[1] Best overall beer in America: Heady Topper (photo © Alchemist Brewery).

[2] Best IPA: Brouwerij West Picnic Lightning IPA (photo © Tavour).

[3] Best lager: Notch Session Pils Czech Pale Lager (photo © Notch Brewing).

[4] Best pilsner: Allagash Truepenny Pilsner (photo © Crystal City Wine).

October 27th is American Beer Day. It’s one of the 40+ international beer holidays celebrated in the U.S. (see all the American-beer-specific holidays belowthe history of beer, which began before written history, in the area around Mesopotamia.

Here are recommendations for “The 13 Best American Beers to Drink in 2022,” compiled by Liquor.com. You can read the full article here, including tasting notes.

These beers are available on Drizly, so here’s a great party idea: Get a few of your favorite beer-loving friends for a “best of America” beer tasting. Assume 4 people per 12-ounce bottle.
 
 
AND NOW, THE GREAT AMERICAN BEERS

 
Beer styles that originated in the U.S. include

 
Here’s more about them.
 
And who knows what’s forthcoming next from the creative minds of America’s craft brewers.
 
Hats off to these beer artisans. Long may they malt, mill, mash, and ferment†.
 
 
> Check out the different types of beer in our photo glossary.

> 100 different ways to say “beer.”

 
 
THE YEAR’S 14 AMERICAN-BEER-SPECIFIC BEER HOLIDAYS

*American Beer Holidays: National Beer Day is April 27th. American Craft Beer Week is the third week in May. National IPA Day is the first Thursday in August. International Beer Day is the first Friday in August. American Beer Day is October 27th.

**National Rotate Your Beer Day on May 1st encourages people to drink fresh beer (most beer taste better when freshly made) and to promote the variety of beer styles. Created by Superior Beverage Group in 2019, the day is a reminder for consumers to check the freshness of their beer. It’s a good opportunity to organize your beers so you’ll drink older beers first, and explore new or diverse flavors.

Beer was drunk freshly-brewed for millennia, until Louis Pasteur’s work on pasteurization culminating in 1876 gave brewers the way to extend shelf life by heating beer to kill microorganisms. This was transformative for commercial brewing. Combined with refrigeration technology, it marked the time when beer became a reliably shelf-stable product that could be stored for many months or years. However, with the exception of certain styles made to age, beer loses its optimal flavor over time, becoming flat and stale with off-flavors like cardboard due to oxidation. The quality is affected by factors like heat, light, and oxygen exposure over time.

†There’s more to brewing, of course. Check out all the other stages of brewing.

‡A wild ale is a sour beer made with wild yeast or some other kind of uncontrolled or atypical microflora. Here’s more about it.

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This seasonal approach to mashed potatoes, a Pumpkin Cheddar Mashed Potatoes recipe, is a special delight from the fall harvest through Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Not to mention October 27th, National Potato Day.

The orange color and pumpkin flavor, plus the delicious cheesiness, are a great combination.

The recipe was created by Carla Cardello of Chocolate Moosey for the Idaho Potato Commission. You can find many more inventive potato recipes on their website, IdahoPotato.com.
 
> The history of potatoes.

> The history of pumpkin.

> The history of Cheddar cheese.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHEDDAR MASHED POTATOES

If you’re not a rosemary fan, you can substitute sage or thyme.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BRING a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, add the potatoes and garlic cloves. Cook until soft but not overdone, roughly 12-15 minutes. Drain.

2. BEAT in a large mixing bowl the cooked potatoes and garlic until mashed and smooth (do not overbeat—you’ll get sticky, not fluffy, mashed potatoes). You can also mash them by hand with a potato masher.

3. BEAT in the butter and salt until completely incorporated. Then slowly beat in the milk. Finally…

4. BEAT in the pumpkin, cheese, and rosemary.

5. TOP with pats of butter and serve.
 
 
WHAT ARE THE BEST POTATOES TO USE FOR MASHED POTATOES

Here’s the 411 from the Idaho Potato Commission’s Dr. Potato column:

Idaho’s climate and rich, volcanic soil consistently yield potatoes with a high solids content (more potato and less water), which is ideal for making mashed potatoes.

It is most likely that you’ll see two different varieties of russets coming from Idaho, a Russet Norkotah, which is typically a lower-moisture russet (better for mashing), and the traditional Russet Burbank variety popularly used for baked potatoes.

Yellow flesh varieties tend to have higher solids or starch and less water content and can be used for mashing as well.

Red potatoes usually have a waxy texture and can be mashed, but are not as well suited for this as they are for boiling or roasting.

> The different types of potatoes.

[1] Just in time for Halloween: Pumpkin Cheddar Mashed Potatoes (photo © Chocolate Moosey | Idaho Potato Commission) .

[3] Pumpkin puree is different from pumpkin pie filling. The latter is sweetened and spiced (photo © Jessica Gavin).

[4] Cheddar makes wonderfully cheesy mashed potatoes (photo © Szakaly | Panther Media).

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[1] Do delicious, and a limited-time flavor (photo © Fix & Fogg).

[2] Blend the peanut butter into ice cream (photo © Häagen-Dazs).

[3] Add verve to a PB&J or PB & Banana sandwich (photo © Wolferman’s).

As a Halloween or Thanksgiving party favor, as a stocking stuffer, and for yourself as a delicious treat, Fix & Fogg Pumpkin Pie Nut Butter is a seasonal delight.

The Pumpkin Pie Butter is a blend of roasted cashews, peanuts, pecans, warm spices, and real pumpkin purée.

It’s creamy, sweet, and totally spoonable—we’ve been having a couple of spoonfuls every morning with our coffee.

Nuts are also very nutritious, a good source of protein and vitamins and minerals, and heart-healthy fats.

Check out the “Magnificent 7” healthy nuts.
 
 
BEYOND THE JAR

Enjoy Fix & Fogg straight from the jar, of course; but also on toast and PB sandwiches, as a topping on oatmeal, and a spread onto apple slices.

Oe of our favorite hacks:

Spooning PB (or other nut butter) on top of vanilla or chocolate ice cream, or blending it into softened ice cream, to create a special peanut butter/nut butter ice cream experience.

Pumpkin Pie Butter also makes a superior-tasting Asian peanut noodles recipe, with lovely flavor nuances.

If you’re feeling particularly creative, spread it on brownies and cookies.

And no doubt, you have your own favorite uses for nut butters.
 
> The history of peanut butter.

> The history of peanuts.
 
 
GET YOUR PUMPKIN PIE PB

For your own pantry, and for delicious gifts and stocking stuffers:

Head to FixAndFogg.com.

We are huge fans of every nut butter made by this company from New Zealand, which wins awards worldwide for their artisan nut butters—almond, cashew, hazelnut, and peanut.

The brand is a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

Check out:

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