With Halloween just around the corner, you must be seeking some gory brews for the witching hour. You may wish to use them as ingredients in your culinary concoctions or sip them until your hair turns green, but the easiest and most direct route is to pair them with delightful cuisine. Use this Beer Fox guide to discover a merging of flavors that will light the tongue as you settle in for Dracula’s midnight feast:

Heavy Seas, Red Sky at Night – Saison – Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, USA – 8% ABV – Pair with Caribbean foods, Caesar salad, chutneys, bruchetta, fajitas, smoked turkey, mussels, smoked salmon

Headless Man Amber Alt – Altbier – Tyranena Brewing Company, Lake Mills, Wisconsin, USA – 5% ABV – Pair with chowder, Waldorf salad, cod, croque monsieur, octopus, fish cakes, clams, scallops

Michigan Brewing Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale – Fruit/Vegetable Beer - Michigan Brewing Company, Webberville, Michigan, USA - Pair with herbed chicken, turkey with sausage dressing, Autumn Spice Cake, vanilla bean ice cream

Wicked Witch – Extra Special Bitter -Marston, Thompson & Evershed, Plc., Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK – 4.6% ABV – Pair with fried poultry, steak with poivre sauce, jasmine rice, bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie

Bock of the Bat – Maibock/Helles Bock - Ellicott Mills Brewing Company, Ellicott Mills, Maryland, USA – Pair with eggs benedict, quiche, cheese fondue, dim sum, John Dory, hummus, mild Indian dishes

Bloody Beer – Fruit/Vegetable Beer – Shorts Brewing Company, Bellaire, Michigan, USA – 8.5% ABV – pork, salads, snapper, swordfish, garnished barquettes, pizza, lasagne, Italian dishes

Envy – Imperial Pilsner – Midnight Sun Brewing Company, Anchorage, Alaska, USA – 7.0% ABV – Pair with spicy dishes – duck in curry sauce, jerk chicken and pork, salsa, jalepeños, beans, fried calamari, and spicy crab

Black Tulip Trippel Ale – Tripel – New Holland Brewing Company, Holland, Michigan, USA – 9% ABV – Pair with biriyani, quail, asparagus, rabbit, risotto, steak tartare, ladyfingers with fruit and cream

Decadence – American Strong Ale – Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, Pennsylvania, USA – 13.00% ABV – Pair with batter fried fish, pastrami, brandade, herb-seasoned chicken, couscous, gumbo

Inferno Ale – Belgian Strong Pale Ale – Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Company, San Marcos, California, USA – 8.5% ABV – Pair with braised salmon, coq au vin, brie cheese croquettes, ballottine of veal, pineapple bourdaloue, pralines and cream

He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. – Imperial IPA - Shmaltz Brewing Company, San Francisco, California, USA – 10.0% ABV – pair with burgers, chili con carne, enchiladas, Moroccan food, Thai food

Kryptonite – American Double IPA – Iron Hill Restaurant & Brewery, North Wales, Pennsylvania, USA – 10.50% ABV – Pair with Blinis with caviar, crab cakes, tamales, Massamun Thai curry, chili relleno, Merguez sausage

Devil Dog – Imperial IPA – Laughing Dog Brewing, Ponderay, Idaho, USA – 10.00% ABV – Pair with mortadella with pistachios, quesadillas, pork tacos, pizza with pepperoni, spicy chicken with basil

AleSmith Decadence (Dead by Dawn 2006) – American Strong Ale – AleSmith Brewing Company, San Diego, California, USA – 9% ABV – Pair with aioli, bouillabaisse, Chinese food, crudités, langoustines, paella

Druidia Lager – Schwarzbier – Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA – 5.6% ABV – Pair with grilled or char-broiled steak, mole sauces, burgers, blackened chicken, spicy pork chops

The Beast Grand Cru – Belgian Strong Dark Ale – Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, Colorado, USA – 14.9% ABV – Pair with charcuterie, roasted chicken, honey glazed duck, Osso Bucco, oxtail, strawberry tarts with cream

Collaborative Evil – Belgian Strong Dark Ale – Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, Flossmoor, Illinois, USA – 10.0% ABV – Pair with tournedos of beef, bison, carbonnade flamenade, cassoulet, fruit tarts

Sinners Blend 08 – Belgian Strong Dark Ale – Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Company, San Marcos, California, USA - pair with duck, honey glazed goose, pheasant, soufflés, chocolate desserts, raspberries and cream

Killer Wood - Baltic Porter – Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, Flossmoor, Illinois, USA – Pair with Porterhouse steak, Texas style barbecue, smoky meats, pastrami, turkey ham, chocolate tarts, marbled cheesecake

Topless Witch - Baltic Porter – Three Floyds Brewing Company, Munster, Indiana, USA – 9.0% ABV – Pair with sea scallops, barbecued ribs, meatloaf, venison, sweet sausages, grilled Reuben on pumpernickel bread

Heart of Darkness – Oatmeal Stout – Magic Hat Brewing Company, Burlington, Vermont, USA – 5.3% ABV – Pair with oysters, grilled shrimp, black beans, Cajun blackened dishes, burritos, ribs, mole sauces

Black Moon Rye-sin – American Stout – Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery, Flossmoor, Illinois, USA – 5.5% ABV – Pair with aged Serrano ham, meat kebabs, lobster, nachos, salami, shrimp, tarte tatin

Ølfabrikken Sinful Brother – Quadrupel – Ølfabrikken, Roskilde, Denmark – 13.30% ABV – Pair with assertive cheeses, foie gras, calf’s liver, cassoulet, apple, cherry or pecan pie

Vermonster – American Barleywine – Rock Art Brewery, Morrisville, Vermont, USA – 10.0% ABV – Pair with panna cotta, pheasant, terrines, wild boar, cheeses, braised short ribs

Devil’s Milk – American Barleywine – DuClaw Brewing Company, Bel Air, Maryland, USA – 11.0% ABV – pair with sausages, beef roasted in Southern Comfort glaze, roast suckling pig, pork chops, chocolate and coffee ice cream

Hell Bender Barleywine – American Barleywine - Pisgah Brewing Co., Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA – 8.0% ABV – Pair with blackened chicken, stilton cheese, fruit tarts, cheesecake, vanilla bean ice cream

Widdershins – American Barleywine – Left Hand Brewing Company – Longmont, Colorado, USA – 10.0% ABV – Pair with grilled steaks, ratatouille, ice cream, chocolate mousse, coconut confections

...and don't forget the rat tails and bat wings. They pair with everything.

Cheers!