Night Owl Pumpkin Ale from Elysian Brewery - Taylor

2 reviews in 2 days, I'm what the young people call rolling.

Today I drank "Night Owl Pumpkin Ale" from Elysian Brewery.  Elysian is one of my all time favorite breweries for no reason other than they have great label design and the names of their beers are generally very awesome.  This particular brew was done with pumpkin pulp in with the boil and conditioned with pumpkin spice blend.

THE POUR:  It comes out of the bottle crystal clear and a very pleasant orange/copper color,  not unlike the O'Briens Harvest Ale.  A head formed easily while pouring and was a very beautiful color that looked like orange peel mixed with creme.  Scrumptious.  Night Owl comes in at 5.9% but I didn't notice any alcohol legs forming on the glass.

THE AROMA:  The nose on this beer is an explosion of holiday scents.  Tangerine hits the senses first and says "Hello, welcome to the beer, have you met my friends bitter orange peel and ginger?".  It is one of the finest smelling brews I've ever had the pleasure of inhaling.  There are zero hops on the nose though which is an indication of things to come, but also in my opinion mildly disappointing.

THE PALETTE:  Up front there is a good carbonation zing, but when that fades away the true serum dreams begin.  It starts sweet and only slightly malty which glides seamlessly into the familiar flavors of the aforementioned party guests, orange, tangerine, and ginger.  Taken as a whole they add up to a wonderful pumpkin pie spice blend that is not overpowering but also easily enjoyed.  Your mouth is left with pumpkin pie spice flavored fumes as the slight warmth from the alcohol dissolves into your mouth.

OVERALL:  This is easily the best pumpkin ale I've ever tasted and would absolutely drink it again.  It's sweet enough to be a dessert beer but not so sweet that it cannot be enjoyed with more savory fare, or even just drinking for the sake of drinking.  I'm giving this 8.5 out of 10.  It loses points because there are absolutely zero hops present.  Hops are of course not required to make a great beer, but they are something I enjoy.