Bruery / Elysian / Stone (Stone Collaborations 2011) -- La Citrueille Celest de Citracado

La Citrueille Celeste de Citracado (which translates to The Heavenly Pumpkin of Citracado) is a Stone Brewing Co. collaboration with The Bruery and Elysian Brewing.  Kiki picked up a few bottles at Bev Mo for $2.99 each.  Its pretty pricey for a beer that's only a 5% ABV and a 12 oz bottle.  Anyway, Stone has done a number of collaborations and tends to have a new one every few months.  This particular collaboration beer was brewed on 9/15/11 and released on 10/17/11.

They even have a video with the brewers

What the bottle tells me: this was brewed with rye malt, the pumpkins were grown on Stone Farms, The Bruery got the yams and suggested the fenugreek, there is no cinnamon, clove, nutmeg or allspice in the beer.

Fenugreek?  Wikipedia tells me that is an herb and spice and is common in curries.  Its also often used in flavoring for artificial maple syrup.

Lemon verbena?   I actually know what it is because my parents-in-law have a whole bunch of it growing in front of their house.  Its a leafy plant that has leaves that smell like lemon oil.  Its great for teas and for adding lemon flavor to cooking, but it seems out of place compared to the other ingredients.

The beer: the color is really dark brown, and as you can see, its so dark its almost black.  The bottle bills this beer as "ale brewed with pumpkin, yams, toasted fenugreek, lemon verbena, and birch bark."  To me it tasted like an Arrogant Bastard with spices, yams, and pumpkin.  Its full body, bitter, malty, and hoppier than most fall beers.  Definitely not your typical pumpkin beer.  Its interesting, its a cool collaboration, but not something I'd want to drink very much of.