As with last year, Halloween this year was another great night of fun with kids and candy, and as always, the adults loved the beer. Candy, I give away a lot of it, I mean A LOT, but it’s for the kids and they love it!!!

My family comes over and we have pizza before the evening of kids comes trick-or-treating to our door.

I had about 140 kids stop by and went through all of the candy as well as about 25 beers. It’s funny that there are some adults who go out of their way to come to my house just to get a beer. I had three mothers that asked if they could have their beers unopened as they wanted to have them after they put the kids to bed and two more ask for beer to take to their husbands. I was happy to help them out.

It’s fun watching the adults decide which beer they’re going to try. This year’s Sam Adams sampler pack had Dunkel­weizen, Har­vest Pump­kin Ale, Hazel Brown, Octo­ber­fest (which I also had a case of), Lat­i­tude 48 IPA, and Boston Lager. I also had a case of Dogfish Head Punkin ales. 60 beers in all to give away.

I give away lots of candy every year with a slight twist. There is a game I have all the kids play where they reach into a bag and pull out a poker chip. Most of the chips are white (and I change the odds as needed), but if they pull out the black chip they win an entire sleeve of candy. For those that are older, they know the game (I think I have done it for over 10 years now), and for those that are younger, they are just learning, but they all love it!!!

I also bring up my projector and put It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on my garage door. I love to watch the younger kids get sucked in watching the show, and the parents who enjoy the beer don’t mind standing around with a pumpkin ale.

What was your setup like this year? Does anyone else give out beer or do prizes?