New Beer Alert: The Readers’ Choice Collaboration IPA And 3 Enormous Pumpkin Ales

American Craft Beer|September 12th, 2026|

Two yellow beer cans featuring a collaboration label titled "Readers' Choice West Coast IPA" stand side-by-side on a dark, reflective wooden surface. The label prominently displays logos from four distinct breweries: Pinthouse, Green Cheek Beer Co., Sierra Nevada, and Russian River, set against a warm, blurred brewery background with soft moody lighting.

(Courtesy Sierra Nevada)

Brewers are celebrating fall’s arrival with a fresh roster of beers built for the upcoming season.

Readers’ Choice West Coast IPA (Chico, CA) – Sierra Nevada Brewing has joined forces with three award-winning craft breweries for a limited-release West Coast IPA that’s as much a celebration of craft beer camaraderie as it is a serious hop bomb.

Russian River Brewing (Windsor, CA), Green Cheek Beer Co. (Orange, CA) and Pinthouse Brewing (Austin, TX) traveled to Sierra Nevada’s Chico brewery earlier this summer to create Readers’ Choice, a 7% ABV West Coast IPA honoring their big wins in Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine’s 2025 Best in Beer Readers’ Choice Awards.

And this collaboration brought some serious brewing firepower together.

Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman joined in on the brew day, as did Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo, and the beer’s hop bill reflects the breweries involved. Dry-hopping began with Sierra Nevada’s signature Cascade hops, followed by Mosaic, Simcoe and an experimental New Zealand hop variety that Cilurzo brought to the collaboration.

The result is a 70 IBU, double dry-hopped West Coast IPA with big tropical fruit, citrus and pine notes, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a crisp, dry finish.

Readers’ Choice is available in 4-packs of 16oz cans ($19.99 MSRP) at Sierra Nevada’s Chico and Mills River brewery gift shops, at select California and North Carolina retailers, and online for direct shipping to select states. Draft is also available in select markets in California, North Carolina and Texas.

And there’s another reason to chase this one down. Proceeds from every can support the California Craft Brewers Association, North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild and Texas Craft Brewers Guild.

A promotional close-up shot features a large hand gripping the top of a brown glass bottle of Saint Arnold 2026 Pumpkinator.

(Courtesy Saint Arnold Brewing)

A Pumpkin Beer Legend Returns (Houston, TX) – On September 21 Saint Arnold Brewing is marking the fall season with the return of an award-winning classic that’s so strong that it’s fit for cellaring.

Brewed with massive amounts of pumpkin that are tempered by a smart mix of Cascade and Liberty hops, Saint Arnold 2026 Pumpkinator is a full-bodied 10.3% ABV Pumpkin Ale that is aggressively spiced and sweetened further with molasses and brown sugar.

This year’s Pumpkinator release comes with two equally interesting variations: the 2026 Pumpkinator Aged in Bourbon Barrels, a 12.8% monster that was aged for over a year, and the 2026 Pumpkinator Aged in Bourbon Barrels with Cocoa Nibs, featuring an over-the-top amount of chocolate.

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