Three Great Fall Beers

Been a bit dry in the Emerson hosehold lately, but I have had a chance to grab a few of the new arrivals on the shelves of my local New Seasons, two old familiar faves and one new one to me.

I'll start with the new one first.

Heater-Allen Bobtoberfest

Heater-Allen's Octoberfest beer is delightful.  I found it a wonderful medium-bodied and smooth Octoberfest with a subtle malt-forward note typical of the style and it finishes clean and crisp.  Light, creamy head and the perfect application of hops spice make this a new favorite for my fall beer line-up. It is a 5.4% beer with 22 IBUs - nice.

I am an economist, so I don't presume to pass judgment on beers on an objective level, but this hits my sweet-spot perfectly.

Ninkasi Oatis Oatmeal Stout

I know this is a year-round offering, but it generally disappears from the shelves of my locals during the summer, so I am always happy when Oatis arrives back on the shelves as the Fall weather gets cold and damp.  Oatmeal is the perfect way to smooth out the rought edges of dark roasted malts but can be overdone (too smooth and creamy is not a good thing either). Ninkasi nails the balance.

Hair of the Dog Blue Dot

Now, why this has shown up again in the Fall is a mystery to me.  Back in early June, if memory serves, it disappeared - just as the summer was finally warming up. I was devastated - it is one of my favorite summer beers.  But whatever the reason, the sight of Blue Dot on shelves was a welcome sight.

What I particularly love about this hop bomb is how light and creamy it is - I suspect with the careful addition of wheat in the grist. What you get is the smoothest mega-hop bomb you'll ever taste.  Again, you have to be careful not to make creaminess turn to soapiness especially with rye, which is also reportedly in the grist,  but HotD manages to pull this off with aplomb. 

So here are three very different beers now on shelves that are each entirely different form each other.  Buy all three and enjoy the wonderful world of craft beer.  Soon it will be cold, dark and wet enough to dive into the winter ales -- but not yet, for me at least.