5 Must-Try Halloween Beers That Go Beyond Pumpkin Ales

Pumpkin ales have their place but they've been a staple of Halloween and fall seasonal beers now for over a decade. What if you are looking for something festive that doesn't have a boatload of spices in it? Many breweries make scary good Halloween beers, some for Spooky Season and some year-round. Here are five beers that will be a hit around the end of October for everything from Halloween parties to handing out candy to neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

Probably my favorite go-t0 Halloween beer, Allagash Brewing Company is known for Belgian beers but this beer feels like a departure from that so if you've always wanted to try Allagash but aren't keen on Belgian style beers, this one is for you. The hoppy black ale has notes of dark cocoa, coffee and piney hoppiness from the Cascade, Nugget, and Northern Brewer hops that reminds me of black IPAs of ten years ago. Plus the ABV is 6.66%, which is just lovely for Halloween - 10/10 would drink again.

Jester King has made this beer for over a decade now although now the beer has taken a more evolved turn to be a modern, funky hazy style IPA. Wytchmaker is brewed with malted rye, which adds more malt complexity and earthiness to a beer loaded with hops that are customer favorites like El Dorado, Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, and Mosaic Cryo . This beer is usually a small run from their Austin, Texas based brewery so find it if you can! The excellent art on the can is from Joshua Cockrell , who has done a number of Jester King labels.

Cleveland, Ohio based Great Lakes Brewing Co. is known for quality beers and one of the best porters (Edmund Fitzgerald, delicious!) available in the U.S. Their "double feature" series of IPAs features the silver screen star Nosferatu and is a double red IPA , which makes sense given that Nosferatu is a vampire. This 8% ABV beer is brewed with Simcoe and Cascade hops and has a pretty high bitterness as well. This is a great brew if you are screening a monster movie marathon for Halloween.

One of the original craft beers, Rogue Dead Guy tastes like stepping back in time to a bygone beer era. On their website, they call Dead Guy, their flagship, a "maibock-style ale" which is a bit of a contradiction since maibocks are usually a class of stronger lagers. Whatever you call it, it's wholly it's own style and a great Halloween beer. Amber colored, its caramel and herbal flavor and aroma will be perfect on chilly autumn days. A great fire pit beer.

Pastry stouts have become a mainstay of modern brewing for a few years now. Westbrook Brewing Company, a brewery based just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, brews some very fine examples of this style. A spooky good beer is called Costume Party, which takes trick-or-treating to a whole new level as this beer was brewed with actual Snickers bars in the tank (yes, really, several hundred pounds of them!). This 11% ABV sweet treat imperial stout is in a 16 oz. can it's perfect to share.

Cheers to good beers and remember to drink your Halloween beers responsibly with the people you care about.