In the meantime, I've been buying up some interesting beers and I want to share my thoughts. Although I usually drink my delicious beers and forget to write tasting notes, I happen to be drinking a beer and watching an unwatchable Bears-Broncos football game.
I decided to open up the Stone, Bruery, Elysian collaboration La Citrueille Celeste de Citracado (The Heavenly Pumpkin of Citracado) that's been sitting in my beer fridge for a couple of weeks. The bottle bills it as an "ale brewed with pumpkin, yams, toasted fenugreek, lemon verbena & birch bark". Ok then. Appearance: Dark amber color that looks black when it's not held up to the light. My delicious-looking pour included a thick, beige head that dissipated after a few minutes.
Aroma: There's an overwhelming aroma of spicy pine needles with citrus undertones. Pumpkin? Nope. Yams? Again, no.
Taste: Lemon zest with a spicy hop presence hits me right away. The spice follows through on the aftertaste and mixes with a woodsy feel.
Mouthfeel: I could use a bit more carbonation in this one. It might allow some of the other flavors to come through more. The sweetness of this beer become cloying as it warms. I like that the hop spice lingers but it doesn't quite balance out.
Overall: This is not a pumpkin beer in any sense that I've ever seen or tasted. I do wish that the yams and pumpkin would shine more in this one instead of the other spices. I enjoy analyzing it more than I enjoy drinking it. That can't be good, can it? I wouldn't buy this one again. C-
Beer Advocate has it at a B with 96 reviews. One reviewer called the taste "lime mixed with a pine tree" and I tend to agree with that. Brewbound.com liked it quite a bit, saying they were "wowed" by the first sip. Dailybeerreview.com had the same experience as I did - too many flavors that don't mix well. This beer is one of those that are divisive, some think it's great, others hate it.
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