Firestone Walker El Gourdo Wild Roasted Pumpkin Ale

Wild roasted pumpkin ale (with walnuts and bay leaf). El Gourdo is what happens when the local pumpkin patch calls the Barrelworks on the day after Halloween, asking if we want orphaned Cinderella Pumpkins. Not only did we take the leftover pumpkins last year, we roasted them with bay leaf and walnuts in a wood-burning oven fueled by brandy staves and local white oak. We then tossed 500 lbs. of the caramelized gourds into an oak-aged base beer blend for fermentation and further oak barrel aging, lasting almost a year. The resulting beer is subtle yet firm. Roasting releases naturally sweet spicy pumpkin, brown sugar, and nutty flavors and aromas, which mingle nicely with an earthy funk, toasted oak and assertive acidity.