Stone Collaborations 2011 Bruery/Elysian/Stone La Citrueille Céleste de Citracado

This ale, a play on a traditional pumpkin beer, is brewed with somewhat of a kitchen sink of ingredients: pumpkin, yam, toasted fenugreek, lemon verbena and birch bark. And while the trio on this collaboration is stellar as always, this beer is just a bit strange and jarring as all of the flavors fight for recognition on the nose and mouth. It’s a nice alternative to those cloyingly sweet pumpkin beers, with more nuanced notes of starchy gourds laced with fresh savory herbs and an earthy lemon-pepper spice.