Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

draft @ Falling Rock called Night Owl. Cinnamon and spices on the nose, smooth malt aromas. Pours cloudy brown/dark amber. Great pumpkin beer! Spicy but not overpowering, extremely smooth with great pumpkin flavor. Excellent beer!

22 oz. bottle. Pours a cloudy copper orange with a thin linen white head that faded to a film before mid-glass. Pleasant aroma of pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The flavor is again pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg. A bit light bodied. While this a decent pumpkin ale, it is still a step behind Southern Tier, Weyerbacher and Southampton. Could use a little more oomph in the flavor and more richness in the mouthfeel.

Pours a clear copper with a small head and a sweet, carved-pumpkin aroma. Pulpy with plenty of spice, creamy with lots of vegetal notes in the finish, along with a nice chipotle pepper spiciness - bold! Body is smooth with good carbonation. I have had this beer three times now, it’s one of my favourite pumpkin ales. Sampled & rated at the GCBF.

Cinnamon and nutmeg in the sweet and fruity aroma. It certainly does smell like pumpkin pie, but there’s not really much in the nose that tells me this is a beer. Or perhaps I’m being picky. Hazy burnished copper coloured body is topped by a low, fine bubbled off white head that recedes to a partial cover. Spices and sweetness are strong up front but allow room for some toasty malt character before fruity sweetness sets. Spices linger in the aftertaste. Medium body with decent carbonation that engages the tongue and smooth texture. Definitely a well crafted beer, but I’m thinking pumpkin beers aren’t my thing. Tulip glass. Allowed to warm from fridge temperature. Bottle (Brewery Creek, Oct-07).

Thanks 5000/MacGruber. Pours murky orange-copper with a medium head that sticks around. Aroma is allspice and other pumpkin related aromas with a thin layer of crust pie. Maybe last year I would have found this to be a very special aroma for a pumpkin beer but some brewers have really stepped it up this year and this just doesn’t compare. Taste is a watered down and lightly spiced, rather disappointing actually. Average carbonation and faintly herbal aftertaste.
22oz bottle, St. Paul snifter/tulip glass.

Happy Halloween! Okay, so maybe it’s several days belated at this point but hey, I’m still feeling festive!

11/05/2007: This was supposed to be my Halloween celebration beer, but I got stuck out of town on business. Not cool. Even though I have to celebrate late, I am still looking forward to this beer... Night Owl Pumpkin Ale pours a deep amber (orange-red) color with a diminishing foamy beige head. It is slightly hazy with a moderate level of carbonation. It smells like canned pumpkin pie mix along with a touch of cream (whipped cream?) and sweet caramel. The aroma is actually quite encouraging for a Pumpkin Ale. The flavor is pretty rich, spicy, and nicely balanced overall. The initial flavor has pumpkin pie spices including nutmeg with a pinch of cinnamon. The spiciness is backed up with a good amount of pumpin (like canned pumpkin; not vegetable-like) and caramel with a bit of roasted malt. This beer has a medium to medium-full body and is slightly chewy, but quite smooth overall. This was a very pleasing Pumpkin Ale that is definitely better than most and a great beer to celebrate the holiday with!

1 pint 6 fl. oz. bottle (Alcohol 6.5% by Volume) from 5000. Thanks Andre! Rating #62 for this beer...

On tap at the Elysian Tangle Town location. It pours a dull hazy copper-ish orange with nice off white head and decent lacing. Up front the aroma is cinnamon and nutmeg. Those notes are backed up by pumpkin and faint pale to grainy malts. The taste has a different balance of notes than the aroma with a solid pulse of pale to Munich malts that grow in strength into the finish. Near midway cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin steal away the flavor for a while from the malts. Nice balance leaving a lingering pale to Munich malty taste behind with faint pumpkin and spice.

pours light clear copper colour with light cinnimon aroma and nutmeg. enjoyable but light on the tastes.