It’s spooky season – the time of year when ghouls, ghosts, and witches crawl the streets. Plus, it’s the time of year when every store is stocked to the brim with Halloween-themed items. You’ve got candies in the shapes of pumpkins, some bath bombs themed after witch’s cauldrons, candles in the shapes of black cats, and more. Not to mention – at least three aisles stuffed to the brim with value-sized bags of candy.
When it comes to theming items for Halloween, the beer and wine industry also does not disappoint. There are countless tasty, Halloween-themed beer and wine you could try. We compiled our top 5 favorites:
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
A Punkin Ale fit for a pumpkin king (or whatever you may be dressing up as this Halloween). It’s got a mix of the classic fall spices, couple with some pumpkin and brown sugar flavor. Of all the beverages listed here, I’d have to say that the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale is the most classic.
Stella Artois Midnight Lager
The recently announced, seasonal special from Stella Artois is called the ‘Midnight Lager’. It’s got tones of dark chocolate and espresso, which set it apart from many of its pumpkin-tasting Halloween beer counterparts. Some might argue that this is a more ‘mature’ beer, for the adults who are happy to stay at home on Halloween, cozying up on the couch to watch a scary movie with a delicious dark lager. No candy corn flavoring in this bad boy.
Iron Maiden’s ‘Trooper Day of the Dead’
Yes, you read that right. Iron Maiden is coming out this season with a limited-edition Halloween beer – ‘Trooper Day of the Dead’. It’s only available from now until the end of November. Iron Maiden already has its renowned Trooper beer, and this special edition doesn’t deviate from the original too far. In fact, it’s literally the exact same beer, but this time with a label featuring some artwork inspired by Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos. Plus, bars that host the drink on draught will get some fancy new pump clips as well.
Twisted Oak’s River of Skulls
Although the wine industry is usually less gung-ho about making seasonally-themed wines, there are a few worth noting, such as Twisted Oak’s ‘River of Skulls’. The bottle itself is eerily labeled, with minimal wording and only an image on one side. The image? A blood-red skull with a dark background.
Door County’s Hallowine
This Hallowine is a concoction made of nutmeg, cinnamon, and apple wine. It’s semi-sweet. Not to mention, it’s meant to serve warm! So, when deciding between a glass of wine or a warm alcoholic beverage to lazily watch the fall night pass, Hallowine makes it so you don’t have to pick. Plus, in a way it’s sort of like pre-packaged mulled wine, so you don’t have to go through all the work of spicing the wine yourself!
