Fall Festive Brews

It’s time to prep your palate for local pumpkin beers.

Montauk Brewing Company is back with its 2018-founded Pumpkin Ale, sold exclusively during September and October. It’s a true “sign of the season,” with subtle hops aroma and brewed with coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove. You can find this beer with 5.7 percent alcohol by volume on tap and sold at various locations, including the brewery itself, located at 62 South Erie Avenue. See all of what’s on tap at www.montaukbrewingco.com.

Westhampton Beach Brewing Company has a new Hampton Pumpkin rolling out this year, at 4.2 percent ABV. Head to the brewery at 220 Roger’s Way, Suite I, or visit www.westhamptonbeachbrewingco.com.

Riverhead’s Moustache Brewing Company, located at 400 Hallett Avenue, Suite A, offers up a Start To Fall Märzen. This German-style lager with 5.9 percent ABV is smooth, rich, and bready, with toasty malt and caramel notes. If you can’t stick around to try it on tap, take a Salto Mortale Belgian quadrupel to go. Its warming and highly-potent 12.2 percent ABV delivers fall flavors with a twist — bourbon barrel aged with molasses, maple syrup, blackberry, and apricot. See all that’s available at www.moustachebrewing.com.

Long Ireland Beer Company is serving up a Pumpkin Ale September through November made with real pumpkin and a blend of fall spices and aromas from caramel and smoky malts. There’s also a limited-time Munich-style Märzen called Oktoberfest. It’s malty, but not too sweet, with a distinct dry finish. Try them and more at the brewery’s 6th annual Oktoberfest Party & Movie Night Saturday, October 5, from 5 to 8 PM on the brewery grounds at 817 Pulaski Street in Riverhead. Visit www.longirelandbeer.com for more information.

Over at Jamesport Farm Brewery, fall beer lovers will feel right at home with several seasonal options including Sugar Skull, Whiskey Barrel-Aged Sugar Skull, Oktoberfest, American Pie, and Apple Annie. Sugar Skull and its whiskey barrel-aged sister are not your typical Pumpkin Ales. Not too sweet, not too spicy, and not too squashy, these pumpkin/yam beers are sure to please. Be warned: Whiskey Barrel-Aged Sugar Skull is an extra-limited edition. Served only in the tasting room, this ale has been aged nine months in a Long Island Spirits Rough Rider whiskey barrel. It’s infused with smoky flavor and has a smooth finish. Both come in at 4.7 percent ABV.

Oktoberfest is a full-bodied, malt-forward Märzen with light hop bitterness and hints of allspice that comes in at 5.4 percent ABV. When ordering your beers, don’t forget to ask for the cinnamon rim treatment. Non-beer lovers can try the hard ciders. American Pie is crisp, tart apple cider with hints of cinnamon reminiscent of a fresh-baked apple pie. It’s also suggested to try this 6.5 percent ABV delight with a cinnamon sugar rim to make it an extra special treat. It’s made with local apple juice from Halsey Farm & Nursery in Water Mill. Apple Annie, at eight percent ABV, is a bit more to the point, golden in the glass with aromas of fermented fruit. Visit the brewery at 5873 Sound Avenue in Riverhead and check out what else is on tap at www.jfbrewery.com.

North Fork Brewing Company, located at 24 East Second Street, Suite A in Riverhead, has a few seasonal flavors on tap right now. Basement Pipe is a Belgian dubbel at 8.2 percent ABV and tastes of sweet caramel with hints of raisin. If you love syrup, the American porter-style Dark Side of the Maple at six percent ABV is for you. For a more traditional fall flavor, try the pumpkin/yam beer Butternut the Hutt. With 5.7 percent ABV, this hand-roasted concoction is brewed with spices and local squash from Krupski Farms in Peconic. Visit online at www.northforkbrewingco.com.

Greenport Harbor Brewing Company welcomes the change in season with Leaf Pile Ale. This is pumpkin pie in a glass. At 5.2 percent ABV, it offers hand-selected additions of ginger, cinnamon, whole bean vanilla, allspice, nutmeg, and pumpkin. It’s on tap and sold at local beer and soda distributors. There’s also a 6.5 Oktoberfest available seasonally. Heavy on Munich, Vienna, and Pilsen malts and lagered after fermentation, it boasts big, bready flavors, some caramel sweetness, and a nose of mostly toasted bread with a hint of roast. The original brewery is located at 234 Carpenter Street in Greenport. There’s also a tasting room located in Peconic at 42155 Main Road. For more information, see www.greenportharborbrewing.com.

Among the flagship beers at Shelter Island Craft Brewery like Liquid Sunshine, a pale wheat ale at five percent ABV, are a few seasonal variations, including Aunt Belma, a Belgian blonde ale, at 5.7 percent ABV, and Forbidden Fruit, an apple ale, at 6.9 percent ABV. The brewery is located at 55 North Ferry Road. For more information, head to www.shelterislandcraftbrewery.com.

nicole@indyeastend.com