Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Grand Reserve

Brewed by Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Sour Ale
Dexter, Michigan USA

At the Stone Sour fest. The cask was clear amber with a big lingering head while the regular keg version was a bit cloudy with little head, flat, and not aged in bourbon barrels. Aroma and taste of wood, bourbon, a little sour and funky. The cask version is described as a Bourbon barrel aged Flemish-style Amber ale. Both are called the "Select" versions.

Sampled on cask @ Stone’s Sour Ale Fest, July 2007. Pulled a deep amber with a fiar amount of froth up top. very funky aroma. Flavor was sour acidic and bitter but still with some malty sweets. woody bourbon notes from the barel. intersting, but a little to funky for me.

On cask at Stone’s 1st Annual Sour Beer tasting. Amber color, 1/2 finger head with medium bubbles. Slight pleasant funk aroma. My first beer of the event, but the flavor was still very mild flavor. I often associate with cask beers. Again sour, but mild. Good and very drinkable, but a little watery.

A bottle at DL day. A light hazed brown pour with almost no head. A sour fruitish aroma. A sour taste that is ok. the tartness really spreads across the sides of your tongue and make you pucker. THe 8% comes through as it warms. Good carbonation and a pretty solid palate. An overall good beer that is solid all the way around.

Bottle. Head is initially small, fizzy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy dark amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (caramel, nuts), with notes of vanilla, bourbon, wood. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively/soft carbonation. More bourbon character than the Luciernaga reserve, but I still can’t get too excited about it.

Bottled. Beer is cloudy, medium red-brown with a small, off-white, frothy, rapidly and mostly diminishing head.<P>The aroma is malty with light notes of toasted grain, trace caramel; Hoppy with a light herbal note; Yeasty with a light note of basement; Moderate miscellaneous notes of bourbon, light note of wood, vanilla, intermittent trace of sake-like gluten.<P>The flavor is moderately acidic, lightly bitter, lightly sweet with a long, lightly acidic, lightly bitter, lightly sweet finish.<P>The body is light/medium, the texture is watery/velvety and the carbonation is lively.

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting - Dark orangey brown, thin white head. Nose held notes of funked bourbon, pineapple and touches of soured vanilla and wood. Flavor was similar , but more subdued throughout. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, oaky finish. Very nice version here, but the original is a tad more complex in my book...

Batch 1. A hazy amber pour looks just like amber resin from a prehistoric excavation, somewhat startling color. Very little carbonation. The aroma has notes of wet oak, cheap bourbon, toasty malts, aged hops, dried fruits, alcohol and light tartness evident from afar. the flavor is very mildly tart, yeasty, spice-inflected from the barrel, with hints of vanilla and still plenty of bourbon. Dark fruit notes arrive late, as does some very light funkiness. the finish is dry, lightly acidic and mildly spicy, with duration shorter than expected. Tastes unclean. The mouthfeel is contorted and lightl carbonated, medium in body. A very earthy and woody outing that’s resulted in a les than thrilling, almost dissapointing, experience. Interesting, but not nearly as appealing as the regular La Roja.