It’s deep fall. You can’t fake your way through a margarita or bottle of rosé once the chill of November sets in. What you can do is dive into the spice, syrup, and toasty warmth of fall brews and booze. Because New England owns fall flavors, this guide to autumnal libations leans hard into local companies. From beers to bourbon, there’s a style and flavor for all fall palates. Pumpkin Beers Think you stop drinking pumpkin brew after Halloween? Wrong. Mid-October is when you start; the Monday after Thanksgiving is the right time to put them away. If you’re looking for a beer with punch, try Night Shift’s Pumpkin Piescraper Pumpkin Pie Ale. The 7% beer has a smooth but deeply seasonal flavor full of pie spice. Wormtown Fresh Patch Pumpkin Ale is a little lighter at 4. 5% but has a good body and a nice nose somewhere between fresh pumpkin and a just-out-of-the-oven pie. Non-pumpkin Beers Shocking news: Not everybody likes pumpkin pie, pumpkin lattes, and pumpkin beers. If you are part of the gourdphobic hoard, there are a couple of late fall brews from Jack’s Abby you should try. The Framinghammer is a big, bold, very strong (10%) imperial Baltic porter with some toasted malt and a creamy delivery just right for sweater and potpie season. Extra Layer is a crisp, caramel, Munich-style dark lager that is, well, just right for sweater and potpie season. Maple Syrup Barrel Aged Bourbon Last year, this Bully Boy bourbon sold out in a day. This year, Bully Boy made twice as much. The Boston distillery sent its bourbon barrels to Woodlife Ranch in the Berkshires. They filled them with syrup and let it age. Then they bottled their syrup and shipped the barrels back. For anyone worried this booze will taste like a trip to Ihop, it doesn’t. Make your favorite Manhattan with this and taste how subtly-but-wonderful the flavor is that maple is there in just a whisper of the finish and aroma. Local Red Wines Yes, you read that right. Down in Rhode Island, Sakonnet New England’s oldest vineyard is making great and affordable wines. For your Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or Turkey Trot party, we recommend their pinot noir and Belcourt Red (both of which are just over $20). The pinot is a nice balance between earthy and fruity. But the star is the Belcourt Red. A blend of grapes from Sakonnet’s nearly half-a-centry-old vines and varieties from Sonoma County in California, the Blecourt has a tasty depth that can hold its own with hearty local fare like pot pies or, well, regular pies. Not-so-local Reds OK, it’s cold out. You want to drink a wide variety of reds. We get it. So let’s go really un-local with Washington State’s Ethos 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2020 Taboadella Villae Red from Portugal both in the $20s. A Cab should be brawny and tender. Ethos’ bottle understands that difficult balance and delivers a good body, dose of fruit, and velvet finish. The Taboadella Villae Red is just straight-up delicious. Built out of grapes from across the Iberian peninsula, the blend is smooth, bright, and may be the ultimate crackling-fire wine.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/11/18/raise-a-glass-to-the-heady-drinks-of-fall/
