2016 Pumpkin Beer Night/Fall Party

Last weekend marked our 5th annual Pumpkin Beer Night and, much as I hate to say it, I think I'm officially pumpkin beered out. Like forever.

We switched up our format this year to freshen things up since the night was feeling a bit stale going into it.

I went with a fall theme versus Halloween theme and instead of passing out rounds of tastings to everyone at the same time and making complex rating sheets, we just put out all the beers for people to try at their own pace and then asked everyone to vote for their favorite at the end of the night.  

Our new approach worked well. The evening was much more leisurely and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. But while the night was supposed to be about the pumpkin beer (Elysian Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale and Uinta Funk'n Patch Brett Ale tied for first, in case you were wondering), Doug and I both had a lot more fun with the other details of the party. So I'm going to focus on those instead. Sorry, pumpkin beer lovers!

Food

In the past, we've just had crackers and cheese and asked our guests to fill in with other snacks and desserts, but since we were going for a more elegant feel this time around, Doug decided on three appetizers to round out our usual cheese spread.

We love the Green Bean Sandwich from Meat Cheese Bread, so Doug made mini appetizer versions.

Sundried Tomato-Stuffed Mushrooms from Smitten Kitchen fit right in with our cozy fall theme.

These Scallion Meatballs with Soy Ginger Glaze, also from Smitten Kitchen, are one of my favorite things that Doug makes. 

Cocktail

Not all of our guests like beer and I've been slightly obsessed with kegged cocktails since the kegged Tom Collins worked so well at my 30th birthday party, so I used this usually beer-only patty to try out a new recipe.

I didn't get my act together soon enough to actually keg this one, but we served it out of Doug's uKeg growler, which worked well. This festive cocktail was maybe a little too drinkable... as evidenced by the fact that Kel and I didn't get around to trying many pumpkin beers since we were drinking cocktails all night.

Lion's Tail Remix- Batch Cocktail (adapted from Imbibe)
Makes about 24 servings  

• 1 bottle bourbon 
• 12 oz fresh lemon juice
• 8 oz honey syrup
• 5 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
• 30 dashes orange bitters

Decor
I decided my "colors" for the party would be white and metallics. I spray-painted orange mini pumpkins gold and rose gold, added some metallic stickers to spiffy up white mini pumpkins, and used our copper mugs for vases.

The plates, napkins, and tablecloth were all from Target (no surprise there).

 

A quick trip to the St. Johns farmers market for fresh flowers rounded out the decor.

2015 Pumpkin Beer Tasting: Seattle Cider Knocks Eylsian Out of First

Well folks, I think 2015 was finally the year that we reached Maximum Pumpkin Beer.

At this year's 4th Annual Pumpkin Beer Tasting, our group of 25 tasted 31 different pumpkin beers and ciders. That's roughly the equivalent of 13 growlers or 3/5th of a keg. In layman's terms: a shit ton

In addition to adding 7 more beers to our lineup (read about our 2014 list here), we also switched things up a bit by going with a Dia de Los Muertos theme. I really wish we had some extra time to pick up some sugar skulls to really complete the look, but the food and decor came together pretty nicely otherwise.

Menu

• Chips with Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and Pumpkin Seed Salsa
• Pork and Chicken Tamales (from Rose City Taqueria)
• Chicken Mole Tortas
• Pan Dulce (thanks, Ally!)
• Dulce de Leche Brownies

Decor

• Day of the Dead clip art from Creative Market
• Tasting cups with skull stickers from Target
• Wooden skeleton from Cost Plus
• Dia de Los Muertos plates and napkins from Michael's 

As for this year's pumpkin beer winners, Eylsian still managed to keep a few beers in the Top 5, but we did see two new breweries make it into the winner's circle. The trend here, with the exception of Eylsian's Night Owl, is that all our winning beers (and the cider) were something different than just your typical over-spiced, too-sweet pumpkin beer. Take note, brewers!

Top 5: 

#1 Seattle Cider Pumpkin Spice Cider (Seattle, WA)

This cider is up from 4th place last year and even though it's not technically a pumpkin beer, we're okay with it taking first place because it really is delicious. This cider is fermented with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, giving it a delicious, subtle pumpkin-pie vibe.

#2 Pfriem Pumpkin Bier (Hood River, OR) 

This pumpkin beer was new to the line-up this year and I can find almost nothing about it online except for that most people who have tried it agree that it's a Belgian and it's not your typical pumpkin ale. I think our crew liked this one so much because it tasted the most like a normal beer, aka no overwhelming spices or sweetness.

#3 Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale (Seattle, WA)

Night Owl dropped down one spot from its #2 finish last year, but as this beer has always made it into our top three, it think it's safe to say that Night Owl epitomizes what a pumpkin beer should be. It's brewed with 7.5 pounds of pumpkin per barrel and spiced in conditioning with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.

#4 New Belgium Pumpkick Spiced Seasonal Ale (Fort George, CO)

This beer was also new to our tasting this year and stands out due to the "kick" of cranberry juice and lemon juice that New Belgium adds to its traditionally spiced ale.

#5 Elysian Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale (Seattle, WA)

Punkuccio fell from its #1 spot last year, but still finished strong in 5th place. This ale is made with Stumptown coffee plus cinnamon and nutmeg and while it was the darkest beer we tried, it's very balanced compared to most of the other pumpkin ales.

And the rest:

#6 Elysian Great Pumpkin

#7 O'Fallon Pumpkin Beer

#8 Fort George Drunkin Pumpkin

#9 Ace Pumpkin Cider

#10 Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale

#11 Stormbreaker Pumpkin Pedaler

#12 Blue Moon         

#13 Rogue Pumpkin Patch

#14Two Beers Pumpkin Spice

#15 Laurelwood Pumpkin Ale

#16 Unita Punk'n

#17 Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Harvest Ale

#18 Southern Tier Pumking

#19 Indian Wells Spicy Pumpkin Ale

#20 Oakshire Big Black Jack

#21 Alaska  

#22 Southern Tier Warlock

#23 Anderson Valley Fall Hornin

#24 Ninkasi Pumpkin Sleigh'r

#25 Coronado Punk'In Drublic

#26 Buffalo Bills        

#27 Cisco Pumple Drumkin

#28 Banks Pumpkin Ale

#29 Anderson Valley Pinchy Jeek Barl

#30 Burnside The Dapper Skeleton

#31 Elysian Dark o the Moon

2014 Pumpkin Beer Tasting: Eylsian Dominates Once Again

After successful pumpkin beer tastings last year and the year before, Pumpkin Beer Night has officially become a thing.

This year we upped the ante in all ways possible. We're talking more pumpkin beers and ciders (24 to be exact), more decorations, and probably the most people that have ever been in our baby apartment at once.

As in years previous, everyone ranked the beers individually on a scale of 1 to 5... and just like the last two years, Elysian took the top two spots.

Here's some more detailed info about our group's Top 5 plus the rest of the rankings too:  

#1 Elysian Brewing Punkuccino (Seattle)

Doug and I tried this on our own a few weeks prior to Pumpkin beer night (thanks new Burnside Fred Meyer growler station) and had a pretty strong feeling that this beer was going to do very well at pumpkin beer night.

Elysian says, "Punkuccino packs a short shot of Stumptown coffee toddy in your pint with just a shake of cinnamon and nutmeg," so think of it as the best Pumpkin Spice Latte you've ever had that wants to get you drunk. So good. 




#2 Elysian Brewing Night Owl (Seattle)- Ranked #2 last year

Holding down the #2 spot for the second year a row, Elysian says this ale is "brewed with seven and a half pounds of pumpkin per barrel and spiced in conditioning with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice." Seems like that's a recipe they should stick to.







 #3 First Edition Brewing Champion Pompion *homebrew* (Portland)

Doug and I agreed that this year's Champion Pompion is much more deserving of its high ranking than last year's Good Lawdy Miss Gordy. For this beer, Doug upped the pumpkin flavor by supplementing pumpkin puree with lots of fresh squash.







#4 Seattle Cider Co. Pumpkin Spice Cider (Seattle)

Seattle Cider Co. ferments their cider with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. It's perfect for your friends that love pumpkin-flavored alcohols but hate beer.









#5 Two Beers Pumpkin Spice (Seattle)- Ranked #3 last  year

This ale is made with cloves, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and natural pumpkin. The ginger is definitely a nice touch.







 

#6 First Edition Brewing Good Lawdy Miss Gourdy *homebrew* (Portland)- Ranked #4 last year












#7 Elysian Brewing The Great Pumpkin (Seattle, 2014)- Ranked #1 last year

#8 Harpoon UFO Pumpkin (Boston)- ranked #8 last year

 #9 Oakshire Big Black Jack Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter (Eugene)- #17 last year, but #9 in 2013

#10 Elysian Brewing Dark O' The Moon Pumpkin Stout (Seattle)

#11 Laurelwood Pumpkin Ale (Portland)- ranked #12 last year

#12 Ace Cider Hard Pumpkin Cider (Sebastopol, CA)












#13 Burgess Brewing DD Pumpkin Ale *homebrew* (Vancouver, WA)

#14 Propolis Brewing Pepon (Port Townsend, WA)

#15 Midnight Sun Brewing TREAT Imperial Pumpkin Porter (Anchorage)- ranked #18 last year

#16 Pike Brewing Harlot's Harvest (Seattle) 

#17 Elysian Brewing The Great Pumpkin (Seattle, 2013)

Doug saved this beer to see how it would age. The answer was not well. So drink your pumpkin beers now, kids!









#18 Nathan's Brewing Co. Booooo Careful II (Portland)

#19 Anderson Valley Fall Hornin' Pumpkin Ale (Boonville, CA)

#20 Southern Tier Pumking (Lakewood, NY)

#21 Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela (Dexter, MI)

#22 Burnside Brewing The Dapper Skeleton (Portland)

I don't know if this one would normally be so low (Doug and I usually really like Burnside), but it's made with chiles and a spicy beer is kind of a shock when all the other beers you've been trying are on the sweet side.








#23 Uinta Punk'n Harvest Ale (SLC)- ranked last last year

#24 Buffalo Bills Brewery Pumpkin Ale (Hayward, CA)

This one is so bad that is deserves a warning. Do not buy it (unless you like things that taste like puke). 

 Any of your favorite pumpkin beers that we missed?

2013 Pumpkin Beer Tasting: Elysian Wins Again!

You might remember that Doug and I hosted a little pumpkin beer tasting night last year. It was so successful that we decided to do it again this year... but turn it up a notch.

Last year we had 10 pumpkin beers, 6 people, and only candy corn to snack on.

This year we had 18 beers, 1 pumpkin cider, 10 people, and a whole spread of fall deliciousness. Much better.

Just like last year, we had everyone rank the beers on a scale of 1 to 5 and just like last year, Elysian Brewing from Seattle was the clear leader, with two of their beers coming in 1st and 2nd place. Here's a breakdown of the top five, with the other 14 listed after.

#1 Elysian The Great Pumpkin Ale (Seattle)- Ranked #2 last year

Elysian makes this ale by putting roasted pumpkin seeds in the mash and adding pumpkin to the mash, kettle, and fermenter. Think "pumpkin pie" and that's the flavor of this strong beer.








#2 Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale (Seattle)- Not tasted last year

Brewed with seven and a half pounds of pumpkin per barrel and conditioned with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, this pumpkin ale differs from The Great Pumpkin thanks to the addition of ginger and its significantly lower ABV (5.9% vs. 8.1%).






#3 Two Beers Pumpkin Spice Ale (Seattle)- Not tasted last year

Similiar to the Night Owl, Two Beer's Pumpkin Spice Ale is brewed with cloves, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and pumpkin and has the perfect balance of maltiness.





 #4 First Edition Good Lawdy Miss Gourdy (Portland)- Not tasted last year

Okay, so this is Doug's pumpkin beer that he brewed specially for our event. We both agree that there was not a lot of pumpkin flavor in this and that its high ranking might be because our friends are good at being friends... but it was a tasty fall beer nonetheless, so it's making the list!







#5 Shipyard Pumpkinhead (Maine)- #3 Last year

Pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon flavors abound in this very drinkable wheat ale.





#6 Elysian He Said Porter (Seattle)- brewed with 21st Amendment

#7 One Man Show Boooooo Careful (Portland)- Nathan's home brew

#8 Harpoon UFO Pumpkin (Boston)

#9 Epic Imperial Pumpkin Porter (Salt Lake City)- #6 last year

#10 Alaskan Pumpkin Porter (Juneau)

#11 Two Kilts Pumpkin Ale (Portland)

#12 Laurelwood Pumpkin Ale (Portland)- #7 last year

#13 Silver Moon Twisted Gourd Pumpkin Ale (Bend)

#14 21st Amendment He Said Belgian-Style Tripel (San Francisco)- brewed with Elysian

#15 Captured by Porches Undead Pumpkin (Portland)

#16 Tieton Cider Works Smoked Pumpkin Cider (Portland)

#17 Oakshire Big Black Jack Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter (Eugene)- #9 last year

#18 Midnight Sun Brewing TREAT Imperial Pumpkin Porter (Anchorage)

#19 Unita Punk'n Harvest Ale (Salt Lake City)- #8 last year

Doug and I also got a very special surprise this year. Sarah moved back to the Bay Area a few months ago, so when she texted me this photo, I was all "wish you were here to share your beer insights!"

And she was all "look closer at the picture I just sent you." I'm apparently an idiot because I stared at this photo for quite a few seconds before I realized Sarah was standing on our front doorstep! Yep, best surprise ever!

Do you have a favorite pumpkin beer?