If you caught the tail end of the weekend's beer scene, you know Seattle's pumpkin season has a very specific center of gravity. Elysian Brewing held the 22nd annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival on Saturday, October 3, from 4:00 to 10:00 pm at its Capitol Hill Brewery at 1221 E Pike Street, and for one night the brewery spilled out onto 13th Avenue and Pike Street to make room for it. It's the kind of event that rewards planning, because tickets are not sold at the door and they tend to go quickly.
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General admission landed at $52.38 with fees, and each ticket came with five beer drink tickets and a 2026 GPBF commemorative tasting glass. If you wanted to keep going after that, extra drink tickets were $2 each or $10 for a pack of five, sold by card only. There was a $45-plus-fees general admission option and a $10-plus-fees designated driver ticket, which covered admission but no drink tickets or glass and came with the understanding that the holder wouldn't be drinking. The whole thing was cashless, so a card was the only way to pay for anything once you were inside, and there was no re-entry once you left.
On tap were more than 60 pumpkin, cider, and seasonal craft beers, fresh hops included. The headliners were the ones that put Elysian on the pumpkin map: the Great Pumpkin, the world's first Imperial Pumpkin Ale at 8.4% ABV, brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice; Night Owl, a more drinkable pumpkin ale with ginger and the same spice blend; and Punkuccino, a coffee-toddie-style take on the style. Space Dust IPA was there too, and the brewery's Pumpkin Variety Pack is available in 12-pack cans if you'd rather bring the flavors home.
Beyond the beer, the festival leaned into the spectacle. The giant pumpkin keg tapping is the centerpiece: a several-hundred-pound pumpkin is carved, scorched, filled with beer, and tapped live. There was a costume contest with prizes for first, second, and third place, a pumpkin pie-eating showdown, live DJ sets, and local food trucks. Elysian Capitol Hill served its own kitchen fare alongside festival exclusives like the Great Pumpkin Burger Box and smoked turkey legs. No outside food or drinks were allowed, though free water stations were set up around the grounds.
Getting in and out took a little coordination. There were two entry points, one at 13th Avenue and E Madison Street and another on E Pike Street heading west toward the brewery, and with Capitol Hill parking being what it is, the organizers pointed people toward shared transport, public transit or personal transport. The festival runs rain or shine, with indoor and covered areas, so the weather didn't dictate the night. If you're already eyeing next year, the brewery takes inquiries at elysianbeer@gmail.com, and they ask that you put GPBF in the subject line.
Published Date
5 October 2026
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