Each HopCat location has curated a list of harvest ales, hard ciders & pumpkin ales that represent the hard work and fresh flavors our local brewers and cider makers put into their craft. To celebrate the harvest season and the impact it has on our favorite beverages, the 1 st Annual Harvest Fest will begin at open on Saturday, October 24 th, and will run through Sunday, November 8th. For apples, the September harvest season is the sweet-spot for most of the varietals of apples that are used in our favorite ciders throughout the year. Your favorite local brewers and cider makers can use these harvest flavors to craft a great beverage. Once the fields have been harvested, hops that are freshly picked from the bine (yes bine, not vine) are brought right from the field to make the freshest wet-hopped ales you will find all year, while the rest are quickly pelletized and stored cold in an effort to preserve the essential oils needed for hops to retain flavor, aroma & bitterness. In temperate crop-growing regions across the country, apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and hop fields alike become ripe going into the month of September with the freshest ingredients. This isn’t the only perk of living in a region that is known for its wide variety of crops that are harvested in the fall. Growing up in the Midwest, one of our favorite parts about the cooler months is getting to take the family trip to our local apple orchard to pick apples straight from the tree, grab a pumpkin that was just picked from the patch, and on your way home after a long day out in the cool fall air, grabbing some warm doughnuts and apple cider for the road. Pumpkin spiced lattes are back, trees are turning their typically beautiful fall colors and the dads of the house have a firm grip on those who dare to touch the thermostat. Autumn has arrived and while we can all appreciate this wonderful season and the beauty it brings to the leaves it also brings Hærf-est – once an old-English word for “autumn” or “August”, known more formally to us now as harvest season.