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?

2012 Pumpkin Beer Tasting: Elysian's Blight for the Win

A few weekends ago, Doug and Joe decided to host a pumpkin beer tasting at our apartment. Being the over-achievers that they are, they managed to wrangle up 10 different pumpkin beers for us to try. Allie, Allison, and Anna chipped in too!

The six of us sampled the beers one-at-a-time, individually giving each a rating of 1 to 5 with 5 being "pumpkin deliciousness all over my mouth" and 1 being "I can't drink this even though I know it's alcohol".

From most delicious to least, here are our combined results!

#1 Elysian Blight Pumpkin Ale (Seattle) 

Part of Elysian's 12 Beers of the Apocalypse series, this pumpkin ale earned the top spot thanks to its flavor combination of pumpkin, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Would work all the way through the holiday season really.








#2 Elysian Great Pumpkin Ale (Seattle) 

More pumpkin forward than the Blight, Elysian's Great Pumpkin came in 2nd place. 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.








#3 Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale (Maine) 

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







#4 Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin (Maine) 

A special edition pumpkin ale from Shipyard that we didn't think was quite as good as the regular seasonal Pumpkinhead.









#5 Pike Harlot's Harvest Pumpkin Ale (Seattle) 

Organic pumpkin puree and brown sugar were used to create this dark ale. Plus, as Doug pointed out, the label is pretty entertaining.










#6 Epic Fermentation without Representation Imperial Pumpkin Porter (Salt Lake City) 

This beer was my favorite and Doug's second favorite so I'm sad to see it so far down on our group's list. It has chocolaty porterness with easily recognizable, but not overpowering, pumpkin flavors. A great balance of the two. Definitely recommend giving this one a shot! 








#7 Laurelwood Stingy Jack Pumpkin Ale (Portland)

Most of us were not huge fans of this amber ale, but I liked it. Made with a roasted whole pumpkin and pumpkin puree. Doug says he thought this was a little harsh but would likely age to be more mellow.








#8 Uinta Punk'n Harvest Ale (Salt Lake City) 

This beer got a collective "no thanks" from the group. Too sweet with its vanilla and honey overload. We still have 4 bottles of this in the fridge and Doug won't even touch it (which says a lot!).








#9 Oakshire Big Black Jack Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter (Eugene) 

 Chocolate + stout = very little room for any pumpkin flavor. A good stout on its own but didn't pass the pumpkin beer test.









#10 Uinta Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin (Salt Lake City) 

The beer left over when all the others were gone? This one. Props to Uinta for being the only oak-aged pumpkin beer we found, but really, this stuff is no good.









Disagree with our results? Have a pumpkin beer that you love? Let us know in the comments!