Halloween Costume Ideas From Elysian Great Pumpkin Beer Fest

Since spooky day is right around the corner, here’s Halloween costume inspiration from Elysian Brewing’s 20th annual “Great Pumpkin Beer Festival.”

Source: iOne Digital / other

Seattle-based Elysian Brewing recently kicked off the Halloween season in fashion with the 20th annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival. Earlier this month, beer enthusiasts flocked from all over to Seattle Center to celebrate two decades with the brand. While it did feel like a celebration, in reality, it was a thank you to Elysian from fans and consumers. The brand that opened its doors in 1996 does everything in-house while maintaining a taproom, beer hall, and restaurant.

Source: Vera Project/ Elysian / Vera Project/ Elysian

Before we explore the vibes from the Pumpkin Festival it’s only right to ask Elysian a few pumpkin-related questions. Dan-O Beyer is the Cellarmaster at Elysian Brewing and was nice enough to answer a few questions for us.

BOSSIP Talks All Things Pumpkin Beer & The “Great Pumpkin Beer Festival” With Elysian Cellarmaster Dan-O

BOSSIP: Can you share more about your background that led you to become a cellarmaster?
Dan-O:

“I started at Elysian Brewing back in 2003, doing odd jobs. At the time, had no brewing experience but was curious to learn. One year later, I helped fill our very first barrel, marking the beginning of our barrel program! Since then, I’ve thrown myself into learning and experimenting and collaborating.”

What are the non-negotiables in your job that must be executed perfectly every time?

 

“For each beer, it’s important to create a balance of flavors. Specifically, when it comes to adding pumpkin and spices to a beer recipe, balance plays a huge role. Too much pumpkin and you can get some odd, earthy flavors. ‘Gourd’ is sometimes used to describe a particular off-flavor in beer, so getting some gourd but not too much takes skill. Then, incorporating spices calls for some trial and error to find the right mix.
Sometimes we start with an idea for a funny beer name and then dig into the details of what the beer should be. If you have a table of brewers all cracking up, that can be a great starting point!”

For those who instantly shoot down anything pumpkin, what’s your pitch?

“Pumpkin can be a polarizing flavor, but each pumpkin beer that we create has differing levels of intensity. A lot of flavors people notice when enjoying something “pumpkin flavored” are notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices. In addition to these spices, a lot of our seasonal beers feature flavors and aromas of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, caramel, and others, which can be a bit more approachable for those who typically don’t turn towards pumpkin.
Originally, we didn’t set out to become pumpkin brewers. We started as a “weird ingredient brewery” and pumpkin was one of the ingredients we experimented with. We continue to innovate with new hop varieties, a variety of fruits, and other unconventional additions like pickles, curry, fermented black limes, and even chamoy!
For people who aren’t crazy about pumpkin beers, we brew a variety of other beer styles at Elysian. I always tell people to find what they like and drink that! We showcase many seasonally rotating taps in our Seattle taprooms including fresh hop beers and other “harvest” beers, so there’s really something for everyone. Our Dragonstooth Stout is a fan favorite, and people look forward to our Bifrost Winter Pale Ale all year.”

What’s the inspiration behind the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival?

“The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival was inspired by our pumpkin beers and the same vision that our company was founded on – providing beer drinkers with alternatives to mainstream lagers, breaking the boundaries and trying things people haven’t done before. The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival isn’t your typical beer festival – our fans bring their passion and dedication each year with unique costumes and are looking to us for the latest and greatest in pumpkin beer. Each year we strive to develop new ways to present pumpkin beer and other seasonal offerings to the Seattle community so that festival attendees have something different to look forward to. As each year passes, we expand our search for unique flavor combinations.”
“We also find inspiration from our staff in the development process by inviting them to submit their own ideas for pumpkin beers. The innovation team discusses the entries based on merit and then the winners get to work directly with the innovation team to bring their idea to life – writing the recipe and then brewing it on our pilot system. Cinnamonster, our small-batch cinnamon roll-inspired beer, was an employee submission that was celebrated as a clear fan favorite at this year’s Great Pumpkin Beer Festival.”

How did the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival originate? How many people attended the first one and where was it held?

The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival at Elysian Brewing began in 2005 when the brewery realized it had four pumpkin beers available at the same time. We decided to invite four other breweries to bring or make a pumpkin beer, and the first festival was held. It was a small gathering, a lot of industry folks, food pairings, and a few jockey boxes. But the festival’s success led to the next year’s festival, and the event has continued to grow each year.
The first Great Pumpkin Beer Festival saw about 100 attendees and fit in our original Capitol Hill brewery and pub in Seattle. 20 years later, 5,543 total tickets were distributed to our 2024 festival at the Seattle Center.

What can people expect from future Great Pumpkin Beer Festivals?

“We hope to continue growing Great Pumpkin Beer Festival and the tradition for another 20+ years! Bringing more costume wearers and beer lovers from throughout the world together and continuing to fill the biggest pumpkins we can find, we want to offer attendees fun activities and moments that celebrate pumpkin beer and the fall season. People will continue to see more innovation with our pumpkin beers; we’re just getting started! We’re passionate about shaking up classic styles and experimenting with unusual ingredients, so stay tuned to see what we have up our sleeves for 2025.”

What’s one beer people should have at their Halloween parties this year?

“Our flagship pumpkin beer, Night Owl, is not to miss! It’s been around since 1997 and packs the perfect pumpkin punch. We brew it with pumpkin puree and juice and spice it with nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. It’s one of our most accessible pumpkin beers, available nationally in six and 12 packs, as well as draft in select US markets, so consumers can get their hands on it before their Halloween parties! It’s also available in Elysian’s Pumpkin Variety Pack along with our beloved Great Pumpkin Imperial Ale which just won gold at the Great American Beer Festival in the pumpkin beer category!”

Check the next page for all the Halloween costume inspiration your heart desires courtesy of the “Great Pumpkin Beer Festival.”

The Elysian Brewing’s 20th annual “Great Pumpkin Beer Festival” went down on October 4, and October, 5 at the Seattle Center.

It was a celebration free of drama and bad vibes with music blasting Gand 90 pumpkin beers at your fingertips. After tasting Elysian’s delicious ” Dark O’ Moon”, “Punkuccino” or “Great Pumpkin, ” attendees had several options for entertainment, food, photo booths, and friendly games. Free tattoos were available for a limited time and attendees scooped up the opportunity quickly. One highlight of each day was the pie-eating contest which in theory sounded easy but immediately proved to be a tall task for the average person.

Nonetheless, it was fun to gather alongside everyone at the event and watch the pie chaos. Perhaps the most interesting part of the pumpkin festival was the shared love attendees had for the brand.  The “Great Pumpkin Beer Festival” grandly ended both nights with pumpkin beer tapped straight for an enormous pumpkin.

If you’ve made it this far, it’s time for the best Halloween costume inspiration from the festival which you can see below.

From head-to-toe costumes to stylish orange outfit integration attendees came ready to shine.