Jolly Pumpkin Bière de Mars Grand Reserve

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

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.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with Styles (thanks!). Very light gusher. Poured a deep amber color with an averaged sized off white head. Lots of floaters. Aromas of wood, vanilla, spices, yeast, toasted malts and a little all around funkiness. Tastes of wood, spices, yeast, vanilla, and had a tart and sour cherry finish. Lively body.

Thanks to hopdog for sharing this rare Jolly Pumpkin treat. Pours a hazy reddish brown amber with small floaties and a small bubbly off white head. Aroma was vineous, tart fruits, perfume, oak, spicy with hints of bourbon hidden under the wild yeast. Flavor of yeast, bread, vineous, tart, light sour, oak and vanilla.

100% blind rating. No head. Body is cloudy/murky dark reddish-amber. Aroma is lightly malty (caramel), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of cherry, wood, sour apple skins, autumn leaves. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately to heavily acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately to heavily acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively/soft carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic. Re-rating from a blind tasting didn’t change much from original rating (previously 3.4), but is definitely much more sour than before.

Botted. Gusher. Beer is hazy medium caramel-brown colored with a large, off-white, frothy, mostly and rapidly diminishing head.<P>The aroma’s first impression is tart and funky. Pretty FSA-like. It’s malty with moderate notes of toasted grain, light notes of caramel; Hoppy with moderate notes of lemon zest, light herb; Yeasty with light notes of brett-like barnyard, horseblanket, moderate wet basement. Light miscellaneous note of oak, burbon, red-fruit vinosity.<P>The flavor is moderately acidic, lightly sweet with a lightly acidic, lightly sweet finish.<P>The body is light-to-medium, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is soft.

Bottle courtesy of The_Man. Opened as a gusher. On pour the head didn’t erupt which was a bit strange. A deep brown color and essentially clear. Good dose of yeast sits on the bottom of the glass. Whitish head is everlasting, nice lacing is left. Aroma is very fruity/winelike. Bits of cherry and oak treat the snout. Barnlike aroma is mixed in mid sniff to finish. Medium bodied, soft carbonation. Quite winelike in taste, fruity, some acidity. Moderate oak and tannin. I don’t really get the bourbon in taste, to me I would have guessed that this hit a red wine barrel rather than bourbon. Quite a tasty beer!

A hazy orange beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet with quite a lot of alcohol as well as peaches, the sweet notes reminds me of candy. The flavor is slightly acidic and bret-like combined with notes of grapes and wood. I’m surprised that I don’t pick up any bourbon notes when it has been on a bourbon cask for 14 months - maybe the cask is what gives it the bret note? I’m not really impressed - but it is not my favorite style.

Sampled at Arg0’s Pre-RBSG Tasting at his pad: Amber caramel color, off white head, light lacing. Nose of sweet and funky belgian notes, cranberry and cherry, bright bacteria and sweet crumbly malts. The flavor is rich, chewy, sweet cherry pie. Delicious and simple. Finishes appley, tart, lovely. Thanks artusory!