It happens every year. Halloween passes and you still have that Costco bag of trick-or-treat candy laying around the house…

What to do?

You probably don’t smoke pot anymore so you probably won’t need them for late-night binging. Then we suggest you take a more sophisticated route…

Leftover Halloween candy and craft beer pairings.

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Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups + Milk Stout

Beer to try: Left Hand Milk Stout (Longmont, CO)

Chocolate and peanut butter meet their match in the creamy, roasted sweetness of a milk stout. The beer’s subtle coffee and lactose notes melt right into that peanut-buttery core, creating a decadent combo that feels like dessert at a gastropub.

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Skittles + Fruited Sour Ale

Beer to try: Prairie Artisan Ales Rainbow Sherbet (Krebs, OK)

Taste the rainbow? You bet. Fruited sours bring tart, juicy flavors that amplify Skittles’ citrusy zing while cutting through the sugar. It’s a fizzy, tangy explosion—basically liquid candy for adults.

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Snickers + Porter

Beer to try: Founders Porter (Grand Rapids, MI)

All that caramel, nougat, and chocolate finds a soulmate in a robust porter. With roasted malt and hints of cocoa, it turns the humble fun-size Snickers into a full-blown flavor bomb. Think liquid dessert with a grown-up edge.

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Candy Corn + Pumpkin Ale

Beer to try: Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (Milton, DE)

Love it or hate it, candy corn is pure nostalgia. Pair it with a pumpkin ale and suddenly, it’s not so bad. The earthy sweetness of pumpkin spice rounds off the waxy sugar, and the malt backbone keeps the pairing from going full cavity.

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Kit Kat + Brown Ale

Beer to try: Newcastle Brown Ale (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)

Break me off a piece of that toasty, malty magic. Brown ales bring nutty, caramel tones that perfectly echo Kit Kat’s wafer-and-chocolate combo. It’s simple, satisfying, and dangerously easy to repeat.

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M&M’s + Amber Ale

Beer to try: Bell’s Amber Ale (Kalamazoo, MI)

M&M’s might be small, but they’ve got big pairing energy. The caramel malt in an amber ale complements the milk chocolate while the crisp finish keeps things from getting too sweet. Bonus points if you separate your colors (we won’t judge).

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Twix + Barrel-Aged Stout

Beer to try: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (Chicago, IL)

This is indulgence squared. A bourbon barrel-aged stout—with its deep vanilla, oak, and chocolate notes—turns the caramel cookie crunch of Twix into something that belongs in a fine dining dessert course. Warning: you’ll never look at Twix the same way again.

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Sour Patch Kids + Gose

Beer to try: Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose (Boonville, CA)

Puckery, salty, and bright—the Gose style is tailor-made for sour candy fans. The citrus and sea salt in the beer meet Sour Patch’s tangy bite head-on, making every sip a fizzy palate cleanser between chewy bites.

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Milky Way + Dunkelweizen

Beer to try: Weihenstephaner Dunkel (Freising, Germany)

This malty, slightly banana-scented German wheat beer brings out the best in Milky Way’s caramel and nougat. It’s like a beer float without the spoon.

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Hershey’s Miniatures + Coffee Porter

Beer to try: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter (Cleveland, OH)

Dark chocolate plus roasted coffee notes—need we say more? Each sip amplifies the cocoa richness, while the bitterness of the porter keeps things sophisticated.

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And while we’re at it there’s this….

American Craft Beer Presents: Best Halloween Beer And Horror Movie Pairings

Haunted Halloween Beers And New Pumpkin Ales