The weather is turning crisp. The days are growing short. It’s autumn, and you should do autumn things before winter shows up uninvited and spoils all the good times.

We suggest drinking a pumpkin beer. Never enjoyed this seasonal phenomenon? Let us provide a primer. Pumpkin beer resembles ordinary beer. But, unlike ordinary beer, it tastes a bit like pumpkins.

This is not an everyday beer. Save it for those occasions when you want the flavor of autumn in your mouth. Tailgating? Have a pumpkin beer. Sitting by a fire pit? Have a pumpkin beer. Watching Hocus Pocus because your significant other loves the movie and you secretly enjoy it too but will never admit that fact because it means that she wins? Have two pumpkin beers.

We host an Annual Pumpkin Beer Party. We supply a sampling of the available offerings, and our guests provide feedback. Well, they mostly drink our beer, eat our food, listen to our music and leave our house an utter mess. (Our friends are ungrateful goons.) Along the way, though, they comment on which pumpkin beer they prefer.

The perennial favorite is Schlafly Pumpkin Ale by The Saint Louis Brewery. It provides notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin spice, but those flavors are subtle and do not overwhelm the drinker’s palate. It reigns as King of the Pumpkin Beers. All hail the King.

This year, we saw somewhat of an upset. People raved about Pumpkin Smasher from Big Muddy Brewing. It tastes like liquid pumpkin pie. That sounds unappealing, but it’s the opposite, i.e., very appealing. It’s more tart and seasoned than sweet. If you can find it, buy it and drink it.