Elysian Dark O' The Moon Pumpkin Stout
Brewed at the Elysian on Capitol Hill. a perennial favorite, brewed with Great Western pale, Crisp 77° Crystal, Munich, Cara-Vienne, roasted, chocolate and Special B malts with roasted pumpkin seeds in the mash. Pumpkin in the mash, kettle and fermenter. Bittered with Magnum and finished with Saaz and crushed cinnamon.
Previously 6.5%.
Previously 6.5%.
3.7
365 reviews
Seattle, United States
Community reviews
12 oz bottle, best by 2/4/22. Pours dark black with a medium creamy tan head that retains well and laces the glass.
The aroma is a bit subdued - roast chocolate malt with a little floral pumpkin spice and cinnamon.
The flavor is roast chocolate malt and cinnamon with a pretty heavy bitter roast finish. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation.
Overall, this one was rather simple and subdued.
From a 12 oz. bottle with BB date of 10 May 2022. Attractive black pour underneath a tan head. I immediately get cinnamon and nutmeg spice on the nose followed by roasted dark semi-sweet malts. Smooth medium body. Same semi-sweet and spicy characters in the taste but it has a sort of peppery bite at the very end.
I don't normally like pumpkin beers, I think its the spice flavor. This beer is different in the fact that it is slightly sweet and has a hint of chocolate and roasted malt taste. It pours a almost black color with minimal head that goes away quickly. I think the pumpkin gives this beer some body as it has a medium body taste. Because of the sweetness this is a sipping beer in my opinion.
Aromas of nice pumpkin chocolate nutmeg cinnamon massive clove licorice toffee dark grain malt and subtle coffee. Taste is strong coffee cappuccino espresso toffee cinnamon brown sugar clove pumpkin and dark grain malts. Overall, the pumpkin is a bit subdued in the taste but it's solid. Nice and dark.
Bottle to pint. Looks good; a lightly translucent very dark (almost dull black) cola with beige head that steadily dissipates into lacing and very light sediment at the bottom. Smells and tastes of a pleasant balance of pumpkin, cinnamon, and chocolate (although maybe a tad more cinnamon than I'd prefer). Mouthfeel is medium to medium full-bodied and mildly bitter. A good example of the style.
More of a cinnamon stout than a pumpkin beer. Thankfully no nutmeg makes an appearance. Dry, with a strong undercurrent of roast, unsweetened chocolate, and dark fruit. A drinkable pumpkin beer. Who’da thunk it.
Bottle. Black pour with a short tan head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate and pumpkin pie spices. Taste is chocolate and pumpkin pie with spices and roasted malt. Body is medium with a strong, bubbly with good carbonation. Ends with more pumpkin pie, chocolate cookies, roasted malt, vanilla and light coffee.
Bottle. Blackish beer with a brown head. Cinnamon and spice aroma with caramel and light vegetal notes. Caramel and spice flavor with chocolate and light vegetal notes. Medium bodied. caramel and spice linger with chocolate, roast, and light vegetal notes.
12 oz. bottle purchased at Total Wine & More - Melbourne, FL. Pours a pitch black color with a small tan head and good retention. Spots of lacing. Mostly pumpkin pie spices aroma. Good mix of dark roasted stout and soft pumpkin pie spices with a little boozy finish. Semi heavy body and creamy, dry mouthfeel. Low carbonation. The 7.5% ABV is fairly hidden.
Cinnamon and nutmeg aroma, charred oak underneath. Black, medium tan head. Charred oak, nutmeg, cinnamon. Medium body, easy carbonation. Heavy on the nutmeg, which I despise, but it seems to work very well in a stout.
Dark pour. Sweet nose of pumpkin. Creamy tan head. Sweet spicy taste of pumpkin with dry slight sour finish. Nice fall beer
Part of the Elysian Pumpkin Pack - $18.99 at Bullock's Wine & Spirits in Marietta, Georgia.
Experience By: 12/05/20 (two days before my birthday). While I appreciate pumpkin ales (as long as they aren't showing up early-July) as being harbingers of crisp, welcome, wonderful Fall, my interest in them sharply declines by middle-to-late November, so we're good there.
Appearance: Pours a very dark brown, near black body with an initially medium-sized, yellow-beige head.
Smell: An earthy, zesty pop of cinnamon (more as it warms) cobbled together with roasty, toasty maltiness and their softer, sweeter chocolate and caramel notes. Slight, perceived pumpkin, without the oft unappealing, under-performing, just-vegetal tone you sometimes encounter.
Taste: Chocolaty, roasty with some bitterish tones to it, but also some sweeter caramel, toasty qualities, too. Medium sweetness. Spices perk up midway, and there is some pumpkin present underneathe it all, which, when adhered to the toasty, caramelly malts, gives an impression of dark pumpkin loaf some well-meaning old lady baked for her neighbors three-doors-down. A little rebound of sweetness and spice imparts a final sip of sweet cinnamon.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-soft carbonation. Pleasantly smooth mouthfeel.
Overall: Not bad, though, frankly, I'd be more interested in a sans pumpkin and spice version of the stout. It passed the ChainGangGuy's Variety Pack test: I'm not completely bummed out if not horrified I have X amount of bottles/can remaining.
12 oz bottle rating. Dark brown body with a khaki colored head. Aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, chocolate. Spices are done very well in this beer. I'm digging this. Good effort!
Second beer in the 2020 pumpkin pack that I tried. Not too much pumpkin. Not too strong of an aroma. Almost like a variation on Guinness. I liked it. It wasn't pumpkin pie in your face. Good solid stout for fall.
12 ounce bottle from Woodmans Appleton, 9/6/20. Dark brown, thin brown head, decent retention. Aroma of pumpkin spice, dark chocolate. Taste is pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, coffee, chocolate. Thin. Solid.
Dark O' The Moon has a thin-to-medium beige head, a very dark brown appearance, and side bubbles. No lacing. The aroma is of pumpkin pie spice, dark bread crust, and pie crust. The flavor is of those elements, with bitter char, some gourd, and coffee, cream, & chocolate. Dark O' The Moon has a medium body and a medium-dry finish. RJT
Not much aroma. Pitch black brew. Just a weird flavor. Its a mix of coffee, hot pepper, something really bitter, and sugar. Just does not blend well at all. Not a fan.
Really nice pumpkin stout - a little sweet, like dark chocolate, bitter, spicy, well balanced. Nice head and perfectly carbonated. Buy it!
10/09/2022
It's been 3 years since I last tried this beer. When I saw the pumpkin variety pack in the store, I decided it was time for me to update my review of this beer, as well as the other varieties in the pack.
12 oz. bottle, 7.5% ABV, Experience by: 20FEB23
AROMA: Slightly sweet with scents of chocolate, pumpkin, allspice, and cinnamon are the most prevalent.
APPEARANCE: Pour an opaque black with a tall, dark tan head that dissipates slowly with excellent lacing. This beer looks incredibly delicious in a clear-glass
Pilsner, and I find myself having a hard time restraining myself from just diving into the "tasting" portion of my review!
TASTE: Moderately sweet. I'm first hit with big flavors of chocolate, followed by subdued flavors of pumpkin. The finish is moderately sweet with more of that chocolate flavor and a hint of cinnamon. I am finding the chocolate to clearly be the predominant flavor. Which seems odd since this is marketed as a pumpkin beer. To me this is more of a chocolate stout that has had a bit of pumpkin added to it. But you'll get no complaints from me, because this is a delicious beer no matter what it's marketed as!
MOUTHFEEL: Full-bodied with a rich and creamy texture and average carbonation. This feels great on the tongue and goes down smooth and easy.
OVERALL: I think I actually like this 2022 vintage better than the 2019, but only because it seems to have a bit more sweetness, and a bit more carbonation, than the 2019 vintage. Other than that the 2 vintages seem identical, to me.
One thing that I am noticing as the beer warms to room temperatur is that the cinnamon flavor starts to overtake the pumpkin. Cold, the flavors in order of predominance are chocolate, pumpkin, cinnamon. Warmer, the flavors in order of predominance are chocolate, cinnamon, pumpkin. For me, I prefer the "cold" flavor profile because the stronger cinnamon flavor of the "warmer" profile, starts to interfere with the delicious chocolate flavor.
For comparison purposes, my original review from 10/11/2019 is below, along with the rating I gave it in each category.
12 oz. bottle.
AROMA (7): Smells sweet with scents of cinnamon, chocolate, and just a hint of pumpkin.
APPEARANCE (5): Pours an opaque black with a tall, frothy, dark-tan head that dissipates very slowly. It definitely has a very "chocolatey" look to it!
TASTE (6): Doesn't taste anywhere near as sweet as it smells. You're first hit with flavors of bitter chocolate, followed by pumpkin, and ending with a bit of cinnamon.
MOUTHFEEL (4): Full-bodied with a rich and creamy texture. However, carbonation seems a little light for such a "heavy" beer.
OVERALL (15): I applaud the fact that this is not one of those beers that tries to be a pumpkin-pie-in-a-bottle. Rather, its sweetness is very subdued and lets the true, natural pumpkin flavor come through. This is the second bottle that I've tried from the "Pumpkin Pack". Last year, I tried Night Owl (which is also in the "Pumpkin Pack") and I found it to be delicious (even if it is somewhat of a pumpkin-pie-in-a-bottle). So I have high hopes for the remaining beers in the pack.
Bottle #4 of the pumpkin pack was planning on spacing these outba tocuh more but alas. Dark black pour one finger head. Nose is chocolate and spice. Tastes of chocolate, pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, malt, cola. Light biter and sweet cocoa in finish.
Pours a very dark brown; opaque. Dark roasted malt and hay aromas. Moderately thick mouthfeel. Dark roasted malt with a hint of pumpkin and cinnamon in the flavor profile. Finishes with some sorghum.
12 ounce bottle at sisters house. Smell the spices and is truly remarkable aroma like gingerbread. Super dark brown with beige head. Ginger and cinnamon is in this and is well balanced and smooth. This is so yummy! Light spice aftertaste. Bad Ass Pumpkin! Cheers!
Pours pitch black. World class head volume, lacing and retention.
Quite outstanding nose that if a bit more intense would be world class. It begins with a moderate note of cinnamon over sweet chocolate. Underneath are light notes of pumpkin and char. Roast influences are very mild and subtle. Sweetness predominates as the base.
The body is light medium, somewhat of a disappointment. It is smooth but lacks any creaminess. Carbonation / body balance is outstanding with the right amount of effervescence in the middle and finish. Overall, mouthfeel is normal for the average stout.
The flavor profile is borderline outstanding. Sweetness is much more balanced than in the nose and allows the moderate bitterness, both hop and roast, to emerge. Cinnamon is also dialed back relative to the nose and blends nicely adding a spicy punch to the bitterness. From the middle on, pumpkin makes an appearance underneath, albeit subtle. Balance is quite outstanding. Missing are the chocolate notes from the nose, which hurts complexity. After the cinnamon fades in the finish, you get a note of char.
Bomber, pours a jet black dirty motor oil color with a fluffy tan head that lingers for sometime, leaving massive spots of lace on glass. Smells of , cinnamon, brown sugar, toast, squash, mocha, and cola. Tastes of chocolate, pie crust, burnt sugar, cinnamon, RC cola, pumpkin 🎃 and sweet toffee. Smooth, & creamy mouthfeel,big body, perfect carbonation and a chewy & spicy finish. This beer has intense flavors and aromas. It definitely reminds me of the winter holidays. I love it, it’s amazing!
Good pumpkin beer, love the Elysian. Cool appearance and phenomenal aroma. Would definitely buy again.
Deep dark brown coloured body with an oily glow on top, with a nice three centimetre tall rich lighter brown head that stays afloat for quite a while, with almost a pure black, 90% opaque tint when held up to the light. Aroma of rich spices, allspice, canella, coriander seed and a ton of squash and pumpkin scent - super pungent throughout with a nice sweetness from brown and caramelised sugars. Full-bodied; Rich full-bodied pumpkin flavours with a ton of spices including cloves and a bunch of anise along with a rich caramelised sweetness with a good deal of the spices coming through near the end as well and a bit of bitterness around the edges. Aftertaste is still quite a bit pungent from all the malts with a great squash complexity and body along with more of the spices than I expected with a nice depth of flavours and some smooth complexity with sugars. Overall, a very nice beer with an amazing body showing a ton of squash notes along with a big depth of spiciness and ending with a lot of sugars with caramel, toffee and chocolate even coming through at the tail end. A very nice beer throughout and one that should be sampled if you can find it! I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased at K-1 Beer and Wine in Arlington, Virginia on 19-December-2018 for US$4,99 sampled at home on the Eastern Shore of Virginia in Pungoteague, Virginia on 25-January-2018.
Bottle. Black pour with a short tan head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate and pumpkin pie spices. Taste is chocolate and pumpkin pie with spices and roasted malt. Body is medium with a strong, bubbly and prickly carbonation. Ends with more pumpkin pie, chocolate cookies, roasted malt, vanilla and light coffee.
Aroma of pumpkin spice and cocoa, pours a dark black with a thin tan head. Taste of pumpkin spice, and cocoa with a slightly watery body and a lightly bitter malt finish.
Pours rich coffee with a fairly thick dirty tan head. Aroma delivers cinnamon, cloves, roast malt, chocolate, and a hint of coffee. Flavor presents all of the above plus a touch of - well, I suppose pumpkin. Definitely tastes like pumpkin pie plus smoky mocha, only a little spicier. As in clove and cinnamon, not hot peppers. Body is on the thin side for a stout, though fizz is good. Get moony - but please do so responsibly. Or call a cab, or Lyft.
Bottle. Hands down the best pumpkin beer I've had. Pumpkin beers are not a favorite of mine, but finally we have a beer that incorporates pumpkin and spice without trying to be a pie. Instead they use the sweet and savory character, and enough cinnamon, to give the [excellent] base stout something special. The aroma is kick-ass. Loved it.