Best Fall Craft Beers In Minnesota

Autumn is a great time for seasonal beers. As the air grows crisp, our taste buds favor sweeter and smoother ales. Brewers strive to recreate delicious fall flavors with cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, sweet potato and even cranberry strengthened by smooth and delicious European malts. Here are five of the best fall beers from Minnesota's own breweries.

Schottky Pumpkin Ale
Tin Whiskers Brewing Co.
125 E 9th St.
Saint Paul, MN 55101
(651) 330-4734
www.twbrewing.com

Back again for its second season, this fall beer tastes and smells like that delicious pumpkin pie we all know and love. The beer is brewed in Saint Paul with actual roasted pumpkin and generous amounts of pumpkin pie spice. It produces 5.6 percent alcohol by volume. No need to slave over the oven baking pies with a growler of Schottky.

Oktoberfest
August Schell Brewing Company
1860 Schell's Road
New Ulm, MN 56073
(507) 354-5528
www.schellsbrewery.com

"By far our best fall beer would be our Oktoberfest," Kyle Mari, a member of the family that brews southern Minnesota's iconic beer, said. "This Märzen style brew has a nice toasty malt backbone, slightly sweet and spicy." Märzen style is a 100 percent malt bill, with a balance of Pale, Munich and Cara Pils malts. Brewmasters add Liberty and Perle hops to create a rich, smooth taste, "but the hop character is subdued as we want the malt to take center stage with this beer," Mari said. "The taste profile is a perfect brew for a cool autumn night."

Yamma Jamma
Indeed Brewing Company
711 NE 15th Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 843-5090
www.indeedbrewing.com

"Yamma Jamma is a celebration of fall spices," head brewer Josh Bischoff said. "Pumpkin itself doesn't have much flavor, so it is the spices that make up the flavor profile of typical pumpkin brews. By using sweet potatoes we are able to get that flavor to come through in the beer, adding to the complexity of the ale." He brews this Yamma Jamma harvest ale at the Indeed Northeast Minneapolis brewery with real sweet potatoes and spices.

Related: Best Breweries In Minnesota

Oktoberfest
Summit Brewing Company
910 Montreal Circle
Saint Paul, MN 55102
(651) 265-7800
www.summitbrewing.com

"Summit's Oktoberfest is brewed in the traditional Märzen style with rich, toffee malt flavor and a clean hop finish as crisp as the autumn air," Marketing Coordinator Carey Matthews said. Summit brews this beer in St. Paul, using European and American ingredients. Mark Stutrud launched a legacy in 1986 by rediscovering traditional brewing methods, thus reawakening Minnesota's taste for the craft of the local brewery. Oktoberfest is yet another fine beer in Summit's long line of award-winning beers.

Gale Force Cranberry
Fitger's Brewhouse Brewery and Grille
600 E Superior St
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 279-2739
www.brewhouse.net

"A lot of strong beers are heavy. This is a refreshing drink that pairs well with food," head brewmaster Frank Kaszuba said. He finds it mildly tart, while picking up sweetness from the beer. Kaszuba creates this eight percent alcohol content beer from a Belgian strong golden ale base and adds "a large quantity of cranberries." The pink hue may seem odd, but it makes for a fresh clean taste. Thanksgiving dinner will never be the same when Fitger's rolls out the barrel of this delightful beverage.

Related: Best Craft Beer Shops In Minnesota

Robin Johnson was born in Annandale, Minn. and graduated from Richfield High School and then the University of Minnesota where he studied Political Science, Business and Industrial Relations. A writer for Examiner.com, he also consults with a variety of organizations and individuals helping them develop and grow. His work can be found at Examiner.com.