It’s Halloween, and I have a confession. I like vampires.

Well, that’s true, but that’s not my confession.

My true confession is this: I’m not a big fan of pumpkin beers.

I have tried a few of them, but I have trouble drinking the whole thing, especially a whole pint. One night, a friend and I went out and were excited to try this pumpkin beer we had been hearing so much about. I bought us two of them. He had a few sips and then went to buy something else. Me, I soldiered on and drank both pints, both his and mine. By the end of it, I vowed to never drink pumpkin beer again.

But I keep trying it, of course. You never know, right?

So I don’t usually look forward to fall beers. Even Christmas beers are a bit out of my range, due to an incident twenty years ago with a Christmas brew that tasted like a pine car deodorizer.

But Octoberfests can be good. St. Arnold’s Oktoberfest is pretty great, after all.

And now there’s Karbach Brewing’s Karbachtoberfest. I like it because it isn’t a typical Octoberfest. It’s really just an earthy, malty brew. I can drink several of them and not get bogged down in spice or anything else. It’s slightly hoppy with a great mouthfeel that goes down easy. I like the earthy grass notes that keep it from being sweet, which it isn’t at all.

Overall, I highly recommend the Karbachtoberfest. Especially for those who don’t generally like fall beers.