While pumpkin spice still reigns supreme as the Official Flavor Sponsor of Fall, the Hudson Valley’s brewers are doing their best to broaden our definition of the harvest season’s taste profile. Using locally sourced ingredients ranging from malted barley and hops to maple syrup, these wide-ranging seasonal selections capture the flavor and often the color of fall in toasty, warming brews that will have you cheersing the arrival of sweater weather. Here is our pick of local harvest beers from local craft breweries.
Industrial Arts Brewing
Autumn Landscape Festbier (5.9%)
The latest in IABC's series of 100-percent New York-grown lagers, Autumn Landscape Festbier is made with six-row Vienna and Munich malts from Hudson Valley Malt in Germantown plus Crystal, Willamette, and Hallertau hops. A modern interpretation of the OG Munich Oktoberfest beer, this festbier is classic, clean, and toasty with just a little bit of balanced bitterness. All profits from sales of this beer go to Kingston Land Trust. Festbier is available through the end of autumn.
Mill House Brewing
Oktoberfest (5.4%)
Mill House’s Oktoberfest brings the rich red of upstate autumn to you in a pint glass. Brewed with a heavy hand of Munich, Vienna, and Pilsner malts and balanced by German Noble hops, this Marzen-style beer will have you donning lederhosen and shouting, “prost!” Oktoberfest is available through October and possibly into November, if supplies last, both on draft and in cans throughout New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.
Arrowood Farm Brewery
New Moon (5.8%)
New Moon, Arrowood’s mercurial, limited-edition dark farmhouse ale, is aged in rye whiskey and red wine barrels, lending it a sultry quality. Fermented dry with a native yeast culture and rested in oak for 12 months, this complex ale is then blended and bottle-conditioned for an additional six months with maple syrup for a final product that is dark as midnight with notes of oak, chocolate, and tart red fruit. New moon will be released at the end of September and sell while supplies last.
Hudson Valley Brewery
Valley Beer Fall 2020 (5%)
You’ll have to wait until late November to get your hands on this mouth-puckering sour farmhouse ale. Valley Beer Fall 2020 was brewed entirely with locally grown barley and raw wheat and fermented with wild yeast and souring bacteria. It was aged for a year in oak wine barrels, and then bottle-conditioned with local wildflower honey for nine months.
Chatham Brewing
Hop Crop (6.5%)
Chatham Brewing has a double offering for the fall season. Hop Crop, their West Coast-style wet-hop IPA, is finished with locally grown Cascade Hops. With notes of citrus and pine, this fall favorite pulls in notes of summer and winter for the perfect transition season brew. Hop Crop is available on draft and in 16-ounce four-packs through October, as supplies last.
Oktoberfest (5.5%)
While many may try their hand at an Oktoberfest—that elusive, autumnal gold standard of brewing—not everyone will succeed. But Chatham Brewing’s award-winning German-style Marzen is a pretty sure bet. Riding a strong malt wave, their Oktoberfest is balanced by the clean bitterness of Noble hops. with noble hops. Available on draft and in 16-ounce four-packs through November, as supplies last.
Newburgh Brewing
Oktoberfest (5.1%)
Zeus Brewing x Poughkeepsie Farm Project
Poughkeepsie Farm Lager (4.3%)
The PFL takes the meaning of harvest beer to new heights. A collab between local nonprofit the Poughkeepsie Farm Project and Zeus Brewing, this smooth, easy-drinking lager was made using butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and honey from the farm along with locally grown and malted barley and rye for a 100-percent Hudson Valley beer. PFL four-packs are available from pre-order online through October 10 and will be released at Poughkeepsie Farm Project’s annual Soup-A-Bowl fundraiser on October 17. After the event, the lager will be available in four-packs and on draft at Zeus Brewing Co.
King’s Court Brewing
Oktoberfest (6%)
Made in collaboration with the beloved Copperfield's Kildare Pub in Montgomery, this Marzen-style Oktoberfest from King's Court is only available on draft at the brewery and the pub. Available now while supplies last.
Autumn Mist (6%)
The latest in King’s Court Brewing’s hazy IPA series, this fall-inspired brew smells of tropical fruit with a clean finish.
A Good Hug (7%)
This fall brown ale is the autumnal hug you need. With seven different malts, it has a depth of flavor usually only found in the strongest of beers. At 7%, it’s malty smooth with hints of fig, chocolate, and subtle oak. The oak is subtle in aroma and flavor, but the tannins in the finish act like hops, adding substance and balance. Release date TBD.