Growing up I just knew I hated all beers because at family affairs my family drank Coors Light and my friends drank Budweiser. One of those are slightly tolerable. It wasn’t until Braddock got a brewery that I started exploring beers to discover my likes and dislikes.

I started recognizing beer terminology like hops, sours, and, wheat ale. It all sounded foreign to me. I even got paired up with Brew Gentlemen this summer for Fresh Fest and we gave my favorite seasonal a limited edition run by creating a cucumber wheat with mint and lemon and it tasted like a summer party in a glass.

Beer doesn’t have to be just a drink it’s an experience. With a craft brewery on every corner in Pittsburgh, it’s quite an adventure to find something I like. This October I made it my mission to drink October Beers and find the best of them. I tried a handful because there’s only so many occasions one can enjoy a beer and I picked my top four in no particular order.

Southern Tier PumKing

Okay, so this one was recommended to me so many times. It tastes almost like a dessert. It reminded me of pumpkin pie with just the right amount of cinnamon and a hint of espresso. I actually went back and bought a four pack of this because it was that great. I needed to share it with other people.

Penn Brewery Pumpkin Shandy

My only experience with Shandy is Leinenkugel (yes I Googled the spelling as the astronomical number of vowels get me every time.)

This right here tastes dangerous. It’s sweeter than the PumKing and it’s smooth. I could see myself sitting by a firepit enjoying this. The Vault Taproom has it on tap and I went back for seconds.

Troegs Master of Pumpkin

This is the most pumpkin I’ve ever tasted in a beer. I almost questioned where the whipped cream was because this is pie. It’s worth every penny and if I wasn’t a kind person I wouldn’t share it. They definitely mastered the taste here.

Sam Adams Octoberfest

This was my go to October Beer. It wasn’t fall until Sam Adams put this on the shelf. This was the beer that started this quest. It’s the gateway to October Beers. It has hints of cinnamon and tastes like the leaves are falling off the trees. It’s smooth, not hoppy, and it’s light. Me and my girls enjoy this over the fire pit and good food.

If for some reason you think beer isn’t your thing, you may be drinking the wrong beer. Sure the stuff I like is a little more expensive but there’s nothing scarier than finding out you’ve been drinking the wrong beer. Recently I ruled out all sours after trying two and deeming them as something that tastes like OJ and toothpaste. Turns out they’re not all created equal. North Country Brewery has a Peach Cobbler Sour that made me think a little as it was delish.

There’s something out there for everyone. I’ll continue to try to discover new things I like and you can follow the journey on my Instagram. Next up on the list is Mad Elf, it’s a Christmas Beer and I’m intrigued. What’s your go to beer of choice? Why do I always fall for the seasonals?