It’s the final Saturday of October and we’re a few days away from Halloween, which falls on a Friday this year..
Whether you’re heading out to a Halloween party or planning to enjoy a couple cold ones at home while greeting trick-or-treaters, it’s a night where pumpkin beers just seem to make sense, right?
This week’s column is pretty straightforward. I’ve got you covered with pumpkin beers from BC craft breweries that might pique your interest!
Named after a local Fernie legend, this award-winning fall seasonal has become a bit of a legend itself. Ghostrider is made with pumpkins, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and allspice, and only lightly filtered to keep the real pumpkin taste alive.
Hundreds of pounds of pumpkin puree are used to brew this malt-forward ale, which is spiced up with whole clove, fresh ginger and a sprinkle of nutmeg. This amber ale, which doesn’t finish too sweet, is like pumpkin pie in a glass.
Another one that would be classified as an amber ale, this is a brand new creation from Vancouver Island Brewing this year. You can expect light caramel malts, notes of allspice and nutmeg on the palate and a roasted, dry finish with this pumpkin-spiced beer.
Real pumpkin is added to the mash and pumpkin pie spices are added to the brew kettle to make this malty Oktoberfest-style lager. You’ll be hit with a nice mix of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger when you sip Parallel 49 Brewing’s popular annual release.
I saved this one for last because it’s the most unique and I also already covered it in my Halloween beer column two years ago. Crooked Tooth is a nitro beer, which means it’s creamy and smooth like a Guinness. Much like the others, it’s full of delicious fall spices and tastes like a fresh slice of pumpkin pie.
Josh Duncan is the NowMedia news director and a craft beer lover. Reach him at [email protected]. His beer column appears every Saturday afternoon in this space.
