Blight
Elysian Brewing Company

BlightBlight
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From:
Elysian Brewing Company
 
Washington, United States
Style:
Pumpkin Beer
ABV:
7.4%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.04 | pDev: 9.41%
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
86
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 22, 2020
Added:
Sep 24, 2012
Wants:
  24
Gots:
  5
The harvest is over before it's begun. Nature's bounty is dying on the vine. The dry rustle of crop failure is on the wind. Verdant abundance has given way to so much shrivel and waste, except for Blight, a bright spot of an ale brewed with pumpkin, dark brown sugar and fiery Vietnamese cinnamon.

Blight was brewed with Northwest pale, English brown, German Cara-hell and Belgian Cara-vienne malts, bittered with German Northern Brewer, with additions of Oregon pumpkin to the mash, kettle and fermenter. Vietnamese cinnamon and dark brown sugar were added to the boil.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by philbertk:
Photo of philbertk
Reviewed by philbertk from Washington

3.6/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
22 oz. Bottle purchased for $8.59 + Tax @ Chuck's 85th Hop Shop, Ballard, Seattle, Washington. Very thin lace trace white head.Pretty clear thin bright orange gold color. Spicy Vietnamese cinnamon mild pumpkin front. Peppery thin textured mildly sweet toasted brown sugar mild pumpkin fruit body. Dry lingering hot cinnamon pepper end. Spicy throughout but relatively well balanced.
Nov 30, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
For a long time, before I started The CANQuest (tm), before I became a "serious" beer writer, I was "The Beer Pest" with an irregular column detailing my misadventures with beer. It was especially apropos as I had one column that personally incensed Dick Cantwell! All is forgiven, or so I am told. Such was never my intention. I really wanted the entire series in this lineup, but our distro from Elysian here in PA was spotty at the time of release. 8=( I am a HUGE fan of Charles Burns & his work so this should be interesting.

From the Bottle (!): "12 Beers of the Apocalypse"; "Pumpkin Ale"; "9 Black Hole Blight"; "If the world were coming to an end, what beer would you brew? Utilizing artwork by Seattle native Charles Burns from his graphic novel classic, Black Hole, Seattle's Elysian Brewing and Fantagraphics Books team up to answer the question with The 12 Beers of the Apocalypse."; "Beer #9: BLIGHT will sustain you with an ale of pumpkin, dark brown sugar and a jolt of fiery Vietnamese cinnamon."; "Remember: THE END IS BEER."

I Pop!ped the cap to begin a slow, gentle C-Line Pour since this was one where I definitely did NOT want to rouse any lees. I got naught but wisps for my troubles, despite having heard a CO2 hiss as I Pop!ped the cap. Hmm. Again, rousing the lees was out of the question. I'll take the loss of discernible head in return. Was the spice holding it in check? Trepidatiously, I leant in for a sniff. Ever smelled Vietnamese cinnamon? I've had it shoved in my face in lieu of mace before! My eyeballs STILL sweat at the memory. No playin' around, this stuff is like ground mace &in the face, eyes, up the nose, it is a debilitating nightmare. Nose was VERY evocative of liquefied pumpkin pie & the dark brown sugar struck me as more towards treacle with a brown breadiness, while the cinnamon was present without being overwhelming. 8=) Yum! Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but certainly big for the style. The taste remained liquified pumpkin pie, but I was not getting the high-intensity heat from the cinnamon that the label alluded to. Finish was dry, as any spiced beer should be expected to be, but it was only setting of the smallest & slightest of alarms. YMMV. & next, for that dreaded final pour. It was murky & slightly spicier than the rest of the bottle, but I never experienced the intensity of Vietnamese cinnamon that I was expecting. Fine by me.
Apr 22, 2020
 
Rated: 3.5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Dec 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.64 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Nov 12, 2017
 
Rated: 3.94 by sposter4 from Pennsylvania

Nov 07, 2016
Photo of artdob
Reviewed by artdob from California

4.3/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Inviting nose. Moderate head that quickly subsided leaving an orange colored brew. Very robust in its flavor. Lots of pumpkin, sweetness with mild carbonation. One of the better pumpkin brews.
Nov 04, 2016
 
Rated: 4.09 by aasher from Indiana

Oct 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Nov 18, 2015
Photo of Jeffreysan
Reviewed by Jeffreysan from Virginia

4.55/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
22 oz bottle, 2012 version, poured into a goblet

Appearance: Pours a pretty, cloudy, deep mahogany color speckled with lots of orange highlights and a quarter of a finger of white-colored head that quickly dissolved into a thin lacing of foam that partially covered the top of the beer.

Aroma: Wow! Very aromatic! Strong aromas of pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger and brown sugar, comingled with aromas of toasted malt. Smells delicious!

Taste: Tastes just as good as it smells! Strong flavors of pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger dominating the flavors up front, followed by some really tasty flavors of toasted malt and brown sugar-like sweetness. There is a slight sour note as well toward the finish, as well as a touch of bitterness which is a nice complement to the brown sugar-like sweetness and all of the pumpkin pie spices. Delicious!

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and pretty effervescent, actually. With an ABV of 7.4%, there is no alcohol on the palate.

Overall: This is a very, very delicious beer. Too bad it's not brewed anymore, as I'd certainly like to get it again!
Jan 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.76 by Cairncad from Massachusetts

Dec 13, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Wiz99 from Minnesota

Nov 21, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by LoranDrinksBeer from South Carolina

Oct 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.22 by 80x2HopHead from Vermont

Oct 20, 2014
Photo of jellikit
Reviewed by jellikit from Washington

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
Bottle.
Appearance: copper. Mostly clear. Super thin head. Super thin lacing.
Smell: cinnamon. Nutmeg. Clove.
Taste: same as smell, with a little alcohol backer.
Mouthfeel: medium carbonation, medium body. Slightly sweet, mostly dry.
Overall: great pumpkin beer. And I don't like pumpkin in my beer.
Oct 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by BH712 from District of Columbia

Oct 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4.16 by Anaxagoris from Washington

Sep 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by ScottJWing from Ohio

Sep 02, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by malfunxion from New York

Aug 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by wrightst from Maryland

Jun 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Stephen_Purdue from Washington

Jun 26, 2014
Blight from Elysian Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 86 ratings