Halloween still occupies a funny place in Australia. Growing up, for me it largely meant special Simpsons episodes and nothing else but, as the end of high school approached, the supermarket I worked for started selling big orange pumpkins and people would yell at me for importing American culture (as though my last name was Woolworths). Now, it's a whole lot more embedded, with houses covered in cobwebs and kids trick or treating (but I can't help but feel like kids are still getting yelled at in supermarkets for something outside their control).
One aspect that’s been a little slower to catch on is Halloween beers, in part because they work best with pumpkins which have an inherent autumnal attachment in the US. But pumpkin beers come with their own controversy in the States and, like Halloween here, it feels like the divide is split pretty evenly between lovers and haters.
In the lover column are Bright Brewery, who made one in 2022 and have followed it up with Pumpkin Spiced Latte Brown Ale. Try one and you’ll wonder where that all hate in America comes from due to the beer’s aromatic melange of pumpkin, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg and the chewy array of caramel, chocolate, vanilla and rich roasted coffee.
Will Ziebell
If you'd like a more traditional beer, brewery’s Cumber & Basil Sour is back – details here.
Published October 26, 2023 2023-10-26 00:00:00
