Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga (The Firefly)

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

Bottled sample via boutip. Hazy orange in cololur with moderate champagne-like carbonation. Aromas of funk Belgian yeast, coriander, light herbal hops, and a bit of wood. There’s a bit of light malt flavor in the mouth, along with more wood, funk, gentle hops, spice, and some lemony sourness. Fairly dry with a light fruity finish. It hides it’s 6.5% AVB very well. Overall, this isn’t a beer that’s going to blow your mind, but it’s very gentle and well balanced.

[bottle] Poured straw gold with a massive fluffy white head that stuck around. Aroma was quite spicy with some barnyard funk and yeasty goodness. Flavor was tart, spicy, and finished dry. Good stuff.

Orange, iced tea pour. Huge, frothy off-white head with a lot of staying power. Some cascading lace. Nose is one-dimensional but inviting aroma of yeast and sour citrus, mainly a tangerine-orange montage. More funky tangerine, lemon pith, a smidgen of pear, and a little spice. Finishes dry and spicy with a lingering orangey aftertaste. Hops are semi noticeable but the fruity palate takes the forefront. Very tart and effervescent. Decent.

A cloudy dark gold (slight amber) pour with very large thick head. Funk, sweetness that is similar to honey, orange, fruit, berry flavors, and grassy herbal notes. Also hints of spice and oak.

another gusher, but not as aggressively as others i’ve had from jp. huge, dense, rocky off-white head that sticks around forever. seriously. it’s meringue instead of beer foam. it went down about an inch every five minutes. it took a while before i even noticed the deep and hazy honey-gold beer sitting beneath it. the smell is sort of classic jolly pumpkin: lots of funk stand out first, then it fades into an earthy, grassy note, with lemon zest in the background. some vanilla and spice mingle with the honey malt to form a decent malt note. taste is lighter on the funk, with a lot more spice, a lot more earthy and grassy hops, and a lot less citrus. pretty bitter on the finish, seemingly the combined result of the hops and the spicy astringency. quite dry, as expected, with a lot of carbonation for an incredibly creamy mouthfeel. not as slaking as i’d hoped. i’d drink it again, but the maracaibo especial still tops this, for my tastes.

Hmm, pours medium amber with a goos sized head. Aroma is like a very strong witte with corriander and orange. Mouthfeel is nice with lively carbonation, amybe a bit thin, but not watery. Flavor is where they liost me. There is a nice yesty characteristic mixed with spice and a bit of fruit, but all of that is overwhelmed by the grassy hops that dominate this beer. Certainly not bad, but could use a bit more balance.

750ml Bottle. Nice coriander aroma with hints of spice. Mouth is well carbonated like all other Jolly Pumps so far. Taste is more spicy than the nose would suggest, oranges round out the flavor and shavings of the peels are noticable in the hazy bottle toped with a large fluffy head. Finishes dry.

75oml. I’ve had this beer a few times, once before JP’s QA turned weaker, and a few times after. Every time after has been fairly low carbonated and dissappointing...but I still remember that one time I had the original or one of the original batches...and that blew me away. I’ll rate that taste.