Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by Elysian Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Seattle, Washington USA

Tap sample at the ’09 Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival. Murky amber color with minimal bubbles. Nose of homemade pumpkin bread with even more pie spice. There is no mistaking this for anything other than a pumpkin spice beer. Tons of nutmeg, cinnimon, clove, and the other pie spices. It reminds me of my mother’s pumpkin cookies, raisens and walnuts and all. Almost too much, actually.

Bottle @ Uber. Aroma is pumpkin pie, cream. Taste is Pumpkin pie concentrate, whipping cream, plenty of nutmeg. Pretty good stuff.

Copper with a large creamy head. Lots of nutmeg and ginger in the nose and in the flavour. Lots of malts are backing this one up throughout and there is a lot of spice carrying this one right though the finish. I still have not had a pumpkin ale that tastes like creamy pumpkin pie but this one surely has the spices right.

A solid pour produces a three-finger thick, light tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a brilliantly clear, deep amber color that has copper highlights to it, when held up to the light the beer shows a rich copper hue. Ah, the aroma brings a smile to my face, fleshy, caramelized squash aromatics are accentuated by notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. I like that the actual pumpkin is noticeable here in the aroma, certainly the spice notes are a bit more piquant, but the spices are not used too overzealously and the vegetable squash notes add a nice spiciness of its own.

Fairly dry tasting, especially given how sweet the spices make this beer smell. The beer finishes with a bite of nutmeg, a flash of pumpkin meat, a lingering ginger piquancy and a touch of pepper like spice. I could use a touch more body here, but there is a touch of heft to this beer; the holiday season just sees me wanting a bit more richness in this beer (though it has a lot more body than some of the poorer examples of the style, Buffalo Bill I am looking at you). The malt contributes a hint of caramelized sweetness as well as a touch of toasty grain towards the finish, for the most part though this beer is about the spices and the pumpkin. There is enough malt to provide just enough texture and sweetness to support the more dominant flavors. The sweetness is accentuated by the cinnamon notes in the middle.

This is a good example of a "standard" pumpkin ale. The usual base beer style, but it has enough body and the touch of real pumpkin to keep me happy.

Purchased: Liquid Solutions

Bottle from Capone’s. Pours clear deep copper with 1-finger off-white head that dissipates quickly. Nose is pumpkin spice, malt. Medium palate that isn;t very complex, with nutmeggy, pumpkin spicy, and malt flavors. Not one of my favorite pumpkin ales, but not bad for the season.

Pours a thick hazy orange with tons of chunks and a small beige head. Aroma is very strong of gingerbread, cinnamon, and spice. It has flavors of malts, carrot cake, hops, and nutmeg. Very different.

Pours amber with a thin white head. Smells of intense pumpkin pie spices and caramel. Tastes spicey with some dough and hints of pumpkin. Not as over the top as Great Pumpkin but still good.

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.