The Elysian Brewing Great Pumpkin Roadshow came to Bend on its annual trek tonight, on its third of seven stops, taking over the Platypus Pub with eight pumpkin beers on tap and—as always—the pumpkin firkin. I stopped in to check out the fun and try some of the new beers out this year.

Each year the festivities are presided over by Elysian’s Oregon and Southwest Washington sales rep Dave Chappell, dressed up in his usual pumpkin-dapper fashion:

At each stop on the Roadshow, Dave and his crew fill the pumpkin-cum-firkin with one of the available pumpkin beers along with a little something extra. In the past, they’ve added peaches, spices, caramelized apples, and more. This evening, they went with candy, and the pumpkin was filled with The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale and Hot Tamales candy.

Unfortunately, as Dave himself was quick to tell me, they overdid the amount of candy so what came out of the gourd was vaguely pumpkin ale and mostly cloying liquid cinnamon syrup. Even so, by the time I arrived (over an hour into the party), most of the beer was consumed (all the firkin beer is given away as samples) so people must have been enjoying the combination. Myself, I drank the sample, but it was pretty sweet and not something I could drink much of.

As for the beers on tap, Dave generously picked up the tab for four tasters for me, three of which were new: Gourdfather Pumpkin Barleywine, Goblin Party Pumpkin Milkshake IPA, Old Fashioned, and Black Galleons Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Stout. I’ve enjoyed Gourdfather over the years, and it was as solid as ever—rich, malty, some squash character, warming.

The Goblin Party was less “milkshake” and more “hazy” with a solid hop presence, a bit of spice, and lightly vegetal notes. (Good thing in this case.) The Old Fashioned was as advertised—more like the drink with cherry than a lot of pumpkin that I could tell, but one I’d like to revisit as it had a lot going on. And the Black Galleons was big and burly and surprisingly a bit smoky.

I didn’t get a picture of the beers, but I have full details on them at the end of this post.

The Platypus Pub was packed, and I got a chance to visit with a number of fellow homebrewers from COHO. I didn’t stay too long—it’s a Thursday night after all and I still have to work tomorrow—but the Platypus will still have most of these beers on tap for the next several weeks so there’s time to try them out if you didn’t get the chance tonight.

And tomorrow, Dave and the Elysian crew head to Eugene where The Bier Stein is the next stop on the Roadshow. The Stein’s Pumpkinpalooza starts at 5pm and will have the eight beers on tap and will also have a pumpkin firkin filled with some specialty concoction; Dave told me he was thinking of filling it with Old Fashioned and adding/garnishing with cherries. But you won’t know for sure til you get there!

After Eugene, there are planned stops in Vancouver, Portland, and The Dalles, so keep an eye out for those. And here are details on the eight beers pouring at each stop:

Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
Our original pumpkin ale, Night Owl is brewed with over 7 lbs of pumpkin per barrel and includes seven different malt varieties, green and roasted pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin in the mash, boil and fermenter. Bittered with Magnum hops and spiced in conditioning with nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger and allspice. 6.7% ABV

Great Pumpkin Imperial
The Great Pumpkin was the silver medalist at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival in the Fruit and Vegetable category and was also the world’s first Imperial pumpkin ale. Brewed with Pale, Munich, Cara-Hell, Cara-Vienne, Cara-Munich and Crisp 45° L Crystal malts. Roasted pumpkin seeds in the mash, and extra pumpkin added in the mash, kettle and fermenter. Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. 8.1% ABV

Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale
A pumpkin ale with the attitude of a world-weary barista, Punkuccino packs a short shot of Stumptown coffee toddy in your pint with just a shake of cinnamon and nutmeg. Pale, brown, biscuit, C-77 crystal, chocolate and kiln-coffee malts provide the body, German Northern Brewer lends a touch of bitterness, and lactose sweetens just a touch. Three pumpkin additions, in the mash, kettle and fermenter. 6% ABV

Dark Knife Pumpkin Schwarzbier
This season we took a stab at our first Pumpkin Schwarzbier – brewed with pale, munich, roasted barley, and a smattering of dark malts. German Northern Brewer and Saaz hops give it a little edge, while 90 lbs of pumpkin entrails, cinnamon and ginger smooth over the crime scene. 4.2% ABV.

Gourdfather Pumpkin Barleywine
The Gourdfather is a pumpkin barleywine you can’t refuse, mellowing with age but still reminding you who’s boss. A veritable pushcart of a malt bill brings pale, Munich, Cara-hell, Cara-vienne, C-15 crystal and pumpkin seeds up against a rival neighborhood armed with Magnum hops.  At 23.4 Plato starting gravity and 11.2% ABV it’ll keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Old Fashioned
It’s like pumpkin pie in a rocks glass. Mandarina Bavaria, a squeeze of orange and a twist of zest to finish. Bitters, maple syrup and pumpkin to finish. Garnished with a cherry. 8.5% ABV

Goblin Party Pumpkin Milkshake IPA
Goblin Party is a pumpkin milkshake IPA with vanilla, lactose, a touch of pumpkin spice, and a big dose of graham cracker crumbs sprinkled in the mash and whirlpool by goblins. Hopped primarily with Citra, and dry hopped with Citra and Galaxy. Aint no party like a goblin party. 6.5% ABV

Black Galleons Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Stout
Inspired by a Neil Young song that challenges expectations, Black Galleons is a pumpkin stout worth conquering. Big, chewy, chocolatey, and roasty with pumpkin, spices, and Ancho chilies, aged in neutral oak barrels. 10% ABV