Soon enough the fall weather will creep into College Station and with it a variety of beers differing in taste and consistency.

These popular autumnal brews can be put into categories based on the style in which they are made: Oktoberfest beers, fall dessert-style beers, India Pale Ales, porters and stouts.

“It’s probably the most exciting time of the year when it comes to beer,” said Chris Weingart, Blackwater Draw Brewing company co-owner and brewmaster. “You start seeing a little bit darker stout or more flavorful-type beers.”

The most popular brew of the season is the Oktoberfest beer, said Autumn Deschaines, Class of 2009 and general manager of Carney’s Pub and Grill. Breweries from all over both nationally and regionally brew their own version of this traditional German-style lager in honor of the Oktoberfest festival that starts toward the end of September.

“So, Oktoberfests are great for this time of year, because they’re a little bit more malty than what you’re used to having in the summer and are going to be a little bit more full bodied, but still very easy to drink and sessionable,” Deschaines said. 

Oktoberfest beers fall under the category of amber lagers, Deschaines said. These beers have more flavor than a domestic lager or any light-style lagers that a beer-drinker might have tried. Their color ranges from a deep straw color to a deep amber. 

Certain dessert-style beers also come into season during the fall. Weingart said the most common of these is the large selection of pumpkin beers that many breweries have begun to brew.

“The pumpkin style is very wide — open to interpretation, and each brewery is able to get creative with it,” said Weingart, Class of 2005. “We’ve got some people that smoke their pumpkin before they put it in there. Some people bake it. Some people use canned pumpkin. Some people use fresh … You just see everything underneath the stars on that one.”

Because these types of beers are richer in flavor and have such a distinct taste to them, pumpkin beers and other fall dessert-style beers should be treated as if they were the physical food that they are inspired by, said Weingart.

“And the pumpkin beers, honestly, I would treat pumpkin beers like I’d treat dessert, and that’s like after a meal,” Weingart said.

However, there are other styles of beers for the season that do pair well with different foods, Deschaines said.

“Well, spicy foods are going to go great with IPAs,” Deschaines said. “Double IPAs are normally a little sweet so sometimes the spicy also counteracts well with it, but it just kind of depends.”

IPA stands for India Pale Ale, which is usually characterized by its “hoppy,” or more bitter, flavor, which it gets from hops — a type of plant. Hops come in a wide variety of variations, and brewers choose their hop based on its flavors in order to produce the best product possible, Weingart said.

“It’s something that a lot of breweries are going to be releasing here in the fall because fall is actually the harvest time,” Weingart said. “From August through October, hops are actually harvested in the Pacific Northwest and other hop growing regions.”

The idea of “fresh hops” is different from other IPA styles because normally the IPAs are delivered to the brewer after they have been dried and packaged. These hops have already been ordered before the season began but will not be shipped until just after they are harvested.

“Let’s say today is Monday,” Weingart said. “On Monday, they pick the hop. They don’t dry it; they throw it in a box. They call us — let us know it’s coming. They overnight it to us, and tomorrow morning it shows up on our doorstep fresh from the field and ready to be put in a beer.”

Once the hops are in the brewer’s possession, they begin brewing with it as soon as possible, Weingart said.  The flavors from the fresh hop are more unique and more evident than the traditional dried hop.

“The fresh hop IPA is going to be an American-style IPA with citra hops, like I was saying, green hops straight from the field overnighted to us,” Weingart said. “Citra could best be described as, as you can guess by the name — as citrusy, a lot of orange and a lot of lemon zest type flavors in it.”

Many of these beers have a heavier taste than beers one might drink outside in the hot summer sun. As Texas is usually the last to experience a regular dose of fall weather, this means that game days and tailgates will still be warm to say the least, said Chris Steele, owner of O’Bannon’s Taphouse and co-owner of Blackwater Draw Brewing company.

“I don’t think necessarily you’ll see a lot of those beers at tailgates just because those beers tend to be a little bit more stronger than your tailgating type beers,” Steele said. “So if they’re looking for something to tailgate, you know, I’d recommend something a little on the lighter end.”