It’s the best time of the year — at least for those who really enjoy malty German beer.

While Oktoberfest officially wrapped up last week, breweries around Central Indiana are still celebrating autumn’s arrival with seasonal batches. From classic Bavarian brews to modern flavors riding the seemingly ceaseless pumpkin spice train, there’s plenty of fall beer for Hoosiers to enjoy. Here are 12 spiced autumn beers to try around Indianapolis, plus several places to find traditional Oktoberfest brews throughout the fall.

Bier Brewery

Three Central Indiana locations, bierbrewery.com

The brew: Pumpkin ale, 5.7% ABV, 14 IBU

The 2018 World Beer Cup silver medalist is now available at all three Bier Brewery locations in Allisonville, Carmel and the recently opened Noblesville campus. The acclaimed ale, billed as the liquid equivalent of pumpkin pie, is so beloved by Bier customers that it received its own release party this year.

Field Brewing

303 E. Main St., Westfield, (317) 804-9780

The brew: Basic Witch pumpkin ale, 5.5% ABV, 30 IBU

Field Brewing’s pumpkin red ale combines pumpkins, tamarind, Belgian candi sugar and maple and fig syrups to create an intensely autumnal dessert beer.

Grand Junction Brewing Company

1189 E. 181st St., Westfield, (317) 804-9583, gjbrew.com

The brew: Not Grandma’s Pumpkin Ale, 8% ABV, 10 IBU

At a bristling 8% alcohol by volume, this pumpkin ale is brewed to get you warm and cozy with notes of cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla. You can find it at Grand Junction’s Westfield taproom for a limited time.

Guggman Haus Brewing Co.

1701 Gent Ave. and 4601 N. College Ave., (317) 602-6131, guggmanhausbrewing.com

The brews: Spooky Pumpkins pumpkin ale, 6.2% ABV; autumn spiced milk stout, 7.6% ABV

The German tap house welcomes both the spooky and cozy sides of fall with its pumpkin ale and spiced milk stout. The Spooky Pumpkins features real pumpkin and classic fall spices, while the milk stout pairs similar spices with vanilla and cacao in a smooth, dark brew.

Kismetic Beer Company

201 S. Rural St.

The brew: Banana nut hefeweizen, 5% ABV, 20 IBU

Kismetic’s “ode to autumn” is a German-style yeasted wheat beer with caramel malted barley and floral hops steeped in a banana nut tea blend from Nelson’s Tea. You can grab a pint at Kismetic’s Christian Park tap room for a limited time.

Metazoa Brewing Company

140 S. College Ave., (317) 522-0251, metazoabrewing.com

The brews: I Saw the Swine pumpkin pie spiced barleywine, 8.4% ABV, 42 IBU; Jackal Lantern pumpkin ale, 5.3% ABV, 15 IBU

Downtown Indy’s animal-themed brewery is greeting the fall with a potent barleywine (strong malty beer) featuring cinnamon, nutmeg and plenty of fermented grain, plus a more forgivingly drinkable classic pumpkin blonde ale.

Oaken Barrel Brewing Company

50 Airport Pkwy L, Greenwood, (317) 887-2287, oakenbarrel.com

The brew: Apple buzz, 7% ABV

Oaken Barrel’s annually anticipated Apple Buzz, part cider and part beer, drops Oct. 14. Pints, bottles and cans will be available at Oaken Barrel’s Greenwood brewpub.

Quaff ON! Brewing Co.

Various Big Woods locations in Central and Southern Indiana, quaffon.com

The brew: Put A Fork In It pumpkin ale, 6.5% ABV, 20 IBU

Quaff On’s crowd-favorite seasonal beer is back through the end of October at Big Woods restaurant locations. The pumpkin-spiced ale is warm without being abrasive, malty but not overly complex, an extremely drinkable brew to welcome the cooler months.

Sun King Brewing

Multiple Central Indiana locations, sunkingbrewing.com

The brew: Pumpkin spice latte, 5.3%, 23 IBU

A blonde ale brewed with fall spices and coffee, this Sun King brew brings the flavors of a fall latte to happy hour. You can find it at Sun King locations throughout Marion and Hamilton Counties for a limited time.

The Tap

306 N. Delaware St., (317) 820-5580, thetapbeerbar.com

The brew: Tap-O-Lantern, 6.5% ABV, 20 IBU

The Bloomington-based gastropub’s signature pumpkin beer is back for the fall season. One hundred pounds of pumpkin are used in each batch of the amber ale, which also features molasses and fall spices. Rimmed with cinnamon and sugar and available at multiple Indiana Tap locations including downtown, this autumn ale epitomizes the best parts of trying to turn every food and drink into pumpkin pie from September through November.

Urban Vines Winery and Brewery

301 E. 161st St., Westfield, 317 (763) 0678, urban-vines.com

The brew: Hey Gourd-geous pumpkin ale, 4.7% ABV, 28 IBU

This mild amber ale packs a blend of fall squashes with fall spice. You can find it at Urban Vines’ Westfield tasting room for a limited time.

Wooden Bear Brewing Co.

21 W. North St., Greenfield, (317) 318-1803

The brew: Pumpkin ale, 6.2% ABV, 14 IBU

Greenfield’s first brewery brews its pumpkin ale with a single hop variety and traditional fall spices.

Where to find traditional Oktoberfest and other fall beers

Numerous breweries are offering their twist on Oktoberfest beer this fall. Each venue listed has a traditional Märzen, a more modern festbier or a signature Oktoberfest beer for sale. Beer names are listed in parentheses next to each brewery.

1. Big Lug Canteen and other Sahm’s Hospitality Group restaurants (Oktoberfest wheat beer)
2. Chilly Water Brewing Company, 719 Virginia Ave. (Oktoberfest Märzen)
3. Field Brewing (Fest Field Märzen)
4. Four Day Ray Brewing, 11671 Lantern Road, Fishers (Adler Oktoberfest)
5. Grand Junction Brewing Co. (Oktoberfest Märzen)
6. Metazoa (Barktoberfest)
7. Saint Joseph Brewery and Public House, 540 N. College Ave. (Saint Joeberfest)
8. Sun King (Oktoberfest, Bavarian Breakfast coffee-infused Märzen)
9. Urban Vines (Rocktoberfest)
10. The Tap (Taptoberfest)
11. Twenty Tap, 406-08 N. College Ave (Twenty Below Oktoberfest)
12. Upland Brewing Company, multiple Central Indiana locations (Oktoberfest Bavarian-style lager)
13. Urban Vines Winery and Brewery (Oktoberfest)

Contact dining and drinks reporter Bradley Hohulin at bhohulin@indystar.com. You can follow him on Twitter/X @BradleyHohulin.

INDIANAPOLIS — A.J Foyt Racing saw moving the entirety of its operations to the Indianapolis area as the next step. 

For years, the team had built and prepared its cars in Waller, Texas, a suburb of Houston. But with other teams building headquarters in the Indianapolis area (including Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Andretti, and Prema), A.J. Foyt Racing moved the preparation of its cars to its Main Street location in Speedway.

For team owner A.J. Foyt, It came down to the number of race-minded people in the area.

“I shut down the shop in Houston about a month ago, and I moved everything up here,” Foyt told IndyStar at his book signing event in Speedway on Thursday. “When I was down there driving, it wasn’t hard, but it’s so hard to get people. And up here you’ve got a lot of race people. And I felt like since I had my shop up here, I’d do all my operations up here.”

The team had split its operations between Texas and Indianapolis for years, with a team of engineers in both locations. With the team becoming more and more competitive, team president Larry Foyt said, it was time to bring everything together.

“We had such a great team down in Texas, and we’ve made it work,” Larry Foyt told IndyStar. “But I think I just felt like, OK , we’re at that point now where the next step of competitiveness is probably bringing everything together. And A.J. was at a point where he was ready for it, and there were some good guys available up here. And it’s nice, because all our engineers were already pretty much up here in Indianapolis and out of this facility, and they like to be out and see their race car. They want to touch it. It just helps with a lot of things. It was just time to get everything under one roof.”

The decision to move their operations to Indianapolis comes after Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Chevy, had one of the best seasons in A.J. Foyt Racing’s history. Ferrucci had 11 top-10 finishes, two top-five finishes, and one pole on his way to a ninth-place ranking in the series — the highest finish for an A.J. Foyt Racing driver since 2002.

Near the end of the 2024 season, Ferrucci signed a multi-year contract extension with the team. Ferrucci is testing IndyCar’s hybrid system, including the energy recovery system, in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s annual fall tests this week.

“He drove a hell of a season for me,” A.J. Foyt said. “I just really like him because he don’t put up with no bull(expletive). That’s what I like about him.”

A.J. Foyt Racing’s resurgence is also on the heels of a technical alliance with Team Penske, which gives A.J Foyt Racing technical support and additional engineering staff. The alliance between longtime friends A.J. Foyt and Roger Penske started in September 2023. After a full season in 2024, Larry Foyt is pleased with the results.

IndyCar news: Michael Cannon reflects on returning Foyt to front of the Indy 500 grid

“It was great for us to have some more teammates on board, working with them,” Larry Foyt said. “What an organization, obviously, I think we were able to do some things to help them out at Indy, and they certainly helped us all throughout the year. So far, I couldn’t be happier with the way that’s going and, I mean, couldn’t pick a better organization to be with, really, so looking forward to continuing that.”

Now, after a successful season in 2024 and the consolidation to Indianapolis, A.J. Foyt Racing is hoping to be in a place where it can win some races. 

The team also signed David Malukas, who is going into his fourth year in the series, to a multi-year contract starting in 2025. Malukas drove 10 races with Meyer Shank Racing in 2024 with a sixth-place finish in Toronto.

“I think the next step for us — last year, we got a pole, top-10 in the championship, had top-five (finish), but we want to take the next step,” Larry Foyt said. “Of course, we want to win the 500 and we want to win some races. And now I think we feel like we’re at a place where we can do that.”

Haven’t been able to snag tickets to see Taylor Swift in Indy?

There’s hope yet. Several organizations and businesses are still holding sweepstakes to give away tickets to the star’s sold-out Nov. 1-3 stop at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Here are a few ways you can enter sweepstakes to win tickets to the Eras Tour in Indianapolis.

Win Taylor Swift Tickets in Indianapolis

IU Health Foundation

IU Health Foundation is giving away four pairs of tickets to either the Nov. 1 or Nov. 3 Eras Tour to a few lucky donors. And they’re not just any seats — winners will watch the show from Lucas Oil Stadium’s Quarterback Suite, which includes buffet catering and a full-service bar.

To enter, go to bit.ly/3U2uhAc and donate at least $100 for your chance to win. Every $100 donated (up to $500) gets you another entry. All contributions made during the sweepstakes will go to the foundation’s Healthier Women campaign, supporting efforts in areas like oncology, maternal and infant health, bereavement and primary care.

The entry period ends Oct. 13 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET, and winners will be notified no later than Oct. 23.

For full rules and terms, visit bit.ly/3Yj1XMz.

Ready for it? Your guide to Taylor Swift in Indianapolis for Eras Tour shows

Condado Tacos

What’s better than tacos? Perhaps two tickets to Taylor Swift and tacos. Condado Tacos is giving away a pair of tickets for the Nov. 3 show plus a $100 gift card to one lucky Instagram follower. Here’s what you have to do:

• Follow @CondadoTacos on Instagram
• Like Condado’s Eras Tour sweepstakes announcement post
• Share the post on your Instagram story with the hashtag #Condado_Sweepstakes
• Tag a Swiftie you follow — or several — by adding their Instagram handle to the post. You’ll get one entry per tagged Instagram handle.

The entry period ends Oct. 18 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET.

No purchase is necessary. Participants must be U.S. residents 18 or older as of Sept. 25. A random drawing will be conducted around Oct. 21, according to the terms and conditions, and the potential winner will be contacted via direct message.

For full rules and terms, visit condadotacos.com/erasgiveaway.

European Wax Center Lavender Days Giveaway 

European Wax Center is also giving away a pair of tickets to the Nov. 3 show. Simply go to the sweepstakes page, waxcenter.com/pages/lavender-days-giveaway, and enter your email address for a chance to win.

The entry period ends Oct. 18 at 11:59 p.m. CT.

European Wax Center lists several locations in the Indianapolis metro area:

• 2902 W. 86th St., Suite 120
• 1340 E. 86th St.
• 2772 E. 146th St. in Carmel
• 13170 Harrell Parkway in Noblesville

For full rules and terms, visit waxcenter.com/pages/lavender-days-giveaway.

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Contact IndyStar pop culture reporter Holly Hays at holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on X/Twitter: @hollyvhays.