Short, chilly days are upon us, and the pumpkin beers have given way to the dark, malty brews of winter. Hints of chocolate, spice and everything nice weave through these beers, making them excellent partners for both the sweet and savory dishes of the season. Here’s a few of our favorite local winter seasonals.

Snowpants Oatmeal Stout
Union Craft Brewing
With a creamy mouthfeel and plenty of chocolate notes, who needs snow pants? Stay inside and sip on this smooth dark beer and pay someone to shovel those sidewalks (8% ABV).

Oak Aged Hazelnut Scotch-Style Ale
Flying Dog Brewery
In our opinion, this is one of the best of the four flavors from Flying Dog’s holiday collection of Otterbein Cookies’ inspired beers. Smooth, with a hazelnut taste coming through in the finish, Santa would likely appreciate one of these with his plate of cookies. Otterbein’s suggested pairing is their Ginger Cookies (7.4% ABV).

St. Festivus
The Brewer’s Art
The subtle orange and ginger notes add to the malty-goodness of this classic winter ale. Whether you drink it in the dark dungeon bar or in front of the tall upstairs windows it is the perfect complement to the chilly weather on the other side of the door (8% ABV).

Rise Up Stout
Evolution Craft Brewing
A stout brewed with coffee, this dark beer with a distinct coffee flavor is what beer lovers could have for breakfast. Not quite as thick as some other stouts, and with a reasonable ABV, this stout is highly drinkable (6.7% ABV).

Devil’s Milk Barleywine Style Ale
DuClaw Brewing Company
If you think that you don’t like Barleywines, try this one. DuClaw’s take on an American style Barleywine, this coppery pour is flavored with dark fruits and hops. We’d choose it to drink fireside after a meal, or on its own hunkered at the bar on a Saturday (or Monday?) afternoon (10.6% ABV).

Siren Noire Imperial Chocolate Stout
Heavy Seas
One of our favorite local chocolate stouts, this sweet beast from Heavy Seas hales from bourbon barrels in which it has been infused with vanilla as well. The end result is a thick stout, not overly sweet, but perfect for sipping later in the evening, particularly with dessert. We’re pretty sure the Heavy Seas Alehouse can give you some ideas for quality beer cocktails for this brew as well (9.5% ABV).

Photos via Union Craft and Heavy Seas