2019 is shaping up to be a good harvest year of craft beer. This year’s list is a scythe for sore eyes and will take your taste buds for a hayride.
Enjoy the harvest but beware – these brews are spooky good!
Hitchhiker Altered Genius Beaver Aurochs Grist House Spring Hill Couch Headley’s Allegheny City East End Mindful Abjuration Spoonwood
Altered Genius Brewing
Looking for a Jack-yll-lantern or a Hyde-o-lantern this season? Find both at Ambridge’s upcoming brewery Altered Genius Brewing which is releasing a sweet potato beer brewed with two different yeasts which makes two different beers. Both pack a personality-splitting punch with 11-12% ABV. Feeling torn between the two? Choose the Tato-Lantern Jekyll. Feeling devilish? Go with Tato-Lantern Hyde.
Abjuration Brewing
Coming in September: Abjuration Brewing’s Wet Hop IPA. A wet hop beer uses fresh hops directly off the vines in the brewing process which is only possible in the fall. In late September look for their first lager which will be an Oktoberfest. Around Halloween look for their Boo Berry Cereal which will be back and ready to scare.
Aurochs Brewing Company
On September 19 Aurochs Brewing Company’s Aurochs Pumpkin Ale will be released (pic above is a sneak peek of it; great job fermenting lil fine fella!). Brewed with pumpkin, cinnamon, honey and lots of other good stuff it’s a fall beer to take with you to the pumpkin patch.
I can see you now, calmly sitting on a hay bale, watching busy fools scurry around looking for the best pumpkin in the field, and all the while you know they won’t find it cuz it’s in your hands.
Headley’s Brewing
Traverse the “Alps of the South Hills” and make your way to the quaint little village of Heidleberg for a local taste of Germany. Headley’s Brewing will soon release their Oktoberfest. Or if you can’t wait for a chance to prost! head there now for a growler-to-go of their Flash Lightning Speed Porter which is already on tap.
Mindful Brewing
Mindful Brewing’s Oktoberfest is already being harvested by those in the know. It was tapped on August 23 so hurry up and plow over there to get your share before this crop runs out.
Hitchhiker Brewing
Fall is a great time of year to pick up a Hitchhiker …or two …or three. Hitchhiker Brewing’s seasonal lineup features Fest Bier, Smoked Wheat, Mashmallow (a collab with Leona’s Ice Cream and brewed with Count Chocula), and a Black Cherry Gose. Those looking for a breakfast warmer-upper should check out Thick and Fluffy, an Imperial Stout with waffles and maple syrup; released September 7.
Couch Brewery
Couch Brewery’s seasonal takes the edge off a chilly Autumn night. It’s a tastebud-zombiefying endeavor of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and clove called Atomic Punk Pumpkin Spice Amber Ale. Killer pumpkin pie taste; do your best to keep your brains.
Beaver Brewing Company
Be sure the Thanksgiving turkey’s thawing then head over to Beaver Brewing Company for their seasonal brew Pecan Pie which is released the day before Thanksgiving. But hurry this pre-meal indulgence is available for one night only and sells out quicker than a turkey’s gobble.
Spoonwood Brewing
By now we’re sure you’re familiar with Spoonwood Brewing’s spooky good Cinnamon Ghoul; look for it this September. And *insider alert* they are going to be brewing a second pumpkin beer this year! It’s called Pumpkin Drop Porter and is a great local collab with Bethel Park Bakery. The brew is made with the bakery’s pumpkin spice cake! Tentative release date of October 4. Head there between September 20 thru October 5 to enjoy a variety of “Septoberfest” events.
Spring Hill Brewing
Lordy lordy look who’s gourdy! Fall isn’t just all pumpkin spice and pitchforks which is why the folks at Spring Hill Brewing opted for a hayride to the non-pumpkin patch for their seasonal. The Power Gourd, brewed with roasted gourds, is their “non-pumpkin pumpkin beer” and its release is TBD.
Grist House
Apples are another seasonal staple and fortunately for all of us the folks at Grist House “decidered” to concoct up their first cider. It’s made with Soergel Orchards apple juice and conditioned on ginger and pineapple – which makes it the perfect go-to apple cider this autumn.
Allegheny City Brewing
Allegheny City Brewing’s Oktoberfest will be released in September then in October check out their Paw Paw collaboration beer with Barewolf Brewing out of witch-country Massachusetts. And as the fall chills arrives you’ll find a cozy lil warmer-upper in their upcoming Imperial Stout.
East End Brewing
Another wet hopped ale is East End Brewing’s Big Hop Harvest Ale; already released. It’s their seasonal take on their Big Hop IPA but brewed using 39 bags of fresh-picked, undried, locally grown hops. As grass-cutting season winds down hop over to the East End and enjoy the aroma of freshly-cut grass without having to do all the work. While there on your tuffet be sure to also web yourself an Along Came a Cider (available now) and stay seated til their Bourbon Barrel Aged Nunkin Ale rolls out.
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.