Michigan Made Harvest Beers Highlight Fall Season

The autumn season brings an abundance of things to the Great Lakes State – like fall colors, harvest festivals and a variety of pumpkin, apple and harvest-themed beer. While the recipes may be similar, there’s always a touch of something unique in each of these fall brews – including the originality of the names. Michigan made harvest brews available for 2011 include:

Arcadia Ales
Jaw-Jacker (6% ABV). Grandma's pumpkin pie never tasted this good. This fall seasonal is a celebration of harvest time and the changing of the seasons. Using only the finest malted barley and a touch of wheat, Jaw-Jacker pours a brilliant orange-amber color with truly unique flavors. Although no pumpkins are actually used, a blend of nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon work with the malty flavors to create a bold flavor reminiscent of pumpkin pie. A light hop note balances out the beer nicely. This seasonal beer, available for a limited time on draft and in 6-pack, 12oz glass bottles, is a favorite for harvest festivals, Halloween parties and Thanksgiving dinner. It pairs well with boiled brisket with root veggies, roast duck or turkey, pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie, with vanilla bean ice cream.

Atwater Brewery

**Blocktoberfest (6.3% ABV). Our interpretation of the German style Marzen. Similar to the Oktoberfest style, but stronger and hoppier. A two-time silver medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival tells you this beer is strong, hoppy and thirst quenching. Brewed with Munich, 2 row and Cara 120 malts, along with Perle and Hersbrucker hops.

**VoodooVator (8.5% ABV). Atwater's Dopplebock. it’s a little drier and stronger than the normal dopplebock and we like it that way. Brewed traditionally in the winter for springtime, but we make it for the fall just in time for Halloween!! This nutty sweet caramelly beer is brewed for six months of the year for your pure enjoyment. Brewed with Munich, 2 row and Cara 120 malts and Aurora and Hersbrucker hops

Bastone Brewery

Rocktoberfest (5.5% ABV) A celebrated beer of the season. Named for Brewmaster Rockne Van Meter, it is Bastone’s most popular seasonal and a World Beer Championship medal winner from 2008 and 2009. This Oktoberfest style lager is light copper in color, with a light tan head and slight caramel and toasty flavors. Purchase Rocktoberfest, or any Bastone beer, in a Limited edition Oktoberfest pint glass for $5 while they last.

Bell’s Brewery

Octoberfest Beer (5.5% ABV). Crafted as a flavorful session beer, Bell's Octoberfest Beer is perfect for a week-long wedding celebration in Germany or the start of the Michigan autumn. As with Bell's Lager Beer, Octoberfest spends a full six weeks maturing in the fermentation vessels. Unlike its cousin, Octoberfest trades in the assertive hop presence for a focus on a light caramel malt note, lending body without too much sweetness. Available on draft and in bottles.

Blue Cow Café

Pumpkin Chunkin Ale (6.3% ABV). Simplistic grain background is accentuated by a few German specialty malts that compliment but do not overpower the earthy flavors that large quantities of 100% natural pumpkin bring to the party. Freshly ground nutmeg and whole cinnamon sticks are added to the boil to give the finished product a more well rounded easily identifiable fall harvest taste and aroma. This is not a sweet beer, this is not a spice beer, this not a niche beer, this is a beer in which every flavor lives in perfect balance and does not overstay its welcome. This is, simply put, a damn good beer.

Cheboygan Brewing Company

Oktoberfest. Created after the Spaten Oktoberfest bier from Munich, Germany, this new introduction will be orange in hue with a notable hops presence and a large amount of German malt. This all gives a rich mouth feel and chewy malty body.

Founders Brewing

Harvest Ale. This liquid dream pours a hazy golden straw color with a white, two-finger head. Your first sip rewards you with a super juicy hop presence bursting with fresh citrus, then finishes to introduce toasted malt undertones.

Great Baraboo

Pumpkin Spice (5.0% ABV). With pumpkin in the mash and boil, this beer also has cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and molasses added to the boil, giving it a medium body and orange color and an almost pumpkin pie aftertaste. A special batch with vanilla gives that pumpkin pie with whipped cream aftertaste.

Jolly Pumpkin, Dexter

La Parcela (5.9% ABV). OK, so the joke was Jolly Pumpkin doesn't brew a pumpkin beer! Well, now we do – just this one – No. 1 pumpkin beer. With hints of spice, and a gentle kiss of cacao to liven the soul, this oak-aged sour beer has real pumpkin added to the barrels during the aging process. An everyday easy way to fill your squashy quotient. Guess now folks will have to find something else to joke about!

Kuhnhenn Brewery

All Hallows Ale (6.0% ABV). All Hallows Ale is made with 100lbs. of hand roasted Michigan pumpkins per 8-barrel batch, which intensifies the squash character of this beer. That is over 6 pounds of pumpkin in each 1/2 barrel. It has hot cinnamon and pumpkin aromas. This Ale is medium-bodied and only slightly sweet. Its many spices hit the palate first and finishes with roasty pumpkin goodness.

Liberty Street Brewing Company

**Punkin Pie Ale (5.4% ABV). Clean tasting malty ale blended with everything you would expect from pumpkin pie. Our specialty malts give this beer a nice bready balance to make you think there is a crust. This is an easy drinking version of a lightly-hopped amber ale that is seasoned with a specially blended combination of spices. The caramel sweetness and bready character of the specialty malts mingle with the spices, to make you think you are eating an actual piece of pie. Try it at the pub with Guernsey's French Vanilla ice cream (Punkin' Pie ala mode). Available in our tasting room only, through the holiday season or while supplies last.

**Octoberfest Style Lager (5.8% ABV). Brewed with all German malts and hops, we used Munich style water and then lager for months before bringing this delicious seasonal lager to our taps. LSBC will release its Octoberfest style lager on Sunday, October 17 at 12:00 noon in conjunction with Detroit Beer Week.

Michigan Brewing Company

Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale (5.0% ABV). This amber-colored, spice-packed ale is brewed with three different malts, Michgian winter wheat and real pumpkin mixed in at the boil, which makes it a true celebration of the fall harvest. Often described as “pumpkin pie in a pint glass,” this ale is the perfect combination of comforting aroma and sweetly-spiced flavor that makes it a scream at every Halloween party and the perfect complement to Thanksgiving dinner. Available on tap and in 12 ounce bottles.

New Holland Brewing

Ichabod (5.5% ABV). As fall brings color to our trees, a chill to our evenings and countless aromas of the changing season, we instinctively look for early harvest flavors on our plate and in our glass. Ichabod combines malted barley and real pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg in a delicious and inviting brew. It befits any autumnal adventure, including mysterious rides through the hollow, and pairs well with autumnal foods such as poultry and root vegetables. After dinner, try it with your favorite dessert. Available on tap and in bottles through November.

North Peak Beer

**Hooligan (5.5% ABV). Tired of having to decide between your favorite pumpkin beer and IPA? Well fret no more! Enter the Hooligan; your new favorite hoppy pumpkin beer. All the spicy pumpkin goodness one could ask for, brewed with real pumpkin and fresh spices, and did we mention hops!

**Hoodoo (9.0% ABV). Brewed with fresh from the farm Michigan hops for flavor unparalleled. Given its strong malt backed spine we gave this Hoodoo hops to run. Starts hoppy, ends hoppy, and nuthin' but hops in the middle - well OK, a little malt in the middle, too. Just enough to keep this Hoodoo from getting fussy, though, so not to worry - pretty much nuthin' but hops.

Right Brain Brewery

Pomona Pumpkin Ale (5.5% ABV). The Pomona Pumpkin Ale is certainly a no brainer, right brained, seasonal brew. It’s mashed with locally sourced fresh pumpkins and a secret blend of harvest spices. This isn’t your Grandma’s pumpkin pie! The base is a deliciously-smooth amber ale with a flavor the highlights the wonderful fall harvest. This brew should hit our pub in early to mid October depending on the harvest. How long it will last is up to the thirst of the people!

Short’s Brewing, Bellaire

Funkin Punkin (5.6% ABV). A seasonal blend of pumpkin, spices, and carefully formulated ale. Notably aromatic of pumpkin pie, and the color of a light pastel brown, this brew is especially true of ale and comfortably consumable. Brewed with real pumpkin and real spice, it’s still very much a beer, but beautifully engineered with spice, pumpkin and beer balance.

Michigan’s thriving brewing industry contributes over $24 million in wages with a total economic contribution of more than $133 million. In terms of overall number breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs, Michigan ranks #5 in the nation – thus supporting its claim as “The Great Beer State.”

The Michigan Brewers Guild exists to unify the Michigan brewing community; to increase sales of Michigan-brewed beer through promotions, marketing, public awareness and consumer education; and to monitor and assure a healthy beer industry within the state.

For more information about the Michigan Brewers Guild, including a dates of upcoming events and a list of member micro-breweries, log on to www.michiganbrewersguild.org.

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Join us later this month:
3rd Annual Detroit Fall Beer Festival
Saturday, October 22 (1-6pm)
Eastern Market – Detroit