Top 5 Dark Beers At Parade Of Darks Beer Festival

The sun may set at a chilling 4 p.m. now, but there is one thing we love about the season of zero light: the dark beers that come into play. The beloved Denver brewery, Wynkoop, will showcase the country's best dark beers Dec. 1 in a new festival, Parade of Darks.

The festival is made just for the beers in the "amber-to-opaque color spectrum," and Westword shares that the beer list includes a whole variety of beer styles that will make your mouth water: barleywines, stouts, porters, sour ales, Scotch ales, and more. There will be 84 beers from 32 breweries, Wynkoop's Marty Jones told Westword. (And that includes the now infamous Rocky Mountain Oyster brew from Wynkoop.) 

You may be a dark beer novice, but you can start at the lighter end of the spectrum and work your way darker and darker. And while we may not all be in Denver to grab a dark brew, here are the best of the list to try this winter: 

Breckenridge Brewery's Vanilla Porter: All the vanilla, chocolate, and roasted nut flavors you need in a classic porter style brew. 

Ommegang Three Philosophers: A quadrupel ale that's a blend of Belgian ale and kriek (or cherry lambic), that gives the reddish-brown ale a champagne-like quality. 

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire: A farmhouse ale whose flavors read like a farm: plum, toasted raisin, coffee, and cacao. 

Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout: A twist on the Great Divide Yeti, the beer is infused with espresso for a toasted maltiness and vanilla oak character. 

Sierra Nevada Wine Barrel Aged Dubbel: It's the first in the Sierra Nevada Ovila Series, and is aged in both wine and brandy barrels; the abbey-style ale has hints of fruit, raisin, and cloves.