I’ve been dying to try a pumpkin beer for weeks now. It’s odd because I’m not normally the type of person to go for novelty beers. I like my IPA and that’s final. The problem is that I’m very susceptible to hype. As soon as Elysian Brewery announced that it would be hosting a pumpkin beer tasting, people around town started really hyping it up. 10 pumpkin beers on tap? Including one undergoing a second fermentation inside of a giant pumpkin? That’s exciting stuff! How could I not have pumpkin ale on the brain after hearing about all of that?
Well, I missed the pumpkin beer tasting because of other obligations, but I did manage to locate a 22-ounce bottle of Elysian’s Night Owl Pumpkin Ale at my store. This beer gets rave reviews from both beer critics and anonymous drinkers on the internets. Many claim it is, hands down, the best pumpkin beer out there today. Having never tried a pumpkin beer before, I can’t really say whether this is true or not, but it was quite good. It primarily tasted like a mild, slightly sweet pale ale. But, with every sip, you get a subtle, yet instantly recognizable, taste of pumpkin pie. Elysian ferments their Night Owl with 150 pounds of pumpkin meat and infuses it with pumpkin pie spices including nutmeg, cinnamon and clove. My only complaint is that it seemed a little flat, but that could just be because I am so used to drinking hoppy IPAs. I’m curious how it is straight off the tap. I might just need to run next door to Elysian and try it. Who knows? Maybe they will still have it available straight from the giant pumpkin tap!