Ursa Orange (Elysian Brewing Co.)

PUMPKIN BEER #5

For beer number five I figured “When in Rome!” and decided to go with another Elysian Brewing Company beer (the host of the event). With 13 different Elysian brews to choose from I decided to go with one that sound very “unique”. URSA ORANGE is a Berliner Weiss-style pumpkin beer (something that I’ve never had), but with an even more original twist: the inclusion of a shot of pumpkin syrup after the pour!

Also known as Ursa Minor Berlinerweiss (but without the pumpkin syrup), Ursa Orange is a tart, North German-style wheat beer we’ve augmented with a slightly sweet pumpkin syrup. Pale and wheat malts were used, and all hopping was done in the mash, a figurative fistful of New Zealand organic Pacific Gem. The wort was unboiled, merely run off to the fermenter and pitched with lactobacillus and ale yeast we got from our friends at New Belgium. OG 7.1º P/1.028 SG; alcohol 2.7% ABW/3.25% ABV. If Napoleon had drunk this beer, he would have called it “the Champagne of the North…with pumpkin”. 

The beer itself pours a light yellowish orange. The added pumpkin syrup gives it a cloudiness that almost looks like orange pulp. A very faint ring of foam lines the glass.

Tartness comes through big in the nose. Here are the different scents I detected in the nose: lemon, corn, ketchup and potatoes. The longer the beer sets the more the ketchup dominates the nose. This may be the most unique nose ever! I could not wait to try it.

The taste is almost exactly as it smells, but not nearly as repugnant as it sounds. It starts sweet with a citrusy twinge (lemon/orange), then it fades into a ketchup-like acidic bite. A faint hint of root vegetables (potato/yam) comes through at the end to take the edge off.

Mouthfeel is light, but there is a definite drying. The heavy acidic/vinegar qualities keep it from going down too smoothly. Citric acid adds a clinginess that sticks to your gums.

Ursa Orange is a very unique beer. It’s very rarely that I get to try something that is unlike anything I’ve had before, but this was one of those times. Not the type of beer to session, but I can say I enjoyed my taster.

Overall: 7.5 out of 10

As a BERLINER WEISSBIER: 6.5 out of 10

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