As the cat days of autumn crest upon the beer world, a familiar collective roar gathers volume. That’s right, it’s once again time for the seemingly perpetual beer complaint of mid autumn: Beers such as winter warmers and Christmas-themed beers are being released earlier than many believe they should, even though we’re still a couple months before the official start of winter. Yes, we’ve entered wet, often windy part of the year frequently devoid of sunshine, but without any of the charms that our customary 1-inch of snow can bring. Peaks and Pints will hang on to autumn, at least one day longer, with a beer flight we call Craft Beer Crosscut 10.25.18 A Flight of Mid-Autumn.

Craft Beer Crosscut 10.25.18 A Flight of Mid-Autumn

Dru Bru Oktoberfest

5% ABV, 28 IBU

Enjoying this toasty, session ale with heaps of Vienna malt and German noble hops at Peaks and Pints is much better than on Dru Bru’s picturesque patio picnic table bench next to chairlifts on Snoqualmie Summit. Yeah, right. Anyway, this German inspired light-bodied black ale is dominated by roasty, burnt caramel and toffee notes. Northwest hops add a non-traditional citrus and resin character to result in a rich, yet surprisingly light-bodied and smooth dark. It’s very drinkable with good refreshing qualities.

Uinta Fest Helles

5.5% ABV, 30 IBU

Will Hamill realized he wanted to be in the craft beer industry while homebrewing in his hometown of Portland, Maine. It eventually lead him to the other Portland, Oregon, where he found his way into the commercial side brewing and began formulating a business plan for the future Uinta Brewing Company. Avid skier and mountain biker Hamill chose Salt Lake City for the brewery location so he could partake in his passions when he wasn’t brewing. His Fest Helles hits the nose with light floral, bread dough and breadcrumb as flavors of bread crust and moderately herbaceous hops flow over the tongue. It dries on the finish with a medium bitterness.

Epic Imperial Pumpkin Porter

8.1% ABV

Epic Brewing’s Imperial Pumpkin Porter is brewed with pumpkin puree, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and Madagascar vanilla beans. In the smell department, we get roast and malt, with notes of pumpkin and yeast. The taste is also roasted malts with light roast coffee, brown bread and pecans. Caramel sweetness and cocoa powder emerge as the beer warms, but it maintains the sweet, vegetal earthiness of baked pumpkins and sweet potatoes. It all culminates in a flash of dark chocolate and cinnamon with a touch of vanilla.

Elysian Fifty Shades of Green

7% ABV

Peaks and Pints has a few fresh hopped beers remaining, including Elysian Brewing’s Fifty Shades of Green. There are many shades of green but Elysian Brewing only needed 50 to brew this fresh hop pale ale. Elysian volunteers and staff raced back to Seattle from Perrault and Loftus Farms in the Yakima Valley with wet Mosaic hops where new German hop, Polaris, was working against a malt bill of Pale, Munich and C-45. The result is a light toast and fruity nose with citrus, a clear green hop bite and some light toast. It’s a clean, flavorful pale.

Stone Enjoy By 10.31.18

9.4% ABV, 90 IBU

While freshness is a key component of many beers — especially big, citrusy, floral IPAs — Stone Brewing has taken it further, a lot further, in its line of devastatingly fresh Enjoy By IPAs. Not only did it brew Enjoy By 10.31.18 with more than 10 different hops, it slaps an expiration date on the can. Obviously, this double IPA is an autumn beer with an enjoyable balance of sweetness and bitterness. Enjoy the mild citrus finish.