September Club Update:
As the leaves change color here soon and the cool breeze of autumn begins to set in, homebrewers eagerly anticipate the arrival of fall. This season brings with it a cornucopia of beer styles that mirror the changing seasons. From malty and spiced brews to pumpkin-infused delights, fall beers offer a contrast to lighter, more easy drinking beers from the summer. Here we'll take a journey through some of the most beloved and iconic fall beer styles, each with its unique characteristics and the perfect accompaniment to the crisp autumn air. Hopefully this writing will get you thinking about what Fall beer you might brew up next, I am certainly excited about the coming cool weather and new fall homebrews.
Märzen/Oktoberfest
Classic Märzen and Oktoberfest beers that are synonymous with autumn, thanks to Munich's legendary Oktoberfest celebration. These lagers are characterized by their beautiful amber color, balanced maltiness, and a touch of sweetness. They offer a smooth and drinkable profile with a hint of toasted bread and a clean finish. These beers are perfect for celebrating the changing seasons and pair wonderfully with traditional fall fare like sausages and pretzels.
Pumpkin Ales
One of the most iconic fall beer styles (for some), pumpkin ales, brings a taste of the fall harvest season to your glass. Homebrewers get creative with these beers, infusing them with real pumpkin, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, and a touch of sweetness. The result is a spicy, aromatic brew with a pumpkin pie-like quality. Pumpkin ales are perfect for sipping around the fire or enjoying with others during fall celebrations.
Spiced Beers
As noted above Fall is the season for spices, and many homebrewers take inspiration from the kitchen when crafting their fall beers; think of all the complex flavors of Thanksgiving's savory flavors, sweets and treats. Spiced ales often feature ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves as well all the spices you can find in Mulled wine; anise, maple syrup, brandy and orange. The spice profile can create a warming, comforting flavor that makes spiced beers the ideal choice for those brisk autumn evenings.
Brown Ales
Brown ales, with their rich and malty character, are another staple of the fall beer scene. These beers come in many other notable sub-styles, from English brown ales with nutty undertones to American brown ales with a more pronounced hop presence. Even more rare brown ale types like Oud Bruin, Smoked Brown, and Belgian Brown Ale also fit into this category. The common thread is their deep toasty, caramel-like flavors, making them a great choice for those seeking a comforting, malt-forward brew as the days get shorter and cooler.
Harvest Ales / Fresh Hopped Beers / Seasonals
Harvest ales are brewed with freshly harvested hops, grain or other fresh adjuncts. These beers often have a pronounced hoppy character and a vibrant, earthy quality, evoking the spirit of the season. Wet hop beers, which use freshly harvested hops without drying, giving them a unique, grassy aroma that hop heads can appreciate. These beers are easy to produce this time of year if you happen to have some hop bines growing in your yard.
Dark Lagers and Porters
As fall darker beer styles come into their own in the coming months. Dark lagers and porters offer complex flavors like roasted, toffee, chocolate, and coffee notes, providing a cozy and robust drinking experience. These beers are perfect for sipping by the fireside, and they pair wonderfully with hearty stews and roasts. Styles like Sweet Stout, Imperial Stout, Belgian Double, Oatmeal Stout and Baltic Porter come to mind for beers that can make amazing seasonal beers.
Classic Märzen and Oktoberfest beers that are synonymous with autumn, thanks to Munich's legendary Oktoberfest celebration. These lagers are characterized by their beautiful amber color, balanced maltiness, and a touch of sweetness. They offer a smooth and drinkable profile with a hint of toasted bread and a clean finish. These beers are perfect for celebrating the changing seasons and pair wonderfully with traditional fall fare like sausages and pretzels.
Pumpkin Ales
One of the most iconic fall beer styles (for some), pumpkin ales, brings a taste of the fall harvest season to your glass. Homebrewers get creative with these beers, infusing them with real pumpkin, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, and a touch of sweetness. The result is a spicy, aromatic brew with a pumpkin pie-like quality. Pumpkin ales are perfect for sipping around the fire or enjoying with others during fall celebrations.
Spiced Beers
As noted above Fall is the season for spices, and many homebrewers take inspiration from the kitchen when crafting their fall beers; think of all the complex flavors of Thanksgiving's savory flavors, sweets and treats. Spiced ales often feature ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves as well all the spices you can find in Mulled wine; anise, maple syrup, brandy and orange. The spice profile can create a warming, comforting flavor that makes spiced beers the ideal choice for those brisk autumn evenings.
Brown Ales
Brown ales, with their rich and malty character, are another staple of the fall beer scene. These beers come in many other notable sub-styles, from English brown ales with nutty undertones to American brown ales with a more pronounced hop presence. Even more rare brown ale types like Oud Bruin, Smoked Brown, and Belgian Brown Ale also fit into this category. The common thread is their deep toasty, caramel-like flavors, making them a great choice for those seeking a comforting, malt-forward brew as the days get shorter and cooler.
Harvest Ales / Fresh Hopped Beers / Seasonals
Harvest ales are brewed with freshly harvested hops, grain or other fresh adjuncts. These beers often have a pronounced hoppy character and a vibrant, earthy quality, evoking the spirit of the season. Wet hop beers, which use freshly harvested hops without drying, giving them a unique, grassy aroma that hop heads can appreciate. These beers are easy to produce this time of year if you happen to have some hop bines growing in your yard.
Dark Lagers and Porters
As fall darker beer styles come into their own in the coming months. Dark lagers and porters offer complex flavors like roasted, toffee, chocolate, and coffee notes, providing a cozy and robust drinking experience. These beers are perfect for sipping by the fireside, and they pair wonderfully with hearty stews and roasts. Styles like Sweet Stout, Imperial Stout, Belgian Double, Oatmeal Stout and Baltic Porter come to mind for beers that can make amazing seasonal beers.
Ever since I started home brewing Fall has always been one of my favorite times to brew. With cooler nights and better brewing conditions, Fall is where we see all the variations of beer come to life. With so much room for interpretation of style and remixes on old favorites Fall beers are wide open to a palette of colors from Amber to toasty dark beers and flavors that are simple to complex. I am eagerly anticipating some amazing brew days coming from all members of OTMP and of course to be shared in future meetings.
Five Star Chemical Ordering:
The order will be placed this month, please fill out the form ASAP. It looks likely that we will be ordering a case of star-san and a case of sani-clean as well as a huge bucket of PBW to break down for brewers by the pound.
You can check out the product offerings here and the product guide here. If you have interest in getting in on a bulk purchase fill out this form to let us know your product interest and quantities. The club will hold spare inventory to continue to sell off over time at cost, thus spreading the savings for all. You can check in on the requests for orders here.
Club Nominations for OTMP Board Members:
Please take a moment to complete the ballot for elected officers for the 2023-2024 meetings. Voting will close the day of the September meeting where officers will be announced.
AHA Membership:
As many of us are members of the AHA we get benefits from being members, from discounts, to early ticket releases we all now have another perk. OTMP is now a registered supporter of the AHA; meaning that if you use the discount code OTMP at checkout you will receive $5 off an annual membership as well as the club will be given $5. Feel free to share with anyone looking to join the AHA. This can be an easy way for those of us that annually renew to also roll some extra cash back to the club.
Tasting Glasses:
New glassware has started to be handed out, if you missed last month we will have the glassware at the September meeting. You can also reach out to Evan Sherlock if you want to pick yours up at any point.
Competitive Brewing:
Anyone looking to enter into the competition we could get a group of us to submit together. I am sure there are a few members that would be able to rank rather high in competition, if we join together we can also complete drop offs together. We can discuss this more at the next meeting. If any of us is interested in getting into the pro-am for next year this would be a great start.
- Liquid Poetry Slam 2023 (Register September 1st-23rd)
- The Brew Hut Annual Homebrew Competition (Registration by October 21st, Free to Colorado Residents)
- Rocky Mountain Homebrew Challenge 2023 (Registration August 1st-October 13th)
- Chili Pepper Extravaganza 2023 (Registration September 1st – October 7th)
- Big Beers, Belgians, and Barleywines 2024 (Registration November 4th – December 2nd)
Time to brew it up.
The recipe has been picked, now we just need to get all of it brewed up. We are looking for a time in mid-January to complete the filling of the barrel. This should give us all plenty of time to brew it up and have it ready in 3 months. Each brewer will only need to brew up a 5 gallon batch, as we have 11 participants. If you were one of the people that would like to have a brew day with another brewer we can start arranging that at the next meeting. I for one would love to host another brewer or two as I can't ferment under 16 gallons in my fermenter, that is unless I buy another fermenter before this brew day.
Recipe:
Participants:
Newsletter Contributions:
Open to anyone willing to write up anything related to the topic of brewing. We are looking for people that are willing to share brocess information, tasting guidelines, recipe formulation or anything related to brewing experiences. Just submit before the end of each month to be included in the next month's newsletter. Just send them over to the club email.
September Meeting Info:
Where:
Location:
6391 Brooks Drive Arvada CO 80004
Date:
9-20-23
Time:
7:00 – Beer tastings
Notes:
In good weather we will be out in the backyard, if weather is an issue we will be in the basement.
RSVP:
Register Beers and RSVP to the meeting here.
August Meeting Recap:
Another amazing meeting in West Arvada hosted a club favorite Chuck. Many amazing beers and even new fun shirts thanks to Dennis. Ending ending the night with 5 beers coming in at 10+% made for a real treat.
Attendants: See attached notes in the Google Sheets
Meeting Recap / Beers: