Thirsty Thursday: Top 10 Craft Beer Releases for Halloween Weekend (with bonus candy pairings)

The thought of drinking a Boo-dweiser or a Miller Fright on this Halloween weekend is scary enough. Don’t be that guy this year. Check out this week’s Top 10 new craft beer releases from Arizona breweries (with some suggested candy pairings) and be the star of your party, even if your costume stinks.

#1 King Sized Candy Bar Milk Stout from Fate

Scottsdale’s Fate Brewing Co. holds on to the top spot for the second straight week, nicely timing the release of the barrel-aged variant of its famed Candy Bar Milk Stout for release on Saturday, October 31.

Get your hands on this rare find for $9 a can.

• Pairs well with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

2. Tombstone trifecta 

A mid-week drop from southern Arizona’s IPA king will make this weekend even better.

The Pit triple IPA, Double IPA and Buck Nutty Brown Ale are available across the Valley at fine craft beer stores and bottle shops.  

• IPAs pair well with Hot Tamales.  

3. Peach Cobbler Gose from 1912 

The brewers at 1912 Brewing in Tucson are known for their pie-flavored sours that are dessert in a can.

This week, another dessert gets the spotlight: Peach Cobbler! Filled with flavors of peach, graham cracker, vanilla and cinnamon – feel free to skip dinner and go straight to dessert!  

• Pairs well with a Hershey’s bar. 

4. Dual Can release from Arizona Wilderness 

There’s more pie on the menu this week with the release of Double Picacho Pecan Pie Brown Ale.

Brewed with maple syrup, vanilla beans and Arizona lactose, this one is described as liquid candy in a can! 

Levanta Muertos Tart Michelada-style Ale is also new this week.

Not my style, but could be good for Sunday brunch if you party too hard on Halloween night.  

• The Brown Ale will pair well with a Kit Kat. 

5. Milk Stouts from Simple Machine  

Sweet and dark beers are all the rage these days, and Simple Machine Brewing in North Phoenix gets in on the action with a limited release of two milk stouts this week.

The first is Red Eye Paradise, a coconut and chocolate infusion meant to taste like a Mounds bar.

The second is Pillow Mint, a mint and chocolate concoction that will have stout fans flocking to the brewery.

Not a fan of stouts? Simple Machine’s new west coast IPA HopLifting is in cans and available at Craft Beer Hop Stop in North Phoenix.  

• Stouts will pair well with an Almond Joy or Mounds. 

6. Double can release from Pueblo Vida  

Looking for a fresh new drink in Tucson?

Stop by Pueblo Vida for its new peach and grapefruit–y Igneous Pale Ale or the new mango-peach creamsicle Supercolor IPA.

Both are available for $17 for a four-pack. 

Eiskalt, a pumpkin spice Oktoberfest lager, also releases this week. 

• Pairs well with Skittles. 

7. Idaho Bill from Wren House

Strike it rich with the golden pour of this hopped up lager from Wren House.

Idaho Bill is named for the beautifully bitter Idaho-7 hops used to brew it.

Hoppy flavor with the smooth crushable feel of a lager make this one to try at $14 for a four-pack.

• Pairs well with M&Ms.

8. Dunkelweizen from Wanderlust 

Some things are worth waiting six months for.

Warm and sunny Arizona winters, football season and traditional German style fall beers.

Wanderlust in Flagstaff brewed this year’s Dunkelweizen (a dark German Wheat beer) for six months and has it ready in four-packs just in time for Halloween weekend.

• Pairs well with a Snickers.

9. Double release from Huss

We’ll have to wait until Monday for these two fresh releases to hit the taps at Huss Brewing in Tempe and Phoenix.

Cactus Valley Amber Ale has a lovely copper color and finishes with notes of caramel and honey.

The other release, Rise of the Rio, embraces its dark side (in a good way).

This German style Schwarzbier (black lager) is very dark brown to highlight a hint of chocolate on the tongue.

• Pair these with Bit-O-Honey or Milk Duds respectively.

10. MMXX from Dark Sky Brewing

I’m a sucker for barrel-aged stouts and few do it better than Dark Sky in Flagstaff.

The 12% ABV MMXX released last weekend but is still worth seeking out as we dip into cooler fall temperatures.

Aged for 18 months in Makers Mark bourbon barrels, the boozy MMXX hits with notes of vanilla, cacao and coffee.

• Pairs well with the G.O.A.T. of Halloween candy: Krackel.