Blight Pumpkin Ale – Elysian Brewing Company

THE END IS BEER! Okay, so you’re probably already getting over the whole 2012 thing already, but there’s more than one end in sight. This is our last review of the season, since it’s pretty much impossible for anyone to acquire pumpkin ale at this point. Fear not though, as we already have a fridge full of stuff to start reviewing for next year, and we will be back strong, digging deep into the plethora of craft ales available in the gourd category. For now though, we celebrate the end of the recorded Mayan Calendar with a decidedly Biblical scenario – Elysian’s 9^th Beer of the Apocalypse: Blight. Happy Holidays and a fruitful New Year to all of our loyal readership, whatever you may celebrate, and don’t forget to tune in for the 2012 rankings update coming soon!

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Name:  Blight Pumpkin Ale

Place of Origin / Brewer: Washington, USA / Elysian Brewing Company

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Ale / 7.4%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  Blight is the 9^th of Elysian’s 12 Beers of the Apocalypse that were released monthly throughout 2012. Each features a label borrowing graphics from native Seattle artist Charles Burn’s apocalyptic graphic novel “Blackhole”. The brew itself is made with pumpkin, dark brown sugar, and fiery Vietnamese cinnamon.

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Packaging:

This is a phenomenally cool label with cult comic artist’ Charles Burns art work driving the overall vibe of the ale.  It’s stark and creepy – lets call it fan-boy beer! – Tim

This label has some awesome artwork on it. Monotone colors with a woodblock look, it really fits the theme of apocalyptic brews. – Rick

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Color:  7.5

Cinnamon brown with a good bit of particulate. Yeah, there’s so much cinnamon in this thing that you can see it floating. Very mellow carbonation and a flash quick foamy head. – Mike

Copper penny hues with a nice amber glow, this ale presents a nice traditional coloration. Fine bits of sediment are floating around adding to the allure. A fine minimal head is left, with fantastic lacing following all the way down. – Rick

M- 7 / T- 8 / B- 7 / R- 7.5

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Aroma:  8.5

Sweet, sweet Saigon cinnamon that brings a buttery brown sugar note, in and of itself, with a solid malt moment and a kick of spice at the end. – Brittney

This smells like Cinnamon Toast Crunch right down to the sugary depths, the bowling over of cinnamon, and a ton of cereal grains. Please pass the milk. – Mike

M- 8.5 / T- 9 / B- 8 / R- 8

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Mouth feel:  8

Mid-bodied with a nice soft carbonation–sweet and even a little spicy on the tongue. – Tim

Not too snappy, but clean with only a little carbonation and medium body. Very delicate considering the other aspects of this beer, which is probably the primary reason why it works. – Brittney

M- 9 / T- 8 / B- 7 / R- 7.5

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Tasting notes:  8

Sweet, sweet sugary pumpkin with a PTSD inducing amount of brown sugar and Saigon cinnamon. That’s all. Seriously.  It tastes amazing, but it almost shouldn’t count as beer. Kudos on the coalescence of flavors though, this could have easily tipped into the cinnamon mouthwash category, but someone nailed it. – Mike

Bold with a cinnamon bittering, like an atomic fireball bathed in a vat of brown sugar and butter.  It’s bready and fruity like a hot apple blossom, some touches of clove present, but the rest of the traditional pie spices are either lost, or irrelevant.  The cinnamon is so prominent that it really strains credulity to call this anything other than cinnamon beer.  But, it’s damn good cinnamon beer. – Tim

If you focus on the complete flavor you can taste the pumpkin through the intense cinnamon. However, the cinnamon is what most will taste as the dominant flavor in this beer. “This particular cinnamon known as Saigon Cinnamon, from North Vietnam is less tannic than varieties commonly used in commercial preparations. A high percentage of cinnamon oil in the bark imparts a lush, spicy aroma and an intense cinnamon flavor that pairs perfectly with sugar crystals atop crisp, fluffy popcorn, as comforting as cinnamon toast and as satisfying as a sugar-speckled doughnut.”  If you want to check out the popcorn version of this beer head over to 479 popcorn.com for a treat! – Brittney

Our pumpkin is more implied and overshadowed by the spices here. It’s a great sweet dessert of a beer though, hinting at a cinnamon toast like flavor with a brown sugar backing. – Rick

M- 9 / T- 8.5 / B- 8 / R- 6

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Finish:  7.5

There is a wicked tingle you get in the back of the throat as this ale cascades across your tongue and down toward the belly.  Not surprising–it finishes dry, but not parching.  Some astringency and woody notes of bark, which build the longer you consume the ale, but fade rather smoothly after a few minutes away from the pint glass. – Tim

Sometimes you have to taste something that almost goes overboard with a spice to truly appreciate what that spice tastes like and once you do you never forget it. Milky and drying Cinnamon, with a good bit of the malt presence showing on the end. – Brittney

M- 8 / T- 8 / B- 8 / R- 6

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Flavor balance:  6.5

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: 5.5

There is pumpkin here, and it’s the only other thing in this beer. Clearly, you were meant to bleed cinnamon into the mouths of your zombie overlords. This is post-apocalyptic marinade. – Mike

Pumpkin is overwhelmed by the sweet and delicious spicing. It’s good, just not balanced very well. – Rick

M- 4.5 / T- 6 / B- 7 / R- 4

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 7

The sweetness present in the nose and body don’t translate to the ales finish where the spice shuts down what could have been cloying and shifts the balance needle back to even keel. – Tim

Brown sugar and cinnamon dominate the palate making this ale abundantly sweet. – Rick

M- 7 / T- 8 / B- 8 / R- 4.5

-         Multiple Drinkability?  7

This beer is more on the sweet side which is normally a deal breaker for me but I really enjoy it. At first the intensity of the cinnamon would have made me shy away from anymore than one glass but it really mellows out with the pumpkin and malt and I would gladly have another. – Brittney

One of these would probably be enough for a lifetime (which is likely all you will get anyway considering that this is a one time brew). I love it, but drinking two would probably make you shrivel up and die, leaving only your kissable fresh corpse for future generation of Dr. Zaius to extrapolate upon our primitive nature. Damn dirty apes. – Mike

M- 6 / T- 9 / B- 7 / R- 6

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Overall:  7.67

M- 7.92 / T- 8.17 / B- 7.58 / R- 6.67

T.R.E.A.T. Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter – Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

Today sounds Round Two of our way, way up there beer double feature, and it’s a doozy. Sure to keep you warm on any winter night, (or spring, summer, and fall if you happen to be in Alaska), this Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter scored in spades with us, and to anyone who knows how much we tend to disagree, that should mean something. So raise a glass to the season, and take a solid draught of this black as the devil’s heart concoction. If you can find some, that is.

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Name:  T.R.E.A.T. (The Royal Eccentric Ale Treatment)

Place of Origin / Brewer: Alaska, USA / Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

Beer style / ABV%:  Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter / 7.8%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  This demented ale took home the Gold at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival, and is made with pumpkin, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.

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Packaging:

A wicked pumpkin king sits defiantly in front of the wrought iron gates of his spooky house on the hill while stars and lightning bolts illuminate the blackened sky behind him.  TREAT screams of a whimsical Halloween ale – right down to the tombstone proclamation decreeing this brew an Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter!   Have four simple words ever sounded so good strung together? – Tim

Very playful label, just like their Trickster. Cartoon style art with a colorful character of a pumpkin presenting a tombstone with what appears to be a haunted mansion at the top of the hill in the background. It’s cute. – Rick

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Color:  8

Black as midnight (if you don’t live in Alaska), with just the slightest of ruby hues and a head that’s off white enough that you don’t want to know what kind of snow it is. – Mike

This is a great pitch black fully opaque porter. It’s so dark, and I love it. The super light coffee colored head disappears quickly, but make for a delicious looking brew. – Rick

M- 8.5 / T- 8.5 / B- 7.5 / R- 6.5

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Aroma:  7.5

Smells of espresso, bitter chocolate, and malt. There is also a faint aroma of a molasses and a black strap rum quality towards then end of the scent. – Brittney

Dark, Dark bitter chocolate and roasted malt. We’re close to stout territory here. No sign of pumpkin or spice, but vanilla is making it’s way through the mix. Mouthwatering, none the less. – Mike

M- 8 / T- 8 / B- 7 / R- 7

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Mouth feel:  7.5

A surprisingly assertive carbonation level for a porter, which brings forth an interesting contrast–one that allows the fuller medium bodied nature of the beer to bounce more freely on the tongue.  Intriguing. – Tim

Considering the darkness and depth of the color of this beer the medium body is thinner than I expected also there is a surprising amount of carbonation.  I expected thick still and syrupy and got medium bodied and active. I guess it is a porter after all. – Brittney

M- 9 / T- 7.5 / B- 6.5 / R- 7.5

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Tasting notes:  8.5

Sweet cinnamon, pumpkin, and chocolate peanut butter fudge. Like grandma forgot that Reese’s weren’t an ingredient in pumpkin pie, and served it up with Hershey’s syrup on top. Awesome roasty goodness. – Mike

Thick with roasted malts, lush pumpkin, cocoa nibs, blackberries, dark fruit jam and molasses blending with a notable touches of cinnamon, vanilla and  clove.  The beer envelops, it’s sweet and bitter all at once with enough pronounced notes of alcohol heat to keep you warm on the long sunless Saturday’s during Alaska’s famed 30 days of night. – Tim

Quite bitter at first taste, this beer then mellows to slightly smooth and slick and all the flavors of the nose arrive with bitter chocolate, espresso, sweet molasses and a surprising presence of cinnamon. – Brittney

A very well balanced brew indeed. Cocoa nibs, a touch of clove, and ripe pumpkins all build upon the great sweetness that holds this brew together. – Rick

M- 8.5 / T- 8 / B- 7.5 / R- 8

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Finish:  7.5

Long and boozy, bitter and sweet but never bittersweet.  The carry over spice from cinnamon and clove linger but the most prominent note on the close is chocolate and coffee. – Tim

The pumpkin shines here with almost a smoky quality to the back end. It is dry on the finish, but a tad sweeter than I had expected. – Rick

M- 9 / T- 7 / B- 6.5 / R- 7.5

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Flavor balance:  7.5

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: 7

 

We are quite in check here. Though the spicing is subtle, it accentuates the beer, rather than defining it. – Mike

Complex and challenging, the pumpkin is overshadowed by the bold nature of the beer, the chocolate malts while imparting some notes in the body and bouquet were not distinct enough for a definitive “chocolate porter”.  But overall this is still a pretty great beer. – Tim

M- 8 / T- 6.5 / B- 6 / R- 8

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 7.5

Slick and sweet; the bitterness of the chocolate and the finish are not enough to contend with the fact that this is leaning towards the sweet side – Brittney

It leans sweet, but the dryness helps reel it all back in. Its not cloying either, which is something that had me worried early on. – Rick

M- 8.5 / T- 7 / B- 6 / R- 8

-         Multiple Drinkability?  8.5

I love pumpkin ales, and chocolate porters / stouts. This is an insane beer that could be a dessert for any holiday meal. And the appetizer, aperitif, and courses… – Mike

This beer is fun and unique enough to have as a part of a tasting flight to show some of the differences you can present a pumpkin beer, but I don’t think I would have more than one. – Brittney

This is awesome for an imperial porter, and one of my favorite pumpkin beers so far. I would try to drink as many as I could get my hands on. – Rick

Strong and Robust, I think a session of this beer would not only blow my plate apart, it would likely leave me in a coma that might last as long as the midnight sun itself.  Still, I’d go another round with this treat any day.  – Tim

M- 10 / T- 8 / B- 6 / R- 9

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Overall:  7.75

M- 8.83 / T- 7.67 / B- 6.83 / R- 7.50

Trickster – Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

You may have to quest long and hard to acquire this particular ale. Hailing from the way, way up there, Midnight Sun has been brewing Alaska’s finest beers for a number of years now. There are some clever minds at work where you get thirty days of night, and this beer is no exception. So have faith. It may have taken us two years to acquire it, but we’ve never had anything quite like it.

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Name:  Trickster

Place of Origin / Brewer: Alaska, USA / Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Belgian Ale / 7.0%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  This unusual brew is made with pale malted barley, cardamom, nutmeg, coriander, pumpkin, and Belgian yeast in a steel cauldron. Plus, we hear-tell you can see Russia from the brewery.

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Packaging:

It’s a jester-hat-clad pumpkin jumping off the label over a whimsical font.  It’s just screams of all the wicked, wicked things that kids do to one another on All Hallows Eve.  I’m scared…not in a razor-blades-in-your-apple kind of way, but in a thrill of the unknown aspect.  I can’t wait to see what’s under that cap. – Tim

A goofy looking cartoon of a jester pumpkin (hence trickster) graces this label.  A quick mention of basic ingredients and an invitation to fool around; who could resist? – Brittney

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Color:  6

Amber waves of grain all the way here. Straw yellow, sparkling clarity, and a few tiny bubbles accompany a terse white head. Looks like a Belgian ale to me! – Mike

A pretty crystal clear golden orange, a thin ivory head, sticky lacing, and very slight carbonation. – Brittney

M- 7.5 / T- 6 / B- 6 / R- 5.5

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Aroma:  6.5

Complex Belgian yeast and malts make up the backbone of this aroma and stand out quite nicely. There’s a fruity character that is almost candy like in its sweetness. Also, just detectable, is a sweet smattering of spices. – Rick

Belgian farmhouse yeast abounds with a musty hop character, citrus notes, and plenty of coriander. Little to no pumpkin though. – Mike

M- 5.5 / T- 7 / B- 6 / R- 7.5

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Mouth feel:  7

Medium bodied and crisp with moderate carbonation—this is pretty textbook stuff; nothing strange or bizarre going on, just a very solid ale. – Tim

This falls somewhat flat with me, resembling a Tripel, but with a slightly watery, yet crisp finish. There is a nice touch in avoiding  the overabundant carbonation found with that style, though. – Rick

M- 9 / T- 7 / B- 6 / R- 7.5

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Tasting notes:  6.5

Blood oranges, coriander, and yeasty funk along with notes of nutmeg and clove. The pumpkin here is sweet, but plays so directly into the tart yeast, it’s tricky to recognize at first. –Mike

Farmhouse gamey, with raw vegetal pumpkin, notes of raw meat, oats, and hay. Nutmeg and clove mesh with pronounced flavors from the Belgian yeast strains.  If you like Farmhouse and Saison-styled ales this is gonna be right up your alley.  Pumpkin Pie aficionados better run for the hills. – Tim

From the aroma you would bet the farmer’s daughter that this was going to make your face pucker, but the taste is surprisingly mellow and even a bit sweet.  There are subtle layers of pumpkin and clove, and a solid flavor of malt. – Brittney

Kudos for being unique and complex for sure. The Tripel character imparted from the Belgian yeast adds fruity qualities and is nice departure from the norm. There is, however, a candied sweetness lingering that has an artificial taste almost like an extract of sorts. – Rick

M- 7.5 / T- 7.5 / B- 6 / R- 5.5

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Finish:  7

A drying nutmeg finish with metallic hints of copper and fruit. – Mike

It’s clean and dry like a cider without too much carbonation. There’s a real vegetal quality to the finish imparting slightly sweet and sour notes. – Rick

M- 8 / T- 7 / B- 6 / R- 6.5

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Flavor balance:  6

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: 5.5

The spices exist to give the body depth of flavor without working themselves into such a frenzy that they overtake your palate or the raw pumpkin nature of the ale. – Tim

Perplexing pint; pumpkin prevails provost per poignant poise. – Mike

M- 5.5 / T- 8 / B- 5 / R- 4

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 6.5

There is a nice ginger dryness to this ale but overall, I feel it’s not enough to tip the scales either way. – Rick

The sweetness in the body is nicely offset by the dry and relatively clean finish. – Tim

M- 7 / T- 7.5 / B- 6 / R- 5

-         Multiple Drinkability?  6

I would drink more of this. Touches of the ABV present themselves with a hint of alcohol heat here and there. At 22 IBUs it’s also got a nice hoppy character present in the close.  I was pleasantly tricked on this one….not what I was expecting at all. – Tim

This ain’t your mama’s pumpkin ale. Midnight Sun is reaching a little here, but in good nature, and towards the serious European palate. This sucker is a tank. – Mike

M- 6.5 / T- 7.5 / B- 5 / R- 4

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Overall:  6.50

M- 7.33 / T- 7.00 / B- 5.92 / R- 5.92

Fermentation Without Representation – Epic Brewing Co. / DC BRAU

Whether it’s Black Friday or Super Tuesday, boy do we have a beer for you. A collaboration between Epic Brewing and DC Brau, this new entry into their Exponential Series might be a limited release, but it’s worthy of the masses. A tribute to those DC residents who have no say in congress, and the Salt Lake residents that feel they can’t get out from under the thumb of a resident political power, (which yields up to a 72% markup due to sin taxes), and we’d say the inspiration is very close to home for these two brewers.

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Name:  Fermentation Without Representation

Place of Origin / Brewer: Utah, USA / Epic Brewing Co. & DC BRAU collaboration

Beer style / ABV%:  Imperial Pumpkin Porter / 8.0%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  300 pounds of pumpkin per 15-barrel batch (Totaling 600lbs of pumpkin puree across all batches), are added to the mash tun, the brew kettle and the fermenter, along with Melding Crystal, Chocolate, Munich and Black malts. Other ingredients include .2 pounds of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and whole cloves each, topped with about 1,000 vanilla beans that the DC Brau crew had to slice open by hand.

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Packaging:

This is a graphics intensive label done in a raw unfinished paper which adds texture and a very craft-beer vibe to the overall affair.  Each bottle is stamped with the release number—our batch was Release #5. – Tim

Despite the lack of a pumpkin on here at all, I love this name, and the label is classical and tightly executed. It sings autumn during an election year, which tends to make some people forget pumpkins exist anyway. – Mike

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Color:  8

A murky golden brown with a nice, stubborn khaki head.  The opaqueness attempts to conceal the carbonation bubbles but if you look closely they are there slowly trickling there way to the top. – Brittney

Awesome porter coloration! It’s a roasted dark brown color with a beautiful hint of caramel glowing on the edges that really sets this one apart. A thick tan head floats on top with intense slow lacing following the brew all the way down. – Rick

M- 7.5 / T- 8 / B- 7 / R- 9.5

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Aroma:  8

Toasted dark chocolate and vanilla marshmallow with heaps of bready malt and a hint of cinnamon. Like a pumpernickel loaf if you made it into a spiced bread pudding with caramel glaze. – Mike

Smells of rich and powerful malts, hints of fresh squash and settles into bold notes of vanilla that give the overall feeling of decadent dark chocolate & coffee ice cream. – Tim

M- 9 / T- 8.5 / B- 7.5 / R- 6

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Mouth feel:  7

This imperial porter is much lighter than expected. It’s kind of a soft feeling on the tongue. Very appealing. Maybe it’s the vanilla beans, but I detected a sweet metallic taste / feeling that I found strangely acceptable. – Rick

A touch delicate for a porter, but by no means thin. Just closer to a traditional ale than a stout. – Mike

M- 6 / T- 8 / B- 8 / R- 7.5

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Tasting notes:  7.5

More of that awesome crusty dark malt, and emerging notes of cinnamon capped espresso, with rum and fruit pumpkin qualities. Not what I would have expected from the nose at all. There’s a nice floral hoppiness to it that also seems unique to this twist on the style. – Mike

Deep and rich, with waves of Vanilla, burnt sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and heat from not only the alcohol but clove and ginger as well.  This is a very assertive porter at once fighting for your attention while at the same time, allowing the well balanced array of spices to mingle on your tongue—my only concern here is that the pumpkin seems to have gone M.I.A. – Tim

Earthy and squashy throughout, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove peek out towards the finish.  Most of what was noticed in the aroma is dominant, nice bitter dark chocolate, pounds of vanilla, coffee, and malt. – Brittney

Great roasted malts with coffee and chocolate being the dominate flavors. The dark chocolate flavor acts as a great drying agent rather than over sweetening the brew. There’s just a subtle addition of pumpkin and a hint of vanilla bean to round out the sweetness. – Rick

M- 8 / T- 7.5 / B- 7 / R- 8

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Finish:  7.5

A surprisingly clean finish for the density that passes the lips initially.  The spice tends to make itself more prominent towards the end. – Brittney

As long as the Summer Solstice and bitter as the sins of man. The only cure for ending the finish is to have another sip. – Tim

M- 7 / T- 7 / B- 7 / R- 7

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Flavor balance:  6.5

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: 6

Coffee and chocolate flavors play nice together and come to the forefront leaving the pumpkin as a subtle touch of fruity sweetness. Otherwise, the typical pumpkin spices are hard to distinguish. – Rick

There is a pretty fair balance on this one, in that, neither are really dominant but are there just enough to support the more intense flavors. Can’t say the same for the news. – Brittney

M- 6.5 / T- 6 / B- 6 / R- 6

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 7

Surprisingly fruity with a bitter snap. Rose and hibiscus up front, black coffee and earth on the back. The alcohol hit and never ending finish (FAAAAALLLLCCCCOOORRRR!) tend to tip it a little dryer. – Mike

It’s definitely drier than sweet, but I like that in my beers. It has a nice clean taste and a dark chocolate flavoring that helps dry the finish. – Rick

M- 6 / T- 7 / B- 7 / R- 7.5

-         Multiple Drinkability?  6.5

At 8% ABV I’m not inclined to partake of another in one sitting. I don’t think my palate could handle it.  But, I would hit another bottle of this—perhaps one that had a touch of age on it to see if the ravages of time could tame the epic spice levels. – Tim

A great bitter drink but probably not something I would have more than one of. Which works, since it is a limited release and all. – Brittney

M- 4.5 / T- 6.5 / B- 6 / R- 8.5

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Overall:  7.42

M- 7.16 / T- 7.58 / B- 6.83 / R- 7.83

Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale – Foothills Brewing

For the majority of you, it’s a three day work week that involves lots of food, and a visit to your family. We know that last part tends to bring out the drinking to cope gene in all of us, so we decided to review a tight, light ale that you could happily share with your father-in-law while guzzling far past the legal limit and watching the Lions be mediocre.  Just remember to sleep off that Tryptophan coma before you hit the road.

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Name:  Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale

Place of Origin / Brewer: North Carolina, USA / Foothills Brewing

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Ale / 5.3%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  Cottonwood starts off with North American and British Malts, adds real pumpkin, and is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to craft a crisp and dry classic style pumpkin ale.

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Packaging:

Simple and focused on a modern text layout, with a view of the Appalachian Foothills in full autumn splendor. – Mike

With a bronze ‘slick’ label this bottle almost at a distance looks like it’s made of plastic.   And while the primary label might seem less than inspired with it’s simple branding I do appreciate the secondary label’s wealth of information about the ale, including some low SRM and IBU numbers that tell me right off the bat this is going to be a lighter beer with very little hop character. – Tim

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Color:  5.5

There’s nothing too fancy about the appearance of this ale. An orange hued amber has a subtle head that rings the glass, but with minimal lacing. It’s semi transparent and looks like it may be light in the body. – Rick

A crystal clear bronze-orange with some active carbonation trails and a fast & fizzy head from a very aggressive pour that vanished within seconds leaving zero lacing. – Tim

M- 6 / T- 5 / B- 6 / R- 5.5

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Aroma:  6

I could smell this one from across the room. Squashy pumpkin, sweet pumpkin pie spices, and a hint of malt come together to form a quintessential pumpkin ale aroma. – Brittney

A nice bit of spice with lots of ginger and cinnamon, along with sour pumpkin and malty cereal grains. Subtle like day old pie crust. – Mike

M- 5.5 / T- 5.5 / B- 7 / R- 6

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Mouth feel:  6

Wow! This ale is beautifully creamy with a good medium bodied feel to it. I thought it was going to be watery but was shocked at it’s build. There’s no bite or any harsh byproducts of the ginger and it goes down very smoothly. – Rick

Thin and a touch watery, with a insubstantial body.  The carbonation is vibrant and lends itself to a standard tongue-tingling sensation. – Tim

M- 5 / T- 4.5 / B- 6 / R- 8.5

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Tasting notes:  6.5

There’s a lot of ginger crispness, followed a cinnamon smack, and some malt. It reminds me heavily of an autumn cider, and while relatively insubstantial, there does seem to be a tiny bit of pumpkin lurking in there. – Mike

Pumpkin and cinnamon fair well in the ale with a malty sweetness that’s not nearly as overpowering as the bouquet could lead one to believe. A hint of spicy bitterness on the back end and the fragrant heat of ginger. – Tim

The aroma really had me expecting a little more flavor than what this one delivers.  I feel like it would be a great accompaniment for a fall meal and not compete too much with other flavors.  The spices are nice in that they don’t wreck your palate but you can still pick them out.  The pumpkin is there too, but also slight.  It’s traditional and delicate and that is not always a bad thing. – Brittney

I was taken by surprise with this little guy. The pumpkin pie sweetness makes it delicious, and the ginger has a light presence that really rounds out the beer nicely. There’s a touch of clove that balances the cinnamon and nutmeg sweetness as well, so they’re not too overwhelming. – Rick

M- 5 / T- 6 / B- 7 / R- 8

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Finish:  6

The finish was as expected, it does not linger but if you wait for it you almost get a touch of a sour tingle at the very end. – Brittney

I think the ginger might be the shining ingredient here. The way it dries the finish and allows for the pumpkin to stand out is masterful. With all the sweet spicing here, I thought it would be too cloying, but it finishes dry and tempts you for another sip. – Rick

M- 4.5 / T- 5.5 / B- 6 / R- 8

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Flavor balance:  6.5

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: 6.5

The spice is not obnoxious, but it’s the first thing in your face without much to back it up. – Mike

The ale is actually rater well balanced between the pumpkin in the body and the cinnamon/nutmeg nose.  I really think the heat from the ginger adds an interesting twist to this ale.  – Tim

M- 5 / T- 6 / B- 7 / R- 8.5

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 7

I’m a stickler for beers that are too sweet or too much like a dessert. That being said, I think this brew strikes a great balance in this department that not many pumpkin ales can claim. – Rick

It’s pleasantly dry, though it build’s through the glass. Fortunately it’s very swig friendly, which helps, as the ginger becomes a bit parching, so you’ll need that next sip. – Mike

M- 5.5 / T- 6.5 / B- 7 / R- 9

-         Multiple Drinkability?  5.5

It’s a nice beer but not something that would keep my attention for more than one. – Brittney

Hardly offensive, this could be a nice beer for a big meal if you wanted to skip the heavyweight high alcohol crowd. Myself, I’m missing a little of the oomph and bold declaration, which makes me feel it would get lost in a round of other beers. In other words, it’s a bit of a snooze fest. – Mike

M- 3.5 / T- 5.5 / B- 5 / R- 9

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Overall:  6.08

M- 5.08 / T- 5.42 / B- 6.41 / R- 7.50

BJ’s Pumpkin Ale – BJ’s Brewhouse (St. Arnold)

The 2011 Silver Award winner at The Great American Beer Fest, this beer is one of BJ’s heavy hitters. Available in numerous states around the country, they have attempted to take the craft brew format and apply it to a user friendly restaurant chain. That type of thing always yields some mixed reactions, but we have to say – The food is good, the beers are solid, and the atmosphere is nice. It may not be your favorite corner dive, but it’s a great place for noobs to familiarize themselves with accurate representations of a number of beer styles, and still good enough to satisfy a more demanding palate. In our opinion, BJ’s passes the torch rather nicely, and isn’t inducting your friends into the craft beer gospel what it’s all about?

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Name:  BJ’s Pumpkin Ale

Place of Origin / Brewer: Texas, USA / BJ’s Brewhouse (St. Arnold Contract Brew)

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Ale / 4.7%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  Brewed with “an abundance of spices” to recreate “Pumpkin Pie in a glass”, the details are scant on the origins of BJ’s brew.

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Packaging: This one is tap only.

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Color:  7

Sparkling, crystalline, and as bright copper as a freshly minted penny, topped with a head of the same width that’s bleach white. – Mike

The brew masters at BJ’s sure did a swell job of producing a great commercially appealing pumpkin ale, and I don’t mean that in a bad way either. The beer looks like a light lager with heavy carbonation and a great copper color. Very appealing for a random patron of the bar. It’s pretty transparent and the delicious looking head disappears quickly leaving scant trace. – Rick

M-  8/ T- 6 / B- 7 / R- 7

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Aroma:  6

Huge pumpkin depth with a ton of sweetness and spice, mostly the usual nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove. This aroma is the definition of pumpkin pie in a bottle. – Brittney

Gobs of cinnamon and nutmeg w a light undertone of clove round out our spice profile, along with brown sugar pumpkin, and a hint of oats. Quite fragrant, even if it is served a bit cold. I don’t get much on the malt profile though. – Mike

M- 6.5 / T- 6 / B- 6.5 / R- 5.

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Mouth feel:  7

Mid-bodied with a medium carbonation.  The ale is very cold and that adds a crispness to it that bodes well for food parings. – Tim

Medium to light bodied; crisp and sweet without too much syrupiness.  Served this cold it really snaps in your mouth. – Brittney

M- 7 / T- 6.5 / B- 7 / R- 6.5

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Tasting notes:  7.5

Vast cinnamon and hulking nutmeg pulverize their way through a cool whip foam party to an all night pumpkin puree rave. It’s good for the same things that make house music bad. It’s loud, simple, and pervasive. – Mike

Creamy with nice notes of pumpkin, the spices seem trapped in a suspended state of animation due to the fact that the ale is far to cold. After a few minutes of rest the beer produces subtle cinnamon, clove, allspice, and ginger profiles.  An inherent malty sweetness comes into play as well adding to a satisfying crusty pie vibe. – Tim

This year’s pumpkin ale didn’t really vary far from what I remember from last year. Apparently, it was an award winner last year so I’m sure they approached it with a “why fix what’s not broken mentality”. It is a very traditional pumpkin ale with just enough pumpkin, and just enough pumpkin pie spice. Not to light, not too heavy.  It’s good because you can’t really place what’s bad.  I just happen to be a sucker for this sort of brew every now and again. Sometimes moderation is the key. – Brittney

For how light in appearance and aroma it is, I’m actually surprised at how good this pumpkin beer is. The best part is the sweet pumpkin pie taste with hints of a nice buttery crust. There’s a good bit of cinnamon as well, with a nice light hoppy finish. – Rick

M- 8 / T- 6.5 / B- 7 / R- 8.5

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Finish:  7

This beer is close to being too cloying with sweetness, but the subtle hoppy aftertaste helps control the finish. It’s clean with a nice bitter exhale to recharge the palette. – Rick

The finish is pretty low key and short.  The crusty pie notes and abundance of cinnamon that carry on to the back end actually give me sensations of apple–not pumpkin–pie. – Tim

M- 8 / T- 5.5 / B- 7 / R- 7.5

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Flavor balance:  7

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: 6.5

As with most touting the pumpkin pie in a bottle style, this one is slightly leaning towards the spice end of things. – Brittney

Cinnamon seems to lead the pack in dominant spices, with nutmeg there to calm it down a little. It does have a sweet gourdiness about it though. – Rick

M- 7 / T- 6.5 / B- 6 / R- 6

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 6.5

Sweet, but not cloying or sugary, with some richness and only hints of dryness from the cinnamon spice. You might call that balanced. – Tim

As it warms the spice becomes a bit more drying, all in all though, this beer is quite even tempered. – Mike

M- 8 / T- 5.5 / B- 6 / R- 7

-         Multiple Drinkability?  8

Far too easy to drink, this ale sits firmly between pleasantly interesting and light enough to consume more than a few. – Mike

To be certain, this is designed as a session beer.  It’s not overly complicated so as to compete with the food at BJs.  It’s not high in ABV.  It’s clean and smooth.  I could drink more of these. – Tim

M- 9.5 / T- 7 / B- 8 / R- 8

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Overall:  6.92

M- 7.58 / T- 6.17 / B- 6.83 / R- 7.00

Quick Hits – Duclaw 31, The Big Bam Boo, Autumn Maple, & Grateful Pumpkin

Ok, like you probably did as well, we stayed up way too late last night. Combine that with the perhaps-not-fully-realized-to-our-fans difficulty of getting all our reviewers to the same place, with the right beers, before they run out, etc,  so we decided to do an interesting offbeat post today. Our blog has seen marriages, moves, reviewers come and go, and the everyday challenges of work, kids, and functioning. It’s hard to review a beer when you’re so sick you can’t taste it, and the bottom line is we just can’t always make it to the source in time, or occasionally receive a brew that’s not quite actually “pumpkin”. So for what it’ worth, here are some notable quick hit reviews of the honorable mentions of autumn that don’t quite fit the bill, or won’t be around again to cover next year.

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Name:  Duclaw 31

Place of Origin / Brewer: Maryland, USA / Duclaw Brewing

Beer style / ABV%:  Spiced Munich Dunkel / 5.7%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  Munich, Cara Aroma, and wheat malts join with Golding hops, cinnamon, and nutmeg to make a refreshing medium bodied fest-style brew with a bit of the classic pumpkin ale zesty pie finish. It’s a great, easy drinking compromise for the German-American party conflict that inevitably goes full steam in the drinker’s world around October 31^st of each year.

You can’t win ‘em all. Special props go to our provider’s who shipped his package to us twice, only to have all but 2 scant bottles broken in the mail. Even more so, since last years batch was, in fact, a pumpkin ale. We were just unaware of the tradition of changing the recipe. Our bad. Check them out anyway, we know you need a break from pumpkin beer by now, but can’t escape the sweet, sweet allure of nutmeg… right?

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Name:  The Big Bam Boo

Place of Origin / Brewer: Florida, USA / Dunedin Brewery

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Pale Ale / 6.6%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  An aroma of sweet honey, biscuit malt, and vegetal goodness pour off this glass, and pronounced Centennial, Delta, and Nelson Sauvin hops round out this distinctive pale ale. Easy to drink, and complex enough to impress. Add that ours was rested on Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (which imparted an amazing nutty finish), and you’ve got the trappings of an awesome pumpkin brew from Florida’s oldest brewery. No spice needed.

Our problem? Crossed wires. A friend was nice enough to go in search of a growler for us, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we got delayed in meeting up, the beer was not going to last long, and we wouldn’t be able to meet before it’s shelf life ran out. Also, I might have totally not realized that this was supposed to be a pumpkin ale from the name, and drank it thinking we got a consolation prize. That’s why text messages are a bad form of communication. Oops.

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Name:  Autumn Maple

Place of Origin / Brewer: California, USA / The Bruery

Beer style / ABV%:  Belgian Brown Ale / 10%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  I’m sure by now we’re all well acquainted with the fantastic and unique beverages produced by The Bruery. We’ve covered their collaboration pumpkin  La Citrueille Celeste de Citricado, and we’ve personally consumed more than a few of their offerings. Sometimes though, being unique means getting singles out, and in fact, it’s stated right on the label. Autumn Maple offers a twist on the traditional spiced pumpkin ale, but subs in 17 lbs of yams per cask, along with all the classic spices, molasses, maple syrup, and a Belgian yeast strain. It’s bold, spicy, and makes a great meal finisher (I had mine with an early mock Thanksgiving dinner, and it was a damn near perfect match). This is the great southern sweet potato casserole of beers, and it would have undoubtedly rated highly on our review scale. Our problem? No pumpkin. Simple as that.
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Name:  Grateful Pumpkin Ale (Violator Series)

Place of Origin / Brewer: Florida, USA / Orlando Brewing

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Ale / 5.6%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  The first of Orlando Brewing’s Violator Series ( all other beers they produce are in accord with the German purity law of 1516), this certified 100% organic ale was flavored with heaps of roast pumpkin, ginger, and nutmeg. Dark molasses notes, intermingled with smoke and roasted pumpkin seed notes, leaning this experiment to a dry, dominantly spicy profile, that would appeal to those who enjoy a parching intensely flavored ale, but might lean a little too intensive for those seeking a more approachable classic ale. Our problem? We just simply couldn’t all get there in time to review it, and didn’t feel it was fair to weigh in on a rating without a balanced call from our crew. Hopefully next year we’ll get a better picture, or at least a new ale to try.

Drunkin’ Pumpkin – Fort George Brewery

Well, that’s that. We’ve moved past the slew of  this year’s spooky pumpkin ales, and we’re done for the season. It’s officially XMAS, and we need to inundate our heads with the 30,000 horrendous pop covers of classic carols…Wait. What’s that? We have multiple boxes of pumpkin ale left to review? And it’s not even Thanksgiving yet?

Ok, ok, it looks like we’ve got more work to do and more abuse for our livers ahead, so you can pick that perfect pairing for burning your house down with a turkey fryer and collecting the insurance money. Check out today’s look at Fort George Brewery, where community matters.

P.S. Don’t forget to vote today.

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Name:  Drunkin’ Pumpkin

Place of Origin / Brewer: Oregon, USA / Fort George Brewery

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Ale / 5.6%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  This ale is brewed with organic wheat, munich, caramel, and 2-row honey malts, US challenger hops, lots of roasted whole fresh pumpkins, and sand filtered water. This beer is also completely un-spiced, as the brewer’s prefer to let the pumpkins speak for themselves.

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Packaging:  This one was only available to us on tap, though Fort George does have a number of awesome cans.

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Color:  8.5

This is a gorgeous ale with tons of motion, settling out like a famous Irish stout, and nicely reflecting it’s grains. Throw in an epic head and extreme lacing and this could easily be a pumpkin ale pin-up. – Mike

My first impression of this beer is the great opaque copper coloration and an agitated swirling of the body. This quickly settles and reveals an awesome head with some intense lacing. – Rick

M- 9.5 / T- 8 / B- 8 / R- 8.5

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Aroma:  6.5

Refreshing and clean with a green hoppy nose and hints of bubblegum amidst the farm fresh vegetal pureness of newly harvested pumpkins. – Tim

This one has a good bit of a toasted pumpkin essence combined with nice harvest ale undertones. The aroma is smooth and calm; somehow I’m not disappointed by the lack of spice at all. – Brittney

M- 6.5 / T- 7 / B- 7 / R- 4.5

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Mouth feel:  6

It’s slightly watery, but with a medium body that feels like it’s a stronger beer than it actually is. There’s a nice hoppy presence that leaves a dry feel though, so there’s no sting. – Rick

Medium bodied but not syrupy, crisper than I was expecting for the initial feel, but a little more on the dense end. – Brittney

M- 7 / T- 6.5 / B- 6 / R- 5

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Tasting notes:  7

This is a great ale that expertly features it’s vast grain bill and still swings the fresh pumpkin right into the forefront. Definitely a cool option for those opposed to heavily spiced ales. – Mike

Lush with a pronounced vegetal feel.  As advertised, there are zero spices here which really lends an amazing and clear profile to this ale, letting every note of the pumpkin sing. Where in other beers it’s masked, faint, or just simply overpowered by spice, here the squash shines.  This reminds me of those stories of ales fermented right in the gourd and tapped straight out of the flesh. – Tim

There isn’t a ton of your typical pumpkin beer going on here but there wasn’t supposed to be. This one is a literal pumpkin beer; an autumn beer with an strong aftertaste of pumpkin, no spice about it. It’s nutty, malty, smooth, and delicious. – Brittney

Lacking traditional spices, we’re left with the pumpkin pulling all the weight which leaves a sour ale that’s barely sweet. With a hop profile that dominates the roasted malts, it’s tough not to miss some of that sweetness from cinnamon or nutmeg. – Rick

M- 8 / T- 8 / B- 7 / R- 4.5

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Finish:  6.5

An opulent wheat finish that’s moderately long with just a smattering of bitter hops. A first in my pumpkin ale travels. – Mike

Long, dry, floral, and hoppy, with a stark bitter astringency that is refreshingly different and, perhaps, a little problematic for drinker’s more accustomed to modern pie spice interpretations of pumpkin ale. – Tim

M- 8.5 / T- 7 / B- 7 / R- 4

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Flavor balance:  6

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: ***

***Since this ale is completely un-spiced, we have opted to remove this category from the overall score.***

M- * / T- * / B- * / R- *

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 5.5

There’s a brief, but fantastic caramelized pumpkin jive that backs off into a dry and fairly hopped finish. Not exactly the great equalizer, but less polarizing than today’s election. – Mike

The sweet to dry balance is so far off center (read: Bone Dry) that it’s almost unfair to the categorize it.  I’m of the opinion that this beer is designed to be exactly what you don’t think a pumpkin beer is–but more precisely what a true, pure, untainted  pumpkin beer could be. – Tim

M- 7 / T- 6 / B- 5 / R- 4

-         Multiple Drinkability?  6.5

I enjoy the lack of spice that a lot of pumpkin beers tend to lean on, but for this one I’d stick with one round. – Brittney

A decent flavor for a traditional style pumpkin ale. Without any sweet spices added, this is perfect if you’re looking for a change of pace. – Rick

M- 9 / T- 7.5 / B- 5 / R- 5

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Overall:  6.75

M- 7.92 / T- 7.25 / B- 6.67 / R- 5.17

Dark O’ The Moon – Elysian Brewing Company

It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for things of a lupine persuasion, or those of the stouter end of the ale spectrum. So it’s not difficult to discern that, in my household at least, Elysian has a winner here. Hope you all are able to get your hands on some of this before it’s gone. It’s certainly kid tested, wolf approved. Happy Halloween to everyone, and stay safe this evening. We’ll leave it to you whether or not to call out of work in the A.M. – Mike

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Name:  Dark O’ The Moon

Place of Origin / Brewer: Washington, USA / Elysian Brewing Company

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Stout / 6.5%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  Dark O’ the Moon is a slightly smoky stout brewed with Great Western pale, Crisp 77° Crystal, Munich, Cara-Vienne, roasted, chocolate and Special B malts, bittered with Magnum hops ,and finished with Saaz hops and crushed cinnamon. Pumpkin is added in the mash, boil, and fermenter.

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Packaging:

Dude, this label art is insane! A collision course sized harvest moon headed directly for earth and a nasty looking skull faced lycanthrope. This needs to be the reissue album cover for Ozzy’s “Bark at the Moon”. – Mike

A howling werewolf silhouette’s the front of a full harvest moon. Elysian tends to always give a little creepiness to their labels.  I like it.  – Brittney

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Color:  8.5

Pours up blacker than my twisted soul with some yeast flecks dancing in the glass–which was similar to Elysian’s Great Pumpkin Ale.  The head is the color of nice Café con leche that I anticipated would hold on longer than it did.  Still it settled into a nice, stout-styled ring and left a bit of lacing for good measure.  – Tim

Almost perfect. I dig the blackness of this stout and love the bits of sediment. The roasted bone brown head is awesome. – Rick

M- 9 / T- 8 / B- 7 / R- 9.5

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Aroma:  7

The nose is dizzy with dark chocolate malts, burnt caramel and charred pumpkin offset against a smoky darkness with notes of tobacco.  – Tim

You can smell the earthy, malty thickness in the aroma right away with notes of cinnamon and vegetal pumpkin following closely behind. – Brittney

M- 7 / T- 8 / B- 6.5 / R- 7

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Mouth feel:  7.5

The roast malt smokiness lingers on the tongue. It’s smooth and viscous – definitively a full bodied stout. – Rick

Velvety and luscious on the tongue with a gentle carbonation and a surprisingly medium- full body, it coats and goes down super smooth. – Tim

M- 8.5 / T- 7.5 / B- 7 / R- 7

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Tasting notes:  7.5

This is a fantastic mouth dominating stout. It’s think and has a huge presence. Pumpkin? Not a ton, but there’s a touch of bubblegum and cinnamon that might be the final screaming breath of one before it succumbed to the smoke and drowned in inky depths. – Mike

Bitter and malty with rich notes of chocolate, caramel, coffee and dry dark fruit (raisins/prunes).  Pumpkin is masked more in the body than it was in the nose, but the spices actually start to come though here with the primary scent being cinnamon.   Rich but not as complex as I would have liked, it has all the earmarks of a more American styled-stout like Bells or Left-Hand.  Very drinkable. – Tim

Lots of bready, yeasty flavor up front with a very roasted malty base.  Hints of pumpkin and chocolate peek through here and there with smatterings of cinnamon and nutmeg. There is also a slight bitterness towards the end. – Brittney

Great roasted malt flavor shines while being sweetened by the pumpkin and cinnamon. Maybe a note of clove, but probably just the nuttiness of seeds and a dark chocolate profile. – Rick

M- 8.5 / T- 7.5 / B- 6 / R- 8

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Finish:  7.5

The greatest part about stouts is the finish and this is no exception. Chocolatey and nutty with a pumpkin body, this one’s a real treat. – Rick

This is where the last desperate gasp of pumpkin and spice emerge in a brief sweetness along with lasting dark chocolate java notes. – Mike

M- 8.5 / T- 7.5 / B- 6 / R- 8.5

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Flavor balance:  7.5

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: 7

For a stout, I give them all the credit in the world for showcasing pumpkin and spice, and by blending them into the dark chocolate and coffee profiles that are almost always overpowering, in a way that was actually discernible. – Tim

Malts dominate here, but there’s a nice interplay between the pumpkin and a nutty cinnamon. – Rick

M- 7 / T- 8 / B- 5 / R- 7.5

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 8

There’s actually a surprising sweet burst to this end, complimented nicely by the long and bitter dark chocolate / cinnamon exit. – Mike

The mouth feel and flavor tends towards the sweeter side.  The bitterness of the finish and touch of alcohol tends towards the dryer side. – Brittney

M- 8.5 / T- 7.5 / B- 7 / R- 8.5

-         Multiple Drinkability?  8

I love a good stout, and this one feels festive. I’m curious to make this into the ultimate Sleepy Hollow, the quintessential Halloween beer cocktail. – Mike

Of the darker pumpkin beers we’ve had, most have failed to really capture the pumpkin essence.  For me, Elysian are really at the top of their game here and this beer shows a deft hand.  I’d gladly drink another–and 6.5% ABV, I wouldn’t even be worried about a second bottle in a session. – Tim

M- 9 / T- 9 / B- 6 / R- 8

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Overall:  7.5

M- 8.33 / T- 7.75 / B- 6.42 / R-  8.00

The Great Pumpkin – Elysian Brewing Company

How badass! Someone named a beer after our blog. What? A beagle and some kids? Ahh…Well, Linus is probably a little under age for this one, and if that face popped out of the pumpkin patch, he’d probably need some new britches. Still, you can get your very own in one of Elysian’s Pumpkin Patch four packs, and celebrate Devil’s Night with us, or, you could sit in the yard and wait for someone to bring you one. Your call.

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Name:  The Great Pumpkin Ale

Place of Origin / Brewer: Washington, USA / Elysian Brewing Company

Beer style / ABV%:  Imperial Pumpkin Ale / 8.1%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  The Great Pumpkin is brewed with both Pumpkin and seeds, Pale, Munich, Cara-Hell, Cara-Vienne, Cara-Munich and Crisp 45° L Crystal malts, Mangum hops for bittering,  then fermented with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice, along with additional pumpkin in the fermenter. It’s considered the worlds first imperial pumpkin ale, and took the silver medal in 2007’s Great American Beer Festival.

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Packaging:

Obviously we’re all a little bit partial to the “Great Pumpkin” moniker. But, I like the wicked scarred Jack O’ Lantern on display here too.  He’s a little tore up, maybe from some naughty trick-or-treaters or maybe because the dude who carved him had a few too many “imperial” ales before he started slicing an dicing (stay safe out there friends!). – Tim

A sack stitched jack o lantern gnaws menacingly on Elysian’s The Great Pumpkin logo. A quick description, a few nods to the beer and the brew house and away we go! – Brittney

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Color:  6.5

This one is a little bit different than the norm. Bright orange butterscotch coloring makes it reminiscent of a shandy style. A cloudy body with some yeasty sediment swirls beneath a bone white creamy head. – Rick

Maybe the most intense orange color we have had this year.  The last of a larger head makes me think I might be about to partake in a glass of orange juice, pulp and all. – Brittney

M- 6.5 / T- 7 / B- 7 / R- 6

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Aroma:  7

I like that I really get oven fresh roasted pumpkin seed on the nose, along with respectable amounts of fresh pumpkin and a subdued spicing. An intriguing hook to those disenfranchised by gobs of pie. – Mike

It smells fruity and sweet, kind of like a gummy citric candy, yet still retaining a yeasty quality to it. Not bad, but unexpected from a pumpkin ale. – Rick

M- 8 / T- 7 / B- 7 / R- 5.5

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Mouth feel:  7

Deep end of medium bodied with a hefty bit of burn. It’s definitely an imperial ale, and even has a bit of an ice cold pumpkin vodka vibe. – Mike

I didn’t expect a full body from it’s initial appearance, but this one delivers. It’s really smooth and creamy with just a slight bite from the ABV. – Rick

M- 6.5 / T- 7.5 / B- 6 / R- 7

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Tasting notes:  8

Full flavored and quite fruity on the pumpkin end. The spice is incredibly mild here, not in a bad way, but very much subdued, playing a more astringent and drying role. – Mike

Earthy and nutty, the pumpkin seeds add wonders to this ale, the spices are full, with cinnamon, clove and ginger, sweet malty bread and a vanilla sugar blend together for bold fall beer, but that ABV isn’t nearly as well masked as I think they’re hoping for and with everything going on this beer could really start to overwhelm you. – Tim

Looks like we might have another one that knows how to present a earthly vegetal ale other than a spiced beer that might happen to remind you of pumpkin pie.  I get a lot of earthy notes and a remainder of a whisper of spice. – Brittney

For an imperial ale, there’s a great fruity sweet character here that’s a bit unique.  It’s a nice full body that has a warm buzz about it. Citrus, with an almost barrel aged sweetness to it, I can almost taste pumpkin Jolly Ranchers. An novel approach for sure. – Rick

M- 7.5 / T- 8 / B- 7 / R- 8.5

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Finish:  7

Finish is long with  immense carry-over from the actual pumpkin in the body.  I can’t remember the last pumpkin ale that finished with pumpkin.  Unfortunately, it’s also competing with alcohol trails. – Tim

The  honeyed pumpkin finishes with an almost mead decay here, transforming into a sour and earthy flesh with hints of pumpkin seed, and cinnamon prevailing. – Mike

M- 8 / T- 7 / B- 6 / R- 7

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Flavor balance:  7.5

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance: 7.5

More pumpkin than spice in the realm that we are used to tasting. – Brittney

The nuttiness from the seeds and the earthy vegetal gourd are very well set in the spice mix here and the spices never overwhelm the squashy goodness on display.  Very well done.  – Tim

M- 7.5 / T- 8 / B- 6 / R- 8

-         Sweet / Dry balance: 7.5

This one is deceptive. With a cheek-full, it’s cinnamon-fruity –sweet, but on the swallow you’re left just a touch breathless, and a bit parched. – Mike

This imperial ale really shines in this category I think. There’s a nice vegetal sweetness that isn’t too syrupy, and it’s able to end with nice a dry finish. – Rick

M- 8 / T- 7 / B- 6 / R- 8

-         Multiple Drinkability?  7

The alcohol isn’t very well-masked.  It’s clear you’re drinking an Imperial ale, and it feels like it could get your lit up faster than Detroit on Devil’s Night.  I’m not sure my palate could handle more than two glasses in one sitting, but if you ever see me out, I assure you I wouldn’t pass up sharing a bottle with you. – Tim

I like to drink my beer not chew it. – Brittney

Overall, it’s a great beer period. The fact that it’s a unique twist on the pumpkin style really helps it stand out. – Rick

M- 7 / T- 7.5 / B- 5 / R- 9

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Overall:  7.17

M- 7.33 / T- 7.33 / B- 6.42 / R- 7.08