The Brief Elysian's "Great Pumpkin Beer Festival" returns to its original Capitol Hill location on Saturday, Oct. 3. (Great Pumpkin Beer Festival)What is the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival? The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival features the brewery's fall-inspired ales—Night Owl, Punkuccino and Great Pumpkin—alongside more than 60 pumpkin and fall harvest beers from breweries across the country. When did the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival start? The backstory:The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival started out as a small event on Capitol Hill, 20 years ago, with only four Elysian-brewed pumpkin beers and four guest breweries.