Give Plain Old Pumpkin Beer A Kick With Sweet And Spicy Garnishes

While pumpkin brews are included in Mashed's list of perfect beers to enjoy during fall and winter, their flavor can become a little one-note over time. Adding a garnish can elevate the taste of this popular seasonal beer, and sweet and spicy options are solid choices. Rimming glasses with sugar is a common practice with many alcoholic beverages, and a slight adjustment to this garnish can improve the flavor profile of just about any pumpkin beer. (Here's our ranking of the best and worst pumpkin beers for fall to ensure you have a solid foundation to work with.)

Adding brown sugar gives more depth to the sweet flavor, as it has nutty notes thanks to the inclusion of molasses. If you're not sure how to rim a glass, rest assured that it couldn't be simpler. Add brown and white sugar to a plate and tip the lightly-moistened edge of your glass into the mixture. For a thicker line of garnish, roll the glass' rim in the mixture instead of dipping it. Once the garnish has set, add pumpkin beer to the glass and enjoy.

Adding other spice varieties to the sugar mix can introduce a bit of warmth to your pumpkin-flavored beer. For the perfect amount of cozy heat, rim your glass with a combination of cinnamon and sugar. A fall favorite (despite being considered by some as America's most overused spice), cinnamon complements pumpkin flavors beautifully and is even a component of classic pumpkin pie spice blends. In this case, you can also incorporate sugar and cinnamon with spices like ginger and nutmeg for a multi-faceted flavor.

For a truly out-of-left-field garnish, consider rimming your pumpkin beer glass with Tajín, a Mexican seasoning blend that combines salt, dehydrated lime, and ground chili peppers. This seasoning is often paired with sweet foods, including watermelon, and is a common garnish for Bloody Marys and micheladas, a beer cocktail featuring tomato juice, hot sauce, and many other tasty ingredients. Pumpkin pairs quite well with citrus flavors like lime, while spicy flavors can elevate the subtle flavor of the autumn squash beautifully. Pumpkin beer season only happens once a year, and these garnishes can help make the occasion a lot more flavorful.