This Chart Will Help You Choose the Best Beer to Pair with Your Halloween Candy
Let’s get one thing straight: As adults, we might be too old to go trick-or-treating, but we’ll never be too old to eat Halloween candy.
And the one advantage we have over kids on Halloween? We get to drink something far more exciting than milk with our treat stash — we can crack a cold one and go to town. Use our handy infographic to find the perfect beer to drink with your favorite candy!
Candy Corn and Cream Ale
When you’re snacking on candy corn, which is high in sugar, keep things light on the beer front. A smooth swig of low-hopped American cream ale fits the bill; its slightly fruity notes enhance the honey notes in the candy corn.
Twix and Hefeweizen
Although banana and clove often come to the forefront when tasting this unfiltered beer, hefeweizen’s bready, wheaty undertones come out to play when matched with the shortbread and caramel inside those crunchable milk chocolate sticks.
Milky Way and Schwarzbier
You don’t need to find the dark chocolate Milky Way Midnights to fully enjoy this pairing; the original milk chocolate and the Midnight bites both enhance the slightly bitter notes of the dark roasted malts in this lager.
Kit Kats and Dunkel
Look in the German section of your favorite beer store to find classic Munich dunkels, which are great for fall with their caramel-toffee flavor. Oddly enough, something about this pairing leaves you with a slight root beer aftertaste — which is an unexpectedly pleasurable effect!
3 Musketeers and Oatmeal Stout
The coffee notes in creamy oatmeal stout and fluffy chocolate nougat make this pairing equivalent to a boozy iced mocha, especially if you go for the boss move of freezing your 3 Musketeers bars first.
Peeps and Pumpkin Ale
Love ’em or leave ’em, you have to admit that Peeps don’t have much of a flavor profile on their own beyond pure marshmallow sweetness. Their clean sugary taste acts as a blank slate for your favorite pumpkin ale, bringing out the spices in the beer.
Snickers and Brown Ale
You know what really goes well with a peanut-packed Snickers bar? A nutty brown ale. Whether you’re sticking with a classic English ale or trying an American brown made with real nuts in the blend, the aromatic style is the way to go here.
Cadbury Screme Eggs and Bock
Rich and toasty bock tames the aggressive sweetness of these oozy neon eggs — and although it’s an indulgent pairing to begin with, the egg somehow mellows the intensity of the beer as well.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Oktoberfest
You might not think of a Reese’s cup as a salty snack, but when paired with beer, those roasted peanuts come on strong. Hoist an Oktoberfest lager (or a märzen, if you’re going with the traditional-style name) with a malty but clean flavor palate and just a touch of hops.
Skittles and Dubbel
With its aromatic hints of dried fruit, like raisins and plums, and strong whiffs of yeasty caramel notes, a Belgian dubbel can stand up to the wild fruitiness of a bag of Skittles. Want to go big? Tag up to a Belgian quadrupel for even more intense flavor (and an ABV to match).