I have a dream. The dream, is that someday I will be able to pour a “pumpkin beer” that actually tastes like pumpkin. In the good “pie” way, not the “some kid kicked in my jack-o-lantern and now its rotting on my porch” variety. Sure, plenty of breweries release fall ales claiming to be pumpkin-y. Without having tried them, you would think that they would be so funky and flavorful that no honest beer drinker could take it. But you’d be wrong. You see, the problem is that no one seems to be able to brew a pumpkin beer that actually tastes ENOUGH like pumpkin. An ale is an ale, but when it claims to be themed, and it tastes like … well, an ale … it just sort of leaves you wanting. Like getting raisins when you trick or treat.

Dogfish Head makes some funky and flavorful stuff, so I had real hopes here.  Unfortunately they fell prey to the same old song. Or rather, I should say a similar song. Its not completely ale-boring, tasting nicely of nutmeg & spice. And overall, I found it to be quite a tasty beer. But they seemed to miss the one ingredient that made the theme worthwhile. The pumpkin. Like with so many brewers before it, the elusive flavor just didn’t make it in the mash. Again. Sigh. Perhaps there is a reason they called in “punkin”. As in, “everyone we sell this to, we’re punkin”.

This weeks entry comes from Elysian brewing. I had never heard of Elysian, but the local beer pusher pointed it out as I stared at The Wall, and said to me “It’s the best pumpkin beer ever made”. Really? Ok then. So I bought it, and hoping for something better than the sorry entry by Blue Moon, I chugged it down.

Sure enough, this one tasted pumpkin-y. A bit of nutmeg and coriander. All the hallmarks of the standard “pumpkin ale”. I’m not sure if I would call it “the best ever”, but it was drinkable and didn’t feel like a pumpkin to the face.

Now wait you say, why is this tagged “New Belgium”? Let’s just says that my impressions are perhaps tainted by a bit of cheating I noticed while reading the bottle label!

(For those of you who can’t decipher my phone’s sucko camera, it says “Brewed for Elysian … by New Belgium Brewing”.)