Smoke & Peaches
WeldWerks Brewing
There’s been smoke in the air recently at a few Colorado breweries, including Dry Dock, Bierstadt, Denver Beer Co., Westfax and Our Mutual Friend. The latest to give smoked lagers (usually called rauchbiers) a go is WeldWerks, which created Smoke & Pineapples in August and followed up with Smoke & Peaches in late September. Brewed with smoked Western Slope peaches and smoked malt, the 6 percent ABV beer combines those late harvest peach flavors with campfires in the crisp air. It is on draft and available to-go from the brewery and should hit WeldWerks’ distribution area later this week.
Punky Masala
New Terrain Brewing
New Terrain brings back its atypical pumpkin beer, Punky Masala. “Our recipe uses savory Indian spices similar to those used in Garam Masala soup to elevate the pumpkin,” the brewery says. “The result is a beer with a pleasing profile boasting notes of cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon and pumpkin. Punky Masala is not a trick. It is very much so a treat.” And it’s on draft and in four-packs to go.
Floatin’ on the Freshies
Dry Dock Brewing
Although hops are usually harvested in late August or early September, their appearance heralds fresh hop beer season and the beginning of the end of summer. Fresh hop beers are made with whole cone hops that are picked and then used within 24 hours so as to capture their more vegetal flavors. Dry Dock’s entry into that category this year, Floatin’ on the Freshies, is no exception: the brewery used Chinook, Cascade, and Nugget hops harvested just hours earlier at Highwire Hops in Paonia. The 7.1 percent ABV beer “delivers notes of honeysuckle, red grapefruit, pine, berries, stone fruit and mint over a base of honey and toasty malts,” Dry Dock says. It is available on tap at the brewery’s South Dock location.
Patch to Porch Pumpkin Lager
Station 26 Brewing
Most pumpkin beers are ales — something that seems appropriate since their heaviness can go with the season. But Station 26 has turned that around, creating a crisp, pumpkin pie-spiced lager that works as both an easy crusher and a fall treat. Brewed with allspice and vanilla, the 6.2 percent AVB beer is available now on draft and in four-packs of sixteen-ounce cans to-go. Plus it has a fun name.
Maple Harvest
Uhl’s Brewing
For this sturdy glass of autumn, Uhl’s starts with a 13.4 percent ABV American strong ale and then doubles down on the caramel maltiness by adding maple syrup and molasses to the brew. Then it throws in some pumpkin spices and vanilla to “brighten the nose,” the brewery says. “Earthy squash also contributes to the full-bodied mouthfeel, and it finishes with just a touch of boozy heat.”
Guan Yu
Jade Mountain Brewery & Teahouse
As the temperature starts to drop, Jade Mountain Brewery owner Sean Guerrero likes to reach for his favorite cold-weather beer, Guan You — and you should, too. The brewery’s house stout strikes a balance between roasty malts, Sichuan chiles, Sichuan peppercorns, chocolate and lactose for a creamier mouthfeel. “Pair it with our Sichuan peanuts and you have the perfect fall treat,” the brewery says.
Foeder Oktoberfest
4 Noses Brewing
There are literally (figuratively) five billion Oktoberfest lagers out there right now, so how did we pick this one for a list? Well, after being brewed, it is aged in a wooden foeder, which is sort of like a cozy sweater for beer — at least that’s how we’re imagining it. Plus, 4 Noses always does a good job with its annual marzen. You can get it on draft or in canned four-packs to go, along with the brewery’s non-foeder version.
Big Bad Baptist: In the Rye
Epic Brewing
Big Bad Baptist is a classic: a bourbon-barrel aged stout with coffee that has been clearing heads for many years. But Epic Brewing adds new variants to the base beer every year, and this time around, it aged one version entirely in rye whiskey barrels instead of bourbon. Rye typically imparts deep earthy tones and some peppery spice. Drink it from a coffee mug on a cold morning afternoon.
