Fall/Autumn non-pumpkin brews

For many breweries a Harvest Ale is brewed with wet hops that have been harvested within the past 24 hours. Some breweries refer to a beer as being a Harvest Ale even though it is brewed with dried hops (e.g., Troegs calls their beer labeled as Hop Knife as being a Harvest Ale even though it is brewed with dried hops).

You need to read press releases and beer bottle labels carefully.

Cheers!

 

Fall is usually my favorite time of year. I enjoy trying the different takes on Oktoberfest and some of the harvest ales. Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest is pretty solid this year and I have officially enjoyed my first Great Lakes Nosferatu of the season. Looking forward to picking up the SN fall pack. Kind of sad that Fireside Red is only in the pack this year, but at least it didn't go away all together. That has been a personal favorite the last couple of years.

 

Love all the "Fest" beers (literally all of them), as well as the "Fresh Hop/Wet Hop" beers that also appear this time of year-ish like Surly Wet, Founders Harvest Ale, etc.

 

I am waiting on good old Bell's Best Brown to add to Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest and New Belgium Long Table as my favorite fall 12 packs this year.

 

i better get my butt to the store soon. don't wanna miss out on hop knife. had it last year and it sticks out in my mind as being awesome.

 

Is Oaktoberfest happening this year? It was definitely out by this time last year and I haven't seen anything on social media to indicate it has been made.

 

You could be right. I haven't seen it yet

 

Watch out - it's called GrainsOfTruth this year I think .... I love this beer, an all-malt Belgian - interesting for sure.

 

Other than Victory Harvest, that sir is a fantastic traditional Fall lineup - kudos - and grab some BellsBestBrown while you're at it. Cheers!

 

I loved loved this beer last year, was mellow and maltier, noticeable maple, subdued earthy hops ---- this year I just tried is much "brighter" to me, making the caramel/maple notes harder to grasp unless you let it warm to room temp first. Be warned, still a freakin gorgeous red fall beer!

 

Not my favorite time of year for beer releases, but I did like S/N Oktoberfest and I usually like Bells Best Brown

 

Founders Harvest is basically the top o' the pops for me.
Fall musts would be Bells Best Brown, Ommegang Harvest (S&S, G.O.T., or whatever), a solid American Oktoberfest like GLBC or Slyfox, and surely a good German Oktoberfest as well (Hacker-Pschorr passes the test).
To chime in on "Harvest Ale" above, be warned there are brewers that use this term to mean a catch-all for a grain-forward or pumpkin-y ale, while most others will use it to mean Hop Harvest. There's obviously a huge difference. The one that sticks out to me is Wolaver's which has a Harvest Ale that has nothing to do with hops.
Hop Harvest beers are the peak of the year for hoppy beer lovers, but they have nothing to do with traditional farm harvests of grains and gourds and such. I wish all Harvest Ale brewers would add the easy 3-letter "HOP" to their beer name to clear it up --- HOP HARVEST ALE. Simple, gets the point across. Newbies not fooled into drinking a super-hoppy beer while thinking it would be oats and pumpkins or whatever. My 2 cents.

 

Backwoods Bastard & Harvest Ale

 

Oh weird. I hadn't heard that, good looking out.

I did a bit of name research, and it seems like it might be. The label is the same color scheme, and quite similar.

 

Burnt Hickory's Mudhoney. I have 2 left for when the cool weather arrives!

 

Aye, I also like to indulge in warm Apple Cider with a shot of Cheap Rum in it.

 

Octoberfests and brown ales for me - Sierra Nevada, Firestone, Great Lakes, Sam Adams, Smuttynose, to name a few . . .

 

FFF Broo Doo

 

Well I guess its several different Oktoberfest beers, the Victory Harvest Ale, and the Stoudts Smooth Hoperator Dopplebock that are at the top of my shopping list.