We like horror movies here at American Craft Beer, and obviously we enjoy beer. Which explains why we do this every year…
So we’ve a number of haunting beer suggestions, and some “to die for” horror movie pairings (all of them available to stream)…
Great Lakes Nosferatu
Great Lakes Brewing brews this beloved fall seasonal that was named after, FW Murnau’s 1922 German horror film, Nosferatu. And it just bleeds ‘All Hallows Eve.’
From its truly alarming label, that horrifically depicts Count Dracula’s original incarnation, to its unforgiving ruby color, Great Lakes Nosferatu is an 8% ABV Imperial Red Ale that will haunt your taste buds long after Halloween.
Suggested Horror Movie Pairing: The obvious pick would of course be “Nosferatu” but Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” is a contemporary take on the silent film classic…
Three Floyds Zombie Dust
Northern Indiana’s popular Three Floyds brews a year-round pale ale that with its haunting name, spooky label and “killer” taste has become the ‘go-to’ Halloween classic for many Midwesterners.
Three Floyds Zombie Dust is a 6.4% ABV American Pale Ale sure to draw hordes of beer zombies your way at any Halloween outing. And if you’re looking for a Halloween beer with some real ‘street cred,’ this one’s it.
Suggested Horror Movie Pairing: Train to Busan (Amazon Prime) but there’s always the Walking Dead and World War Z…
Southern Tier Warlock
While Southern Tier’s Pumking remains a widely scary staple, we prefer an even more demonic offering from the Lakewood, NY brewery on Halloween.
Brewed with fresh pumpkin, seasonal spices and the black roasted malt, Southern Tier Warlock Imperial Stout is an 8.6% ABV monster that will have you yielding to your dark side.
Suggested Horror Movie Pairing: Although there are three Warlock movies 1989’s Warlock, 1993’s Warlock: The Armageddon and 1993’s direct-to-video Warlock III: The End of Innocence. You need to stick with the original.
AleSmith Evil Dead Red
A beer’s name is an intrinsic part of any Halloween beer. And AleSmith Brewing’s fall seasonal is not just frighteningly named, it’s frighteningly delicious.
Blood red and viciously hopped to balance out its crimson malt backbone, AleSmith Evil Dead Red is a fiendishly smooth Red Ale that’s instinctively evil and only brewed for the haunting season.
Suggested Horror Movie Pairing: The Evil Dead (how could we not?). The ultimate in grueling horror, The Evil Dead not only launched director Sam Raimi’s long and successful career it remains one of the best haunted house (in this case a cabin) movies EVER.
Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Given that many credit the Rogue Ales original with being the first Halloween-themed craft beer ever, we’d be remiss to not give this classic its due.
Originally created almost twenty years ago by the pioneering Newport Oregon-based brewery, to celebrate the Mayan Day of the Dead, Rogue Dead Guy Ale is actually a fairly straight-forward German-style Maibock.
Just as with Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust, Dead Guy Ale has always been a year-round offering that the brewery quite intentionally markets at Halloween with sometimes different variations like one that actually glowed in the dark!
Suggested Horror Movie Pairing: Beetlejuice. Directed by the brilliant Tim Burton in 1988, this darkly comedic Halloween classic is a gift that just keeps giving.