Jolly Pumpkin Bière de Mars

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

Thanks to TAR for this bottle - Cloudy copper pour with minimal head - medium tart/acidic aroma, with notes of oak, earthy/barnyard qualities, and some almost lambic-like funkiness - flavor is mildly acidic and somewhat tart up front, followed by big time wood flavors, then a gentle sweetness and a hint of grain, apricot - subdued spices and hops in the finish - a bit of alcohol warmth finishes it all off - a good beer, but not one of JPs best.

Bottle. Poured hazy brown with an average frothy off-white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate tart citrus spice aroma. Medium body with a slick texture and bottle conditioned thin particles. Medium sour flavor with a medium bitter finish of moderate duration. I would recommend this to a freind.

After its removal from the 750ml brown bottle, it pours a hazy brown, and upon reaching a level where I could decant the beer it forms an opaque brown with a creamy light tan head that is kingly in size, as it slowly dissipates, the residual lace forms a tight girdle upon the glass. Nose has that nice Oak Barrel tartness, pleasing malt sweetness, citrus like crispness, and a real portent of the joys to come upon the tasting. Start is semi-sweet, or semi tart, your choice, nice grain presence, top is moderate in feel to the palate. Finish has a perfect acidity, the hops as they should be, understated but detectable, quite dry, desert bone dry to be exact, long lasting after taste glues itself to your palate, a prima fascia example of an often over looked style.

A finely crafted beer, pouring a light brown with small suspended particles and a slender beige head. The aroma is a sharp malt, sweet and caramel, with oak, yeast, and an herbal hopping. Warming drink. The flavor has a somewhat sour bitterness to it, malty and woody with an underlying light brown sugar sweetness. There’s a subtle spiciness to it, along with a modest alcohol burn. It finishes surprizingly clean, then begins to warm the innards. Nice.

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Beer is clear, light brown with a moderate, frothy, beige, mostly diminishing head.<P> The aroma is malty with light notes of toasted grain, moderate notes of caramely biscuit; Hoppy with light notes of grassy herb and lemon zest; Yeasty with a light-to-moderate notes of basement and sour barnyard; Light miscellaneous sugar, winter spiced alcohol, oaky vanilla and a moderate note of aged vinous sour cherry.<P> The flavor is moderately-to-heavily sweet, moderately bitter, moderately acidic with a long, lightly warm, lightly sweet and acidic finish.<P> The body is medium, the texture is velvety-to-creamy and the carbonation is lively.<P>Sublime.

Lightly hazed brown ale with a thin creamy off white head. Woody cherry aroma, with barnyard qualities, veering on white wine. In mouth, a nice light flemish sour, with lactic notes, light herbal character, nice and quite interesting. At the Mondiale, June 2006.

750 ml bottle. Pours copper with a thin filmy head. Malty caramel aroma with a touch of citrus and candi sugar. Slight sourness in the taste and a bit estery. Nicely done.

750 mL bottle. Tawny brown iced tea body with almost no head, no CO2. Nose-special kind of funky that is barn, sweet, big note of Chardonnay. Taste-very wine like-slightly sour, white grapes, white wine (Chardonnay or maybe a weak Riesling), muted dry woody spice, light orange zest, and tannins. As I said, very wine like. The wine, oak, and funk dominate. Very different and very well done. A near perfect marriage of light Geuze and oak. Mind blowing.