9 Best Beers To Enjoy During The Fall Months

When most people think of beer, summer is the season that comes to mind: long afternoons with a frosty light lager, beach coolers stocked with crisp pilsners, and patios full of citrusy IPAs. Yet fall is every bit as worthy a time to savor a pint, and in many ways, the beers best suited to cooler weather are the most rewarding of all. As the days grow shorter and the air takes on a chill, our palates naturally shift away from the light, refreshing flavors that dominate in the heat toward brews with a touch more depth, warmth, and comfort. Autumn is about rich-bodied beer, malty sweetness, and spices that echo the season's other culinary highlights — pumpkin pies, roasted nuts, apple cider, and hearty stews.

To make this list, I considered beers that are both widely available and that capture the "cozy factor" of fall without repeating styles. That means everything from a centuries-old Oktoberfestbier to a modern pumpkin ale, and a few unexpected picks from around the world.

Each beer here pairs beautifully with seasonal fare — think roasted vegetables, smoked meats, or holiday desserts — and reflects a brewing tradition that enhances the pleasures of autumn. Whether you're looking for a malty brown ale to sip by a bonfire or a fresh-hopped IPA that channels the literal harvest, these selections prove that beer is as much a part of fall as changing leaves and football Sundays.

Few beers are as synonymous with fall as Oktoberfestbier, the official beverage of Munich's world-famous festival. Among the six breweries permitted to serve at Oktoberfest, Hofbräu holds a particularly storied place. Founded in 1589, this brewery is one of the oldest continually operating in Europe, and its beers have become international ambassadors of Bavarian brewing culture.

Oktoberfest beers generally fall into two categories: festbier and märzen. Festbier, which is the style now poured in Munich tents, is a golden, slightly lighter-bodied lager that remains highly quaffable. Märzen, by contrast, tends to be deeper amber in color, maltier, and richer in body, offering caramelized flavors that feel right at home on a crisp October evening. Hofbräu's version leans toward the festbier style. While my personal preference is for the märzen style, Höfbrau's seasonal is an early fall favorite of mine due to its balanced sweetness, which is complemented by a crisp and floral European hop profile. It's not overly malty like some other Oktoberfestbiers, and its effervescence is quite refreshing for those days when summer is turning into fall (Oktoberfest is, after all, mostly in September, despite its name).

Höfbrau is also a good choice for its U.S. accessibility when compared with other German seasonals. Widely available in bottles and on draft during the season, it allows drinkers across the globe to participate in the celebratory spirit of Oktoberfest, even from their own backyard bonfires.

Autumn in the United States has become nearly synonymous with pumpkin spice, and beer is no exception. Each fall, shelves fill with pumpkin-flavored brews, but few have achieved the cult status of Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale. First brewed as part of a baking contest in 1994  – a year before the Delaware-based brewery was formally founded — Punkin Ale quickly established itself as one of the most respected seasonal beers in the U.S. craft beer scene.

I generally avoid most pumpkin beers. I can be a bit of a purist, and I don't like it when sugar and spice overwhelm the subtleties of malt, yeast, and hops. Nonetheless, Punkin Ale is one that I will eagerly seek out, and with good reason. According to Dogfish Head, they use real pumpkin meat along with brown sugar and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Although this combo is the base of "pumpkin spice," the beverage still retains a dry malt character that reminds you it's a beer. While some pumpkin ales lean into the honey-sweet flavor profile of a pumpkin pie, Punkin Ale thankfully avoids this tendency.

Punkin Ale pairs beautifully with autumn meals, from roasted turkey to caramelized squash. Its wide distribution also makes it easy to find, whether you're shopping at a local craft beer store or a national grocery chain. For many enthusiasts, the first appearance of Punkin Ale each fall is as much a seasonal marker as the first pumpkin on the porch.

For those who enjoy the warming spices of a pumpkin ale but crave something darker and more decadent, the pumpkin stout offers the best of both worlds. Southern Tier Brewing Company, based in Lakewood, New York, has become renowned for its pumpkin beers, and its Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Stout is perhaps the boldest expression of the style.

Warlock is brewed with real pumpkin and a signature blend of seasonal spices. However, the stout base transforms the experience entirely. Instead of a lighter amber ale, Warlock pours jet black, with a creamy tan head and a robust malt bill that layers chocolate, roasted coffee, and caramel beneath the pumpkin pie flavors. At 8.6% ABV, it also carries the warming kick of a true imperial stout, making it ideal for sipping slowly on cool fall nights.

When I first tried this beer, I was wary that it would taste sugar-sweet, but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, there is a pronounced malt sweetness, but a roasted finish rounds out each sip. The spices are not too overwhelming, though they are pronounced, and the beer sports a slight booziness, providing a flavor profile reminiscent of a spiced rum cake. While not as ubiquitous as lighter pumpkin ales, Southern Tier distributes widely enough that Warlock can be found across much of the U.S. For fans of bold, flavorful beers, it's an autumn indulgence worth seeking out.

Not every great fall beer needs to come from Europe or a U.S. craft brewery. Sometimes, the perfect seasonal choice is already sitting on the shelf of your corner store. Modelo Negra, formerly known as Negra Modelo and brewed in Mexico since 1925, might just be the sleeper hit of fall beers. Now ubiquitous in restaurants and supermarkets across the United States, its recipe traces back to the German dunkel style — a dark lager tradition introduced to Mexico by Bavarian immigrants in the 19th century.

Modelo Negra pours a deep amber-brown with a creamy beige head, delivering aromas of toasted bread and a gentle but pervasive malt sweetness. For a beer with such wide availability, I've always been impressed by its aroma, flavor, and texture, which are reminiscent of much more expensive and hard-to-find imports. Unlike many dark beers that can feel heavy, Modelo Negra remains refreshing, making it a versatile option for both daytime and evening drinking. It's proof that not all lagers taste the same, and not all dark beers weigh you down.

Its broad appeal also lies in its food pairings. Modelo Negra's malty sweetness cuts beautifully through spicy dishes, making it a natural companion to Mexican cuisine. However, it also complements classic fall fare that draws from similar spices, such as cloves and cinnamon. Widely available, affordable, and endlessly versatile, Modelo Negra is a reminder that great seasonal drinking doesn't always require a seasonal release. 

For hop lovers, fall is more than just pumpkin spice season — it's harvest season. Each year, breweries scramble to secure freshly picked hops from the Pacific Northwest, and one of the most celebrated results is Sierra Nevada's Celebration, a fresh-hop IPA. First brewed in 1981, Celebration has become one of the most enduring examples of an American-style fresh hop beer, released annually from October through the year's end.

Unlike most beers, which use hops that have been dried and cured for storage, Celebration relies on hops that are harvested and brewed within days. This process gives the beer an intensity and brightness that dried hops simply can't replicate. The result is an amber-colored ale bursting with grassy, piney, and citrusy notes atop a canvas of caramel malt. I have always appreciated Sierra Nevada for its consistency and commitment to bold flavors, so come September, I start to look out for this unique and fleeting brew. Since fresh hop oils can degrade quickly, I'd also recommend buying and drinking this beer as soon as possible. This one is not for the beer cellar!

At 6.8% ABV, Celebration is strong without being too powerful. While its hop bitterness cuts well through meat-forward dishes, I like drinking it on its own to appreciate its rich range of hop aromas. For those who love the zesty bitterness of hoppy beers, Celebration IPA is a must-try — a limited-availability seasonal treat that says "cheers" to the fall harvest.

Few beers embody the cozy flavors of autumn as effortlessly as a well-made brown ale. Bell's Best Brown Ale, a seasonal release from Michigan's Bell's Brewery, is a standout example of the style and one of my favorites. Brewed with a blend of roasted and caramel malts, I like it for its combination of toasted and roasted flavors. What's the difference? Well, think of toasted flavors as reflecting bread, crackers, or cookies, while roasted flavors lean towards the bitter-sweet characteristics of coffee, nuts, or chocolate.

Best Brown hits this balance of roasted and toasted on the mark. It pours a deep chestnut color with a light tan head and smells bready. Sipping it, however, it becomes clear that this beer also possesses a gentle sweetness and a not-insignificant hop character. With a crisp and clean finish, it's an easy-drinking beer that nonetheless feels fit for cooler nights.

This versatility makes Best Brown an excellent food beer. It pairs wonderfully with roasted chicken, pork chops, or fall vegetables like squash and sweet potatoes. Brown ale can even be used in cooking; I like to use brown ales in beef stew, for example. For dessert, it complements pecan pie, bread pudding, or even a simple square of dark chocolate. As a limited seasonal release, Best Brown can be fleeting, but I always seek it out. Its balance of comfort and drinkability makes it a standout fall brew for me.

When the air turns crisp, few beer styles feel more seasonally appropriate than the porter. Originating in 18th-century England, porters are dark ales characterized by roasted malt flavors, gentle bitterness, and a comforting, velvety mouthfeel. They are inherently cozy beers — perfect for evenings by the fire or paired with rich, hearty dishes. Austin's 512 Brewing Company has taken this classic style and given it a regional twist with its beloved Pecan Porter.

This beer exemplifies how American craft brewers have reimagined traditional recipes. By incorporating roasted Texas pecans into the brewing process, 512 adds a distinctive nutty sweetness that amplifies the porter's natural chocolate and coffee notes. While I'm not always a fan of sweet beers, I find this one offers a pleasant unfolding of various flavors – nutty, roasty, some sweetness, and a gentle bitter finish. While it is a bit sweeter than I normally like in a beer, 512 Pecan Porter balances maple and honey notes with other flavors that keep the sugar in check. 

Though 512 Brewing has a more regional distribution compared to some breweries on this list, the Pecan Porter has earned national acclaim among beer lovers willing to seek it out. To me, Pecan Porter is an ideal beer to take you from cool October nights into the first frosts of November and the chill of the holiday season.

When the cool winds of fall start to blow, Belgian ales offer a comforting, flavorful alternative to lighter summer beers. La Chouffe, brewed by Brasserie d'Achouffe in the Ardennes region of Belgium, is a classic blonde ale that manages to be both approachable and full of character. Brewed in a centuries-old style pioneered by Belgian monks and nuns, Le Chouffe is now widely distributed across the world. Known for its gnome mascot and whimsical branding, La Chouffe has earned a loyal global following while remaining deeply rooted in Belgian brewing tradition.

This unfiltered blonde ale, served in a classic stubby bottle, pours a hazy golden color with a frothy white head. This beer makes me think of fall largely due to its nose. Belgian yeasts impart aromas of spice — cinnamon, clove, coriander, and black pepper — that I associate with fall cooking. On the palate, it balances soft malt sweetness with herbal and spicy notes, creating a layered flavor profile that feels both refreshing and warming. At 8% ABV, La Chouffe is a little boozy, making it especially fitting for crisp autumn evenings.

Belgian beer culture has been recognized by UNESCO as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage. Drinking La Chouffe is thus not only an enjoyable sensory experience but also a connection to a centuries-old brewing tradition. Widely distributed in the U.S., it offers drinkers an accessible taste of Belgian craftsmanship that resonates especially well in the fall.

Though often associated with warm Texas evenings and barbecue pits, Shiner Bock also shines as a fall beer. First brewed in 1913 and now the flagship of the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas, this dark lager has been winning fans for over a century. Brewed by descendants of German and Czech immigrants, it reflects Old World brewing traditions filtered through a distinctly Texan lens.

Shiner Bock has a light body, but its ruby-brown color reminds me of fall foliage. Its aroma, while slightly toasty, is not overpowering, and its flavor goes in the same direction: refreshing and light, but still a bit malty and sharp at the end. At 4.4% ABV, it remains highly drinkable, making it a favorite in my house for large autumn gatherings at which a stronger beer would be overkill.

To me, what makes Shiner Bock particularly appealing in autumn is its balance of well-crafted flavor and light body. The caramel and toasty notes provide complexity, while the crisp and light mouthfeel renders the beer refreshing. As summer barbecues give way to fall bonfires, Shiner Bock feels like the perfect bridge between seasons.

Unlike many craft beers, Shiner Bock is widely distributed and affordable, available in bottles, cans, and on draft across much of the U.S. Its accessibility ensures that even those outside the Lone Star State can partake in a taste of Texan brewing heritage when the leaves begin to fall.

As mentioned in the introduction, I selected these beers based on a few main characteristics. First, I tried not to repeat styles, to avoid the monotony of endless pumpkin beers and spiced ales. Secondly, I did my best to select beers that reflected the diverse flavors and circumstances of autumn, a season that encompasses both September barbecues and Thanksgiving feasts; that's why I included a few lighter, more quaffable beers alongside rich, warming styles. 

I tried to think about "autumn" flavors beyond beers brewed explicitly with spices (that's why I added La Chouffe, a beer that, while not brewed with spices, has a "spicy" nose due to the use of Belgian yeast), as well as autumn as a time of harvest (hence, the inclusion of a fresh hop IPA and a fizzy, semi-dry cider, which I think deserves a mention on this list even though it's not a beer). Finally, I tried to include beers that are widely accessible in many markets in the United States, and that represent an array of price points. While Warlock might be a hard sell for some at $15+ a four pack, I also included much more affordable options like Shiner Bock and Modelo Negra.