Change is good!

So, it’s the beginning of September, summer’s coming to an end and the first hints of fall are both among and around us. Personally, I love fall. I love the change in the feeling of the air, the change in wardrobe, the change in the colors outside and, as a teacher, I do welcome the change in scheduling after a long, lazy summer. So, while fall means many things to many people, to me, it clearly means one thing: change. And change, in the beer world, is a very, very good thing.

Fall is a new season with new beers, new styles and new flavors to try. After the long, hot summer full of all those crisp wheat ales (my personal favorite: Three Floyds Gumballhead) and juicy, hoppy IPAs (Ithaca Flower Power IPA and Ballast Point Scuplin are insanely good while Founders Devil Dancer is just insane), it is now time to move on and try anew. In autumn, beers get roastier and toastier, fuller and rich; we’re talking Pumpkin Ales, Oktoberfests, Harvest ales and Nut Browns. And I love it. Some people disagree with the notion of drinking seasonally, but I am not one of these people. Perhaps it’s just the New England girl within me, but I, though typically phobic of any sort of change in life or routine, fully embrace the marvelous changes that come with each new season. Don’t get me wrong, I love IPAs as much as the next hophead, but come on – how many can I drink before my taste-buds literary erode away? Repeat after me: We need change. Change is good.

So, what am I drinking this fall? Glad you asked. Two beers I’m especially looking forward to having in my glass are The Bruery Autumn Maple and Elysian Dark O’ the Moon. Autumn Maple is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed with yams, cinnamon, brown sugar and all sorts of fall goodness, while Dark O’ the Moon is a pumpkin stout. Both are brewed on the West Coast and therefore a little tricky to locate in my neck of the woods, so I’m getting them shipped to me by a friend in California. If you happen to be acquainted with a fellow beer lover on the left coast, I suggest that you do the same. Otherwise, wait around a couple weeks and I’ll fill you in on what you’re missing!

For the East Coast and mainstream beer drinking crowd out there, have no fear! - There are still so many delicious and different craft brews available for you to sample this fall. Autumn, in my opinion, may just be the best season to take your first dip into the craft beer pool, due mainly to the sweet, seasonally appropriate flavors being put forth. Pumpkin, in particular, is a very popular fall flavor that has found its way into the beer world, and should not be off-putting to many people at this time of year. Pumpkin, really, is the flavor of fall, after all. Poke your nose into any bakery, ice cream store or coffee shop and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin ice cream,    pumpkin muffins and cookies… it’s pumpkin mania around here right now and there’s no reason that beer shouldn’t be invited to the party as well. Pumpkin beer even works for non-beer drinkers, because it doesn’t really taste like beer: its flavors are mostly sweet and a little spicy with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon, heavy on toasted malts and lacking any strong or overpowering hop presence that might turn non-beer or non-craft beer drinkers off. In short, pumpkin beer, like it’s coffee and ice cream cousins, is a must-try this upcoming fall season. Though it most likely will not make its way into your usual go-to beer repertoire, I challenge you to find something more warming and delicious on a crisp autumn day.

           As for my suggestions, I suggest that you pick up Southern Tier Pumpking, Cape Ann Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout and Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale to start. What would be fun, and what I’m planning on doing, is setting up a bit of a Pumpkin Beer tasting to experience and evaluate all the different pumpkin and spice nuances of each beer and compare them to each other. However, though fall is rapidly approaching, it’s still not quite here yet, and though some of the seasonal beers have already hit the shelves, I’m going to try to wait until the leaves change before I begin to indulge. After all, it’s only September: we’ve got a long and wonderful autumn ahead of us and there’s no need to rush it away. Check back in later for my pumpkin beer reviews.