By: Michael Lundmark- Owner, Jekyll Brewing
As we retire from our light, crisp summertime brews, we welcome a new crop of styles for the upcoming season. Fall is that time of year when we invite a fresh lineup of beer styles to the table. From spicy pumpkin styles, to bready and sweet Oktoberfest beers to porters, this season’s brews stand up to cooler temperatures and warmer foods. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, you may even run into a few beers made with sweet potatoes, nuts or maple syrup!
Pumpkin Beers
Ubiquitous through the fall and into early winter are “pumpkin beers.” Beginning in September, brewers exhibit an impressive range of approaches to the pumpkin ale style. This style is usually mild and malty, easy-to-drink, and often presents a spice-forward character from pumpkin pie spices such as allspice, cinnamon, clove, or nutmeg. These beers can be ambers, browns, stouts, or porters.z
Great examples of locally-brewed pumpkin beers are Terrapin’s Pumpkinfest and Five Season’s Pumpkin Ale.
Oktoberfest Styles
On the heels of pumpkin beer releases are the Oktoberfest styles, like Jekyll Brewing’s Seven Bridges
Oktoberfest. This amber-colored lager is also referred to as a Märzenbier, and it has quite a history. Before modern refrigeration, German brewers started this beer in the month of Märzen (German for March), stored it (or, “lagered” it) in caves through the spring and summer to keep it cool until it was ready to enjoy in October. You may notice notes of toasted cereal, toffee, and earthy hops in Oktoberfest beers like Seven Bridges. Other breweries producing Oktoberfest styles include the quintessential Sam Adams’ Oktoberfest and Sierra Nevada’s Reigele Oktoberfest.
Porters
Porter is another style whose popularity rises as the mercury falls. Legend has it that this style emerged as a beer created for the deckhands on British shipping ports of the 1700s, earning the name Porter. Typically low in bitterness and complex in flavor, porters are frequently made with dark malts to produce their color, which can range from deep brown to nearly black. Craft beer drinkers often cite notes of chocolate, coffee, or even smoked wood. z
If you’re new to porters, fall is the time to try one! Look for Fuller’s London (English) Porter or Red Brick’s American Porter. Slow n’ Low Smoked Porter is one of Jekyll’s most anticipated styles in the late fall. Chocolate and smoked malts give this brew its flavor. Just like a slab of smoked meat, the smoked malts retain the Cherry Applewood chips’ flavor profile and carry it into the finished beer. The result is a sultry and savory beer with a medium body and a robust finish. Slow n’ Low is hefty enough to keep you warm through November and well after Thanksgiving dinner.
These seasonal brews call for the family gatherings and beg to be paired with roasted turkey, bratwurst and pretzels, a simple pecan pie dessert… or football. If you’re a fan of pumpkin, try a few pumpkin ales paired with a slice of mama’s pumpkin pie to see how it stands up.
