The other day, I reached into the back of the beer fridge and pulled out a Night Owl Pumpkin Ale from Elysian Brewing Company. The only other Elysian product that I have tried is the Bête Blanche, a Belgian tripel. Always a fan of tripels, I enjoyed the Bête Blanche and thought while not quite a fan of pumpkin beers, I would give the one from Elysian a try. Elysian is a brewer from Seattle, WA that produces 6 year-round brews as well as some two specialty series (the Oddball and the Manic IPA) as well as six seasonals (including 4 pumpkin beers).
What they say…
A very drinkable pumpkin ale—brewed with seven and a half pounds of pumpkin per barrel and spiced in conditioning with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.
I found the Night Owl to have the following characteristics…
- Appearance: Nice deep copper color with a slowly dissipating tan foam.
- Aroma: Sweet with hits of vanilla and baking spice; almost like the sweet smell of pumpkin custard.
- Taste: A little fizzy with a big blast of sweetness; like drinking a pie filling without the all too familiar nutmegish aftertaste
- ABV: 5.9%
While still not a fan of the style, I expected a rather off-putting hodge-podge of spices and lingering aftertastes. Instead, I was presented with a very well-balanced and flavorful brew. The Night Owl was very easy drinking (my better half even liked it; high praise indeed!) and a pleasant diversion from my regular beer.
