Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Grand Reserve

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

04.28.06 12oz bottle shared at Paul’s Pre-TAPNY. Clouded, messy looking, reddish amber with sudsy bubbles and some spotty lace. Aroma of mild cherry, some wood, old barrel (old wet wood), and raisin all hit in the beginning. Tart, stunning, and reminiscent of spicy sauvignon blanc with big time barrel acidity, alcohol notes, and lingering acidity. Almost as still on the palate as a sauvignon blanc, too.

Pours out a nice cloudy brown with not much of a head, slight lacing but nothign to really remark on. Aroma is of oak and bourbon with a touch of vanilla. Taste is complex very oaky and sweet whiskey flavors, the oak aging did the Firefly well, but I’m a bit confused on the direction this beer is trying to go

Interesting aroma, loaded with oranges, oak, bourbon, caramel, vanilla, etc... Fairly hot with a noticeable alcoholic edge to the aroma. Very cloudy and light brown. Flavor is sour and dry with caramel malt flavors covered up with a huge oaky astringancy that just dries out the mouth. Lighter body and very crisp. Interesting, but a little overwhelming.

Bottle shared by Blake. Hazy brown body, no head. Crystal malt aroma with a horsey/tart grapefruit rind brett character. Some floral sweetness @ the end. Teh flavor picks up some acidic tartness to go along with lemon rind, rhubarb, caramel/scottish-style malt and some acid at the back of the throat. Cherry pie finish. Seems like a nice amber w/ brett thrown in .

Pours flat-looking with a very thin off-white head. Aroma of wet sherry and/or white wine cask and cork. Oaky Gales old ale qualities. Slightly awkward combination of sour brett, oak, and bourbon(?) edge. Dirty water. Delicious old ale.

12oz bottle-DLD06 thanks to who brought this rare beer to the tasting :) bright lightly cloudy amber with a small tan head. huge bourbon aroma-this one masks everything great that was the regular la roja. A total nose killer. flavors are very sour with bourbon all over the place. Im not saying this is a very bad beer, just way unbalanced, but definately something to try). after the beer warmed a bit, the bourbon notes became more fruity, with cherry notes and a decent note of belgian yeast. this is a pretty decent beer, but not as good as the regular. This beer should have been in the barrel for 6 months, not 18!

Bottle courtesy of Styles, thanks buddy! Deep brown pour with a thin dusting of beige fizz. Very fruity aroma with lots of funk (no suprises), yeast and spices. Very strong wood flavours with minimal booze flavours as well. Nuts and floral nuances as well. Funky finish with tart fruit lingering. Thanks Chris for another gem!

Bottle. Pours a hazy brown-orange body with a small whitish head. The aroma has plenty of fruit (once again), tart apples, alcohol, and oaky whiskey. Cereal flavour, apple fruit, and alcohol. Actually, there is plenty of alcohol and oaky whiskey flavours here but I didn’t find it to be too overwhelming. A good profile of funky tartness and fruitiness to counteract. Solid. Thanks for sharing this Len Manning!