While most of the United States has been lucky enough to have early fall feel more like an extension of summer, that’s not going to last forever. The chill, rain, and overall bitter gloom of autumn is right around the corner. Make sure you have comfortable sweats waiting for you when you get home from work and a few six-packs (or more) of warming, flavorful beer handy.
When we talk about warming beer, we’re talking about stouts, brown ales, barleywines, Belgian tripels, and more. Some are higher in alcohol content and keep you toasty because of that. Others simply give you that cozy, warm feeling because of the malty, sweet, rich, spice-forward ingredients. As the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, these are crucial brews to have on hand.
To find these invigorating brews, we turned to the professionals for a little bit of help. We asked a few well-known craft beer experts and brewers to tell us their picks for the best warming beers to drink this fall. Keep scrolling to see all of their choices.
St. Bernardus Abt 12
Bradley Miles, head of production at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix
ABV: 10%
Average Price: $24 for a four-pack
The Beer:
St. Bernardus Abt 12. It’s one of the best Belgian beers in the world. The brewery’s flagship beer, this quadruple style is brewed using the original recipe dating back to 1946. It’s extremely warming on a cold fall day.
Tasting Notes:
This is a very complex, flavorful, warming beer. It’s filled with notes of figs, dates, burnt sugar, and bananas. It’s fruit cake in beer form.
Boiler BourBen German Chocolate Cake Stout
Packy Colgan, USBG bartender at Liquid Sunshine Taproom in Omaha, Nebraska
ABV: 15%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Lincoln’s Boiler Brewing Company has a BourBen German Chocolate Cake Stout that’s perfect for fall. And sitting at 15% ABV, it makes you feel it. This is a fall favorite in my house.
Tasting Notes:
It has all the things people love about stouts with a tinge of coconut sweetness to balance out those chocolate undertones.
Fremont Brewing B-Bomb
Glenn Allen, head brewer at Pilot Project Brewing in Milwaukee
ABV: 14%
Average Price: $24 for a 22-ounce bottle
The Beer:
Fremont Brewing’s B-Bomb and its variants are amazing higher ABV beers as we dive into the cooler temperatures. Coined as an Imperial Winter Ale (although it’s released in November) it is extremely complex.
Tasting Notes:
It features notes of dark roasted malts, bourbon barrel, chocolate, coffee, and cinnamon. It’s a perfect adult sweet treat for Halloween.
Anchor Old Foghorn
Nico Freccia, co-founder at COO at 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco
ABV: 9.8%
Average Price: $17 for a four-pack
The Beer:
Since this is maybe the last time you will ever be able to find this beer in a store, I have to go with Anchor Brewing Old Foghorn Barleywine. This is the first modern American Barleywine, first brewed in 1975. The brewery recently announced it was closing its doors for good after 127 years. If you’re lucky you can still find some of this on a local store shelf, and Barleywine ages beautifully so you shouldn’t worry too much about whether the beer is old. Grab it while you can and enjoy this American classic.
Tasting Notes:
Coming in at almost 10% alcohol, this fall and winter warmer is loaded with flavors of stone fruit, toffee, and pine.
Brouwerij Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet
Duncan Kral, innovation brewer at Half Acre Beer in Chicago
ABV: 8.4%
Average Price: $20 for a four-pack
The Beer:
Brouwerij Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet. Belgian Tripels are some of my favorite high-ABV, warming beers, and Tripel Karmeliet stands out as one of the best examples of the style.
Tasting Notes:
Brewed with barley, wheat, and oats, this beer provides big flavors and alcohol warmth, while still managing to finish dry and quaffable. Beautiful notes of apple and pear intermingle with clove spice to provide perfect fall flavors in a glass.
Toppling Goliath Assassin
Adam Lukey, head brewer at Eventide Brewing in Atlanta
ABV: 12%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Once the leaves start to change color and the mornings bring a welcome coolness it’s officially the best time of the year: stout season. My choice for this category is a barrel-aged imperial stout from Toppling Goliath in Iowa: Assassin. This beer comes in at a warming 12% ABV and is aged in bourbon barrels for close to two years.
Tasting Notes:
The base beer is rich, full-bodied, and thick. The character from the barrels gives bourbon, oak, coconut, vanilla, leather, and a wisp of smoke. This is a great beer to share with a friend or two in front of an evening bonfire.
Unibroue La Fin du Monde
Chad Henderson, head brewer and co-owner of NoDa Brewing Company in Charlotte, North Carolina
ABV: 9%
Average Price: $13 for a four-pack
The Beer:
La Fin du Monde is one of my favorite warming beers out in the wild. love Belgian-style Tripels, but it’s hard to find the longing for them in the summertime.
Tasting Notes:
However, this one fits the bill with its rich fruit and clean malt sweetness when the weather shifts to autumn.
Single Hill Parallax
Chris Baum, head brewer and owner at Varietal Beer Company in Sunnyside, Washington
ABV: 10.5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
I’m a ‘Barleywine around a campfire’ kind of person. And the best that I have found recently is Parallax from Single Hill. This unique barleywine was aged in Westland whiskey barrels to give it an extra, warming flavor.
Tasting Notes:
This is a warming, memorable beer well-suited for fall weather. It’s boozy, sweet, and loaded with dried dark sweet fruit. Yes, please. I’ll take another.
Allagash Tripel
George Hummel, grain master at My Local Brew Works in Philadelphia
ABV: 9%
Average Price: $16 for a four-pack
The Beer:
My favorite autumnal nightcap is a Belgian-style Tripel. Some of the finest Belgian-style brews in the States are brewed by Allagash Brewing Co. Rob Tod and his band of merry brewers make one of the best takes around with their Allagash Tripel.
Tasting Notes:
Creamy head, notes of fruit and spices. This is a very warming, fruity, spiced beer you’ll want to drink all fall long.
Black Hog Granola Brown
Suzanne Schalow, CEO of Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont, Massachusetts
ABV: 5.7%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Black Hog Granola Brown is my pick. It might not have the highest ABV, but it makes up for it with a warming, malty flavor. It has a lot of malted barley as well as wheat, rye, and oats, it’s a nice autumn warmer on an unseasonably cool night.
Tasting Notes:
Bready malts, caramel, and vanilla, all with a dry finish. This is a can’t-miss warming fall beer. What’s not to love?
