Ohhhh, Autumn. The season of falling leaves, apple cider, Oktoberfest, spookiness, and, of course, pumpkins! We  bundled up everyone’s favorite cool weather festivities for a delightful day of tricks & treats with the return of our Punkin Ale Fest! This FREE festival for all things autumn is set for Saturday, Oct. 12 at our Milton Brewery, and it’ll have the happenings you know & love alongside some  brand-new ones. Here are five reasons you won’t want to miss it this year!  

1. 34 Local Vendors 

 That’s right ... we said THIRTY-FOUR local vendors, bringing everything from hand-crafted jewelry to Delaware-inspired art to 302 Horseshoe Crab merch and so much more. PLUS, food trucks!  Yep, you can get some tacos with a side of cheesecake ... because why not?!  The possibilities are endless! Check out the full list of vendors and food trucks at dogfish.com/punkin-ale-fest.  

2. Punkins,  of course 

Would it really be Punkin Ale Fest without, well, Punkin Ale?! Brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, this full-bodied brown ale will be available throughout the festival, alongside our liqueur distilled directly from the beer! Punkin Liqueur will be available in the shop for purchase, and you may even find some in the festival, too! More details to come, so stay tuned! 

3. You know what they say ... an apple a day... 

You can’t really have a fall festival without some apples,  so, we’re bringing the orchard to you! Our pals from Angry Orchard are sending us some of their exclusive ciders to serve up at the festival. And when we say exclusive, we mean it. These ciders are ONLY available at their cider house in Walden, NY and, for one day only, at our Milton Brewery!

4. DOGfishies, galore!  

Did we mention the dogs?? Punkin Ale Fest is going to be a bark-centric event, so bring your pups along! A portion of the proceeds from this year’s Punkin Ale Fest will benefit the Brandywine Valley SPCA (BVSPCA) as part of Dogfish Head’s Beer & Benevolence program. The nonprofit will be on-site at Punkin Ale Fest with some adoptable canine friends. Those looking to support the non-profit can also bring their dogs and/or family over to the donation-based fall-inspired photo booth benefiting the organization from 1 - 2 p.m.  

The benevolence doesn’t stop there! Our amazing vendors have donated some incredible items from their booths for an on-site raffle. All proceeds from the raffle will go directly to the BVSPCA. Raffle drawings will begin at 5:30 p.m., and you must be present to win, so make sure to stick around for your chance to take home one of these fantastic prizes!

5. So much room for activities!  

This festival is going to be an all-encompassing gathering of fall activities! From shopping to sipping to snacking, we’ll have things to do throughout the event for all ages. We’ll have plenty of yard games out, including cornhole, ladder ball and tic-tac-toe, AND a pumpkin coloring station! You can also enter our Dogfish Head themed pumpkin decorating contest! Just decorate a pumpkin before the event and bring it between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. for a chance to be crowned this year’s Dogfish Head Punkin Champ! 

Plus, as self-proclaimed beer geeks with a music problem, it wouldn’t be a Dogfish Head festival without live music! Through Being Cool will be putting the PUNK in PUNKin live on our stage! You won't want to miss this one. 

So, what do you say, see you there?! And don’t forget, if you do come to the festival or are just sippin’ on some of our fall goodness, be sure to tag us on Instagram and Facebook.