Jolly Pumpkin Bière de Mars Grand Reserve

Formerly brewed at Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Sour Ale
Dexter, Michigan USA

Lots of sweet aromas in the nose. Hazy dark copper in appearance. Medium palate. Lightly sour upr front. Some bland malts follow but don’t offer much in the way of complexity. Not nearly as good as the other grand reserves that I’v had.

Earthy aroma with a slight sourness as well.Pours a medium to deep copper with a light off white head.Yeast,light fruits and a slight sourness stand out in the aroma.Medium mouthfeel with a sour malt finish.

12 oz bottle, via MikeMac. Pours a dark chestnut brown body with a fair amount of small chunkies despite my careful pour. Small fizzy beige head retains forever due to the active carbonation. Aroma is bourbon, oak, and bretty funk just bursting at the seams. Lots of fruitiness along with some yeast and sugar. Very robust aroma. Flavor is in lock step with the aroma. Amazing how it can be so complex and delicate yet have been in a bourbon barrel so long. Long lingering funky finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a dry crisp finish and lovely efforvescent fizzy carbonation. This beer was great. Amazing complexity and range of flavors. Better than the regular BdM version. My new highest rated Jolly Pumpkin!

Bottled (thanx to the american bunch). Orange golden in colour with a medium sized head. Bourbon, dried fruits, vinegar. Nice complexity. A somewhat dry finish.

Bottled. Murky dark amber coloured. Quite some sediment. Aroma of bourbon, dried apricots, vanilla, vinegar and even a touch of mint. The flavour is less complex than the aroma. It is surprisingly light with a moderate sourness leading to a dry finish and some sweetness underneath. Light to medium body. Biére de garde has always been one of my least favourite styles, but this actually smelled rather good and promising. Unfortunately, there was not much going on in the flavour.

12 Oz Bottle. Original Batch - 14 Months. Apple candy aroma, with a touch of apricots mellowed in ale, yet with some peculiar edges of old woman perfume. Some of the alcohol notes are deep and dark, with edges of caramel. Pour of a rich deep caramel, firey in glowing orange, with a thin rim of whitish. Flavor is a somewhat confused melange of bright awakening acidity in apple skin and white grape juice, with caramel syrup dangling with a fast flow of balsamic vinegar, between fading into a mellow fragrant lemon hop smack, yet remaining lightly subdues. Some of the nose-stinging acidity creates some balance. However, the flavor of this beer alights some muddiness and subtleness with a little less distinctive qualities, it’s still a deliciously complete package.

12oz Bottle. Second release - 27 months. Batch 65. Ah, there’s that rich coconut husk and brown sugar delight I long for in a sour beer. Tangy, acidic and draped with lychee fruit. Tropical, slightly toasted, and restrained. Pours a rather clear firey red-orange, with a rim of soap in white. This is dense and maybe a little coarse. Shy of acetone for sure, but forward with vinegar-like acidity. Dry, but actually there are some toothy sugars that hold on and fight transformation, giving the acidity in this beer some serious balance. Morphing. Starts out with a sipping-necessary acid curtness, but then glides into a caramelized mango fruit flavor, before softening up (my tooth enamel) and glowing with a bit of oak and vanilla. Rather complex, but a bit tough to drink due to the searing acidity. Funk is composed of a light blue cheese bacteria, faint kefir, and cobwebs. Not too moldly or animal-like. This is interesting. The younger version isn’t distinct enough in my brain to be able to compare, but this decent. Finishes with a spark of white grape pulp and brandy. Really surprised that any barrel character hasn’t overwhelmed at this length. Dry oak character is balancing. Overall, interesting but a touch resistant to quaffing.

From a 12oz Bottle. Pours a fiery honeyed amber with nice clarity and a thin layer of fine bubbled, off-white head. Luscious aromas of pear skins and strawberries blend nicely with some brown sugar malt characters, creating a sensually soft bouquet. A touch of sourness gives it an extra fresh dimension. Light bodied, highly carbonated, sparkling champagne-like mouthfeel. Some nice grape tannins and spicy oak coat the tongue, somplimenting the bretts to create a clean, light fruit flavor impression. Very nice balance between bretts, light fruits, and spicy oak, but the flavor dimensions are a bit subtle and aren’t overly complex. Still quite nice, overall.

Thanks to hopdog for opening this... Appears a hazy, sediment laden, copper color with a small white head that quickly fades away. Spotty lacing is left around the glass. Smell is of wild yeast, oaky, vanilla, tart fruit, light citrus, and light spices. Taste is of the mentioned aromas with the oaky funk jumping out like a sore thumb and drawing all of the light flavors into a treat to savor. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, wild, with the oaky tannins and tartness coming together before the swallow.