Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

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

750ml bottle purchased at Blue Max in Burnsville, MN. Pour is clear orange, ruby red. Gushing dirty white head. Aroma of sour funk and barnyard earthiness. Taste is more subdued than the nose, but still the barnyard sour funk. Really nice, full body. Lots of malt, and blended fruit sweetness. Everything was nicely in balance, and as mentioned, subdued. Overall an extremely drinkable beer. My favorite JP to date.

Bottle. Aroma of sour cherries with balsamic vinegar. Sour wood with a bit of tartness and a hint of great spices to come. Dark murky brown with a creamy, rocky, lacing tanned head. Malty sour taste, not puckeringly so but still very firmly sour, cherries with a hint of raspberry and and earthy woody note flecked with yeast. Touch of nutmeg and flowers, touch of bourbon and only faint vinegar. Medium body but feels light, gentle prickling but not crisp (smooth all the way through); slight touch of oil. Very, very dry and earthy with a bit of caramel detected with time and warmth. Slight, dirty (autumnal - pumpkinish?) bitterness to balance the relatively mild sourness. Seemingly a wood-aged kriek made by a master from Flanders. A really nice, complex effort - and effortlessly drinkable.

Pours beautifully-- a dark red amber color. Clear, with a dense tan head. Leaves plenty of lacing on the glass. Complex aroma, musty and dank malt, with some fruit (apple comes to mind), and a slight acetic note. Flavors are a blend of sweet malt, wood, and fruit-- like sour cherry and green apple. Very nice tangy, earthy dry finish. Really complex, yet quite drinkable and smooth. Outstanding.

Poured amber with a huge off white that had to settle. Aroma of fruit, spice, and malt. Flavor of sweet malt to start with some sour fruit and spice. Finished dry. As it warmed the sour taste became more dominant.

What the hell. For 15 minutes I watched this bottle foam over. I keep having to clean the foam off before it goes all over. Pours a ruby hue with some head that rapidly fades to nothing. Nose is like carmelized apples and I also feel like I am standing in an old wine cellar that is ripe with so much exposure to moisture. Just an almost musty, old wood smell. Flavor reminds me of a wine, or better yet a brandy. Different from that though of course. Apple flavor is distinct, but not overpowering by any means. This is my first of this style, so I don’t really know what to expect. Which makes this nothing more than an amateurs rating. But over the journey I have taken in beer and coming to this point, I kind of like it. Definitely not something to pick up right off the bat after just getting into the craft brew. But good to push the palate in a forward direction.

Amber body, large frothy head. Aromas of spicy citrus and caramel and some lambic-esque sourness. Sour cherry flavors lead into hints of caramel and smokey spice. Finishes cleanly.

bottle. pours cloudy red-brown (cider) with a big cakey head. took some time to settle. lots of lace. musty aroma. initially dark fruits and wood were apparent, ending with a tart, dry finish and a very subtle bitter. after some time the brett became dominant lending flavors of pear, or unripened apple. palate became noticeably smoother as it warmed as well. an excellent beer with a dynamic flavor.

pours amber with a nice two finger fluffy tan head. aroma is sour apples and a little cherry with some caramel. has a light to medium body with good lacing and carbonation. flavor is the same as aroma with oak. has a somewhat dry aftertaste and the taste just sits on the tongue for a while. a nice and different amber.