Jolly Pumpkin Bière de Mars

Brewed by Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Bière de Garde
Dexter, Michigan USA

750 mL bottle from Stone. Opaque caramel brown with a creamy white head. Vanilla and caramel aroma. Slightly bitter wood and vanilla taste transitioning to a smooth oaky finish.

Sampled at the 1st annual Stone Sour Festival 2007. Nice aromas of sour fruit and maybe some wood. Very good.

I love these guys’ labels. This is one of my favorites. Nice yeasty, moldy, wild smelling ale. Says barrel aged but that is hardly noticeable but does give the flavor a little kick. Flavor is smooth, soft and slightly funky on the back side. Some hints of red fruits and citrus. Nice subtle one by these guys. Pours a clear brown color with big frothy off white head.

Cool bottle has the appearance of a wine bottle. An effervescent mouthfeel was a highlight of this Jolly Pumpkin offering. Kind of like sparklers going off. Head was big and soapy and was several shades lighter than the medium amber body color. Lots of sweet dark fruit in there. It is sweet and has hints of brown sugar to match the caramel malt. A hint of tartness manages to pop up. Definitely a quality beer.

750 ml bottle. Pours an amber nut brown color with an enormous foamy beige head. Strong spicy aroma with nutmeg and peppery undertones. Taste is very spicy with hints of nutmeg, pepper, fresh yeast and dough bread. another spicy brew from Jolly Pumpkin.

Tasted 7/17/07 at a STL beer gathering. Pours nut brown with a fizzy light tan head. The aroma has berry fruitiness, yeast, sourness and lots of graininess. Medium / thin body with a moderate amount of sharp carbonation. The taste is very grainy and earthy with lightly dirty dry berries, lots of huskiness and a crispness to everything. The finish is very dry and refreshing with lingering dry berries and grapes. I love this brewery and wish their beers were easier for me to obtain. Big thumbs up to this beer and Jolly Pumpkin in general.

Burnished copper hue with a slowly receding creamy white head and steady carbonation. Sour cherries and an elegant musk come forth first. A sprinkling of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice follows. Dried grains are also present. The flavour is a little maltier at first than I’d have suspected, full of dark breads and wild berries, but that quickly fades into the sour cherries and soft funk that was to be expected. Spices are easily tasted but don’t offer unwanted dryness. Attenuation feels just about right, enough to stand up to the sour/funk with delving into super-dry lambic territory. Carbonation is very active and tight and there’s a gentle oiliness to the mouthfeel. Worthy of respect, but over shadowed by some of the JP counterparts.

Red color wit brown hints and a tall off white head that leaves a thin blanket of foam. Not a lot in the aroma, just faint spices and some yeast. The flavor is very peppery with a lot of other spices thrown in. Long spice note on the finish.