Of course the October beer in Elysian Brewing‘s 12 Beers of the Apocalypse series is going to be a pumpkin beer—but because it’s part of this year-long series of unique beers leading up to the end of the Mayan long count calendar (which some are calling the Mayan apocalypse), it’s also a pumpkin beer with a twist: brewed with brown sugar and “fiery Vietnamese cinnamon” along with the pumpkin.

Blight Pumpkin Ale beer comes in at 7.4% alcohol by volume, and is I think my favorite pumpkin beer so far of the season; it’s incredibly rich and sweet with delicious spicy cinnamon notes. I need to buy more!

Appearance: Brown, a shade lighter than brown bottle glass, with a tinge of orange. Finely-bubbled off-white head with great lacing.

Smell: Raisins and brown sugar are the big notes, quite enticing with a spicy note that betrays heat. Really nice aromas here, maybe the best I’ve experienced in a pumpkin beer—sweet, spicy, mouth-watering.

Taste: Malty-rich up front with a light punch from the spicy cinnamon; feels like there should be heat from it, but it’s very mellow. Sweet, spicy, unique, really tasty. Pumpkin? Not so much in the flavor, seems to be more in the body.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body, sweet, sticky, with a nice spiced drawn-own finish.

Overall: Really good, different, loving this beer.

Blight Pumpkin Ale on Untappd. BeerAdvocate: 87/100. RateBeer: 3.18/5, 67th percentile.