some fantastic seasonal ales. If it weren’t for summer, spring, and winter, fall would totally be my favourite season to drink beer. Here are some of my favourite brews for the upcoming season—give them a try and let me know what you think!
Northwinds’ The Beet Goes On
Collingwood’s much-loved brewpub and eatery just bottled its first batch of “The Beet Goes On.” This harvest-inspired pale ale features a pink colouring from the addition of red and white beets during the brew and is wet-hopped with hops from the local hop yard, Big Head Hops. It’s an easy drinking beer with a very subtle beet-flavoured aroma. More info: www.northwindsbrewery.com
Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale
Always making bold, interesting beer, the people at Rogue have truly embraced pumpkin beers and they make a great one. The Pumpkin Patch Ale features all the great ingredients needed for a good ale, along with a few extras; namely, ginger, cloves, vanilla beans, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and of course, pumpkin. The orange-coloured beer is loaded with pie aromas and flavours with hints of pumpkin. Definitely a sessionable beer. More info: www.rogue.com
Amsterdam Brewery’s Autumn Hop
This unfiltered pale ale has something a little different; all the hops used during the brewing process are wet. That means they’re stripped right off the bine (yes, with a b), then used to brew beer with. This is called wet-hopping and can only be done during hop harvest season, so it really is a seasonal brew. Wet hops are great for hop-forward beers like a pale ale, and this one is a good example of the technique. With this one, you’ll notice the wet grass flavours and aromas that come from the wet hops. More info: www.amsterdambeer.com
Beau’s Night Märzen
How could we talk about fall beers without mentioning Oktoberfest? We can’t. And if you can’t make it to Van Kleek Hill for the annual Beau’s Oktoberfest bender, then their Oktoberfest-inspired beer is the next best thing. Märzen is the traditional Oktoberfest beer; the amber, malty lager is balanced with noble hops and has a clean, crisp finish that is highly drinkable. Try it. You’ll like it. And then you’ll want another. More info: www.beaus.ca
Muskoka Brewery Harvest Ale
One of the first seasonal beers offered by Muskoka Brewery, the Harvest Ale is still released every fall. And for good reason: it’s delicious beer. With an ABV of 6.7%, this beer is a celebration of all things harvest season. This year’s harvest, and for the first time ever, their brew uses all-Ontario ingredients with malt forward, soft biscuit flavours that transform into notes of mango, grapefruit, and stone-fruit. This one goes down easy for such a big beer. More info: www.muskokabrewery.com
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
While the name of this brewery, and its beer, is a real mouthful for us anglophones, the beer itself is a mouthful of goodness. The German brewery has been smoking its malt with beech wood logs for hundreds of years. This award-winning märzen style beer is dark brown with notes of smoked meat, and a thick texture—absolutely delicious on a cool, fall day. More info: www.schlenkerla.de
Church-Key Holy Smoke Scotch Ale
Church Key’s Holy Smoke is a Scotch ale, with a little twist; 10% of its malt is smoked over a peat fire. With very little hop-bitterness present, this beer is dominated by the sweet and smokey malts. Pairs well with a good cheddar. More info: www.churchkeybrewing.com
