This October 31, as the chilling winds fall upon us and the eerie light of the autumn moon sets the stage for Halloween, I am going to grab my favourite blanket, a flashlight and a couple of devilishly delicious brews and hunker down for the night in the old pumpkin patch. Waiting for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin.

In ancient times, people believed Halloween was the night when the dead and the living intermingled. The festivity dates back to the time of the Celts, and sprang from the celebration of the Celtic New Year or Samhain. People would, as they do today, dress up as ghosts, skeletons and even “his infernal majesty,” Satan. Then they would parade through their villages, lighting bonfires and dancing with torches, their larger than life silhouettes dancing across the sky. I’ll take the safety of the pumpkin patch, thank you.

Nowadays, it wouldn’t be Halloween without treats, so here are some that you won’t want to share with the kids:

•Alley Kat Pumpkin Pi — This seasonal beer delivers what the name promises, a pumpkin beer brewed with Thanksgiving and Halloween in mind. As a nod to the Great Pumpkin himself, this amber brew smells amazingly like the pie it is named after, with big hints of gingerbread, toffee up front in the nose and a spicy finish of nutmeg, cinnamon, hops and cloves for a dry mouth-puckering finish. Alley Kat makes one of the best pumpkin beers this writer has tasted. This is not a gimmick, but a fine, true ale that soon will be unavailable until next year.

•Paddock Wood Black Cat Lager — For those not afraid of black cats, this deliciously dark potion has a tantalizing and somewhat sinister aroma of fudge, nuts and malt. This dark feline has a big, white, dense head that spookily defies gravity and firmly sticks to the sides of the glass. Your tongue will twist with supernatural delight as flavours of nuts, cocoa, caramel and earth cast a spell on your taste buds. It must be magical, because this German-styled schwarzbier (dark beer) goes down way too easy.

•Alley Kat Full Moon — Although there won’t be a full moon this Halloween, this dangerously bitter brew has a spine-tingling malt presence and the eerie red hue of an early autumn evening. Full Moon ale floats across the palate and is a hoppy, crisp, assertive beer that might scare some people. This beer bites back. Once hooked on this magical elixir, your tongue will have to resist the temptation to have another. What makes this beer scarier still is that it is brewed in Edmonton.

While I have decided to forgo all the Halloween festivities while hoping to catch a glimpse of the Great Pumpkin, you won’t go wrong bringing any or all of these spooky brews to wherever your grisly All Hallow’s Eve plans take you. Boo! Make that, brew!