Boo-eries embrace Halloween spirit
There’s an art to stocking up on Halloween candy and a technique to raiding your kids’ haul.
It involves beer (for parents, not the kids).
Step one, buy the candy that pairs well with craft beer to make the prospect of having to devour leftovers more adult-like.
Step two, when raiding the kids’ haul and their rejects, take heart in knowing that there’s a beer for that.
Well, everything except the dreaded Halloween Kisses, a.k.a. filling removers.
In the matter of Halloween candy and beer, Andrew Peters of Forked River Boo-ery in London and I are kindred spirits.
“I’m a big fan of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups,” he wrote in an email. “Already bursting with chocolate and roasty flavours, our Full City Coffee Porter pairs so well with them — it has the body to stand up to the creamy treat, and the dark notes in the beer accentuate the roasted peanut and milk chocolate of the candy.”
Classic candy corn has been around for decades and is the most popular Halloween candy in Michigan according to 10 years of sales data from Candystore.com and No. 2 in New York, which is good enough for me to conclude Southwestern Ontario must also have a thing for this tri-coloured sweet treat.
“I would probably suggest our Amber with mellow creme pumpkins or candy corn,” said Gavin Anderson of Anderson Craft Ales. “They both have some caramelized
sugar notes, and the slight hoppy edge to the Amber helps to cut the sweetness.”
Here are some more ideas I’ve scared up for pairing popular Halloween candy and craft beer. Apple-flavoured suckers and
candy: Craft cider, of course. KW Sparkling Dry Cider is big in Waterloo Region. It’s made with apples sourced within 150 kilometres of the cidery. Another option is Nickel Brook Green Apple Pilsner, a beer made with granny smith apples. Cherry Blossom: Okay, this is from the upper echelon of Halloween candy giveaways, right up there with full-size chocolate bars and cans of pop. But no less than Beau’s themselves suggests pairing a classic Cherry Blossom with the new Tom Green Cherry Stout. “It’s cherry and sweet and just like Tom Green, originally Canadian,” writes Beau’s in an email. Gummy Bears: Hmm. Railway City’s Witty Traveller, a spiceand-fruit Belgian wit, or Dead Elephant, a fruity-candy bitter IPA. Decisions.