Each new month brings with it new weather, holidays, and various things to look forward to, and October is no different. Sure, the weather is growing grayer and the days are getting shorter, but it’s also a great month to carve pumpkins, throw on a warm sweater, and drink beer. Even better, because it’s a transitional season the beer choices are practically unlimited.
Is it surprisingly warm and sunny one day? Grab a fresh hop IPA to enjoy a few more hoppy, fresh sips before the warm weather is gone until spring. Feel an unseasonably cold chill in the air? Why not crack open a toasty, roasty, warming smoked porter? Is the day a bit gray and rainy, but reasonably warm? How about a yeasty, funky farmhouse ale or Saison? You see where I’m going here.
There are so many options taht we decided the best way to figure out what to drink this month was to go to the professionals for help. We asked 10 well-known craft beer experts and brewers to tell us the one beer they crave in October.
Fremont Cowiche Canyon
Dan Schmelzer, head brewer at Lagunitas Brewing Company’s Seattle Taproom & Beer Sanctuary in Seattle
ABV: 6%
Average Price: $13.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
With their close proximity to the promised land of U.S.-grown hops, Fremont Brewing in Seattle works with hop farmers in the Yakima valley with generations of knowledge to further progress the field by sustainably growing organic hops on a small 2-acre plot of land then brewing a limited quantity of a wet-hopped beer each year with those hops. Citrus pith, pine needle, and a bright verdant profile shine through in this unique beer only found for a short time in October. Cheers to organic farming!
Alaskan Smoked Porter
Nick Nock, head brewer at SweetWater Brewing Company in Atlanta
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $10 for a 22-ounce bottle
Why This Beer?
When it comes to beers well-suited for October weather, my favorite beer of all time is Alaskan Smoked Porter, a delicious beer with malts that are smoked the same way salmon is smoked in Alaska. The smokier the better, I say.
Oxbow Life On Biére De Mars
Kyle Warren, lead brewer at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
The beers from Wallonia have inspired many great breweries in America and Oxbow is one of my favorites. They are well known and respected for making farmhouse ales and lagers at their picturesque brewery in Maine. I love a smokey beer in the months leading up to winter and Life On Biére De Mars combines my love of a funky farmhouse ale with a more than nuanced smoke character that pairs well with the falling leaves.
Grain Belt Lager
Ty Nash, head brewmaster at Little Dry Creek Brewery in Greenwood Village, Colorado
ABV: 4.6%
Average Price: $7.50 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
I always look forward to Grain Belt from August Schell. I have friends that go up to the Great Lakes every fall and bring me a couple of cases. It’s just a nice, easy-drinking light lager that is balanced perfectly between malt and hops. What more could you want in an October beer?
Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
Rob Lightner, co-founder of East Brother Brewing in Richmond, California
ABV: 6.3%
Average Price: $12.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
While I’m not usually a huge fan of pumpkin beers, which have always seemed gimmicky to me, I have to say that Elysian’s Pumpkin Ale does a pretty amazing balancing act. This beer pours a golden copper with all the signature autumn aromas you’d expect: cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and pumpkin, all wrapped up nicely with light malty notes. This beer was smooth and rich with notes of molasses and gingerbread — like the holidays in a glass. This one might just have changed my mind about the pumpkin thing.
Unibroue La Fin Du Monde
Parker Penley, lead innovation brewer at Widmer Brothers in Portland, Oregon
ABV: 9%
Average Price: $9.99 for a 750ml bottle
Why This Beer?
Unibroue La Fin Du Monde is a great beer for October. It has enough body flavor for the season change but is not as heavy as the imperial stouts and winter warmers people tend to move toward during the coldest months. It is a lovely beer to sit with in Autumn evenings watching the brightly colored leaves blowing around on the ground. Enjoy this well-crafted and delicious Belgian Tripel in a tulip glass and bask in the glory of the harvest season.
Monkless Meet Your Maker
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone® and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 9%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
Being in Wisconsin, the weather has no mercy on us in October. The fierceness of the seasonal transition has me reaching for Meet Your Maker, every year. It’s a Belgian strong dark ale by Monkless Belgian Ales. It has rich but wispy flavors of dark fruit, caramel, raisin, and a touch of toffee to it. This is a beer that I’d say has some serious soul to it and really forces you to slow down and smell the roses dates.
Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest
Max Shafer, brewmaster at Roadhouse Brewing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
ABV: 5.2%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
If there is one seasonal trend in beer I will always get on board with, it is Oktoberfest-style lagers. Every October I look forward to finding Oaktoberfest from Firestone Walker. I love this take on a hyper-traditional style of beer. The oak comes through and rounds out the flavor making it the perfect beer to sip as the days grow shorter and the temperatures fall.
Saison Dupont
Eric Warner, brewmaster at Karbach Brewing in Houston
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $11.99 for a 750ml bottle
Why This Beer?
I don’t know that it’s necessarily considered a Fall beer, but in Texas where the line blurs between summer heat and cooler fall temperatures, I always enjoy Saison Dupont. It’s effervescent and light-bodied enough for the warmer days, but the amazingly spicy aroma is perfect when we get a bit of cooler air.
TRVE Brewing October Rust
Nico Cervantes, brewer at Resolute Brewing in Centennial, Colorado
ABV: 6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
October Rust from TRVE Brewing. The malt flavors and crispy body of TRVE’s seasonal Märzen-style lager are perfect for some of the last remaining warm days and the first initial chilly evenings of fall. It’s a beer I always look forward to drinking each and every year. Plus, it’s named after one of the greatest albums of all time, so what’s not to like?