Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca

Brewed by Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Dexter, Michigan USA

Bottle @ Toronado. Golden color with a white head. Champaign and white wine like with a spritzy palate. Orange, pepper, citrus and light mustiness, with a light refreshing finish.

I hate wits, in general. But I truly enjoyed this beer. After a terrible day of $250 in books being stolen from my desk in the lab, I came home still miserably angry, but was talked into cracking one open. Not wanting to waste the "good stuff," I went to this interesting looking Belgian white. Wow, not bad! It’s a clear pallid yellow without the yeast dumped in (the bottle is simply too big for me to get the yeast a glass at a time!). The nose is tart and tangy with a light wheatiness about it, rather than that dominating grainy aroma. Very tart, lemon, with a bit of creaminess. Orange zest and some light spices present. A bit of that Belgian and open fermentation twang. This is a very nice beer indeed aroma-wise. The palate is quite nice as well, creamy and full, though perhaps a bit fizzy. The flavors are even bigger and louder than the subtle aromas would indicate. Incredibly, ridiculously tart. Lemon and that open fermentation yogurt twang stick out. There’s a light sweetness, and a bit of yeast and orange, but a huge sour point. Not balanced, but I don’t mind! Yeast takes off some of the edge, makign this perhaps a bit more drinkable for the unprepared, but I liked it better undampened.

Golden yellow color with a medium white head. Smells like orange, general citrus, malt and spices. There is sourness in the flavor but also malty and sugary with some lemon. Tart finish. Very drinkable but still such a full flavor, nice.

With the yeast stirred up and poured in, the beer is a cloudy straw color, topped by about two inches of frothy white foam. Lots of carbonation stirs up some small dark flecks of yeast. Good head retention and spotty but thick lacing. Tangy wheat, lemon, and yeast are found in the aroma - very nice. The beer is tangy, almost to the point of being funky, with full flavors of wheat and a lemony citrus character. The coriander is subtle but still noticeable. Dry wheat, orange, and coriander come out in the finish, and the tangyness sticks around in the aftertaste. Light to medium body, excellent carbonation.

12oz bottle thanks to Drewbeerme: It was cold coming out of the box today so I figured I would drink it immediately. Hazy golden color with a medium sized white head. Aroma, yeasty, some spice, coriander, light fruits, a little peppery. Flavor, bready, spicy, some fruits, a nice tartness. Good stuff.

Pours light orange with a huge fluffy white head. Tastes of spicy yeast, citrus peel, and coriander. Very light bodied and thin feeling.

All I can say is WOW. This is some unreal sh**. Poured with an enourmous white head, a slight hazy golden color. Awesome aroma that smelled of oranges and cloves and corriander. Not at all heavy in the mouth, nicely fizzy and finishes with a nice tartness. Very Very good stuff.

This is a really nice white ale. Alot of protein in this one, as the ginormous head adopted a pointed meringue of a peak and held it forever. Appropriately cloudy yellow-gold. Nice aroma, not strong, but distinctive with lots of coriander, just a touch of orange peel, and maybe a hint of lemon - there was also a fresh dough note in the background. Flavor surprisingly dry from front to back, with the coriander being restrained in favor of a light citrus punch and mild tartness. Finish was dry and semi-clean. Almost creamy palate. Interesting and well done witbier.