The 8 Very Best Halloween Beers You Need to Try

Amanda Waas
·3 min read

Halloween parties—if done correctly—are the perfect combination of obnoxiousness and genuine, giddy fun. You're hanging out with your friends and drinking, like always, but this time, you're hanging out with your friends and drinking while dressed up as a character from your favorite TV show or favorite internet meme.

You may or may not dress up as Baby Shark and be extra annoying with the song until everyone at the party hates you. You may or may not dress up as Cruella de Vil and embody the character a little too well by acting like a Dalmatian-obsessed diva all night. You can do these things because it's a Halloween party, and anything goes.

But what doesn't go at your Halloween party is a crappy beer selection. You're not in college anymore. Nobody wants to drink 35 Busch Lites and cry in the cab ride home anymore. They've developed a better (perhaps snottier) palate when it comes to beer, which means they want to drink the good stuff.

So when you're planning your own monster mash bash (or even if you're knocking a few back while watching scary movies by your lonesome), keep this excellent section of the eight best Halloween beers in mind.

8 Best Halloween Beers

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1. Dogfish Head Punkin Ale: A full-bodied brown ale with hints of pumpkin and brown sugar, Punkin Ale is brewed seasonally by the Delaware-based brewery known for unique mash-ups. (They recently paired up with Brooklyn Brine to make beer-flavored pickles!)

2. Harpoon's UFO Pumpkin: Unfiltered, hazy and unabashedly orange, UFO Pumpkin tastes more like pumpkin pie than beer, which is pretty much what you want, right?

Related: The Best Halloween Punch Recipes (With Alcohol)

3. Post Road Pumpkin Ale: Amber in color, malty in taste, with insane drinkability—you have to look closely at Post Road's bottle to find out that this classic pumpkin ale is actually a product of Brooklyn Brewery.

4. Angry Orchard Strawman Cider: Okay, Strawman Cider isn't a beer, but ciders are in their prime around Halloween time, and this one—an offering from Angry Orchard's Ciderhouse Collection—is one of the best.  Made with bittersweet apples and aged in oak barrels, the cider is earthy and sweet at the same time, making it something that beer-hating, wine-loving party attendees will like. Also a bonus? Its high alcohol content (10% ABV). Seeya later.

5. Saranac Pumpkin Ale: Saranac, an Upstate New York brewery that's been around for 125 years (really), makes a killer seasonal pumpkin ale packed with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and vanilla, for a delicious beer that borders on dessert.  Want a tip? Line the rim of your pint glass with cinnamon and brown sugar—drink this and you can die happy.

Related: 24 Best Low-Calorie Beers for a Healthier Option

6. Big Boss's Harvest Time Ale: Despite the foreboding skull on the label, Harvest Time (from relatively new Raleigh-based Big Boss Brewery) is more amber than black as the night, making it a pumpkin ale you can drink all night.

7. Flying Dog's The Fear Imperial Pumpkin Ale: Speaking of scary labels, Flying Dog is good at those (check out its Raging Bitch IPA), and doesn't disappoint with The Fear Imperial Pumpkin Ale. This dark ale has a combination of pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon and chocolate.

8. Pumpkin Ale: Utah-based Uinta Brewing releases this pumpkin ale, brewed with real pumpkin and a spice medley of nutmeg, cinnamon, and all-spice. Cheers!

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