Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga Grand Reserve

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

2nd batch bottle shared by Blake. Hazy orange-amber body. Light orange juice and brie funk aroma. Great flavor! Dry, tart green apple with lemony brett acidity. Wraps up with dry woodiness and bitter green hops. Delicious fruity, tart flavors.

12 oz big thanks to drewbeerme for this sample. We put this next to the original firefly. Lighter aroma, some strong similarities of the original but much more enjoyable. Vinegar sour, sweet, a funkiness that I’m enjoying without those vegatable notes. The appearance is a clear orange amber color with a wispy head. Sour fruit flavors, apples, oak, sweet, drying alcohol and pepper spice. In comparison its much more oaky, dry, less funky, more alcohol, more sour, and more balanced. Tasty beer.

Bottle: Caramel in color, quite hazy, hefty off-white head, nice lacing.   Musty oaken nose, funky, soft floral aspects, some dill and unflavored pixie stix dust.   Warming herbal/floral start, soft palate, tart and yet semi-sweet.   Yeasty/bready finish, soft spices linger.   Big in body, moderate to full mouthfeel.   The fruitiness of its non-barrel aged partner isn’t there, but instead the oak seems fairly dominant as it hangs from start to finish.   Bigger in the nose than on the tongue, the oak might dominate over the softer notes of this one.   While enjoyable, I almost feel as if I prefer the standard version better.   Certainly enjoyable, but not as big or long lasting as I had hoped. The tartness lingers, but only the oak really remains after the finish.   A huge thanks goes out to Styles for sending me two of these gems!

Massive thank to Hopscotch for sending this rare treat my way. Pours hazy copper with a minimal white head. The aroma has spicy brett with more malt presence than normal for a JP beer giving it an offsetting smoothness. There is also some mellow oak, grainy spice and nice floral traits. Medium body that is lighter than expected with some rough graininess and very little soft carbonation. The flavor starts with sharp citrus and sourness like a very ripe grapefruit, sharp spice and light nectarine. The finish has a sharper citrus character and then a lingering dry fruitiness and spice. Not as complex as I had expected, but still a delicious treat.

12oz bottle, sampled next to regular luciernaga, poured clear amber with no head, not sure why the regular luciernaga was cloudy and this wasnt. nose is not quite as funky as the regular but the bourbon barrel adds subtle complexities, lots of vanilla and oak. flavor is again not as a funky as the regular but has nice soft bourbon notes, oak, brett, pepper, and yeast. this loses some points with appearance and a tad more watery compared to the regular laciernaga.

Cloudy orange colour with a small beige head. Fruity, light acidic aroma with a spicy and yeasty note. Malty, sweet flavor with an acidic note and light dry spicy finish.

(Bottle 35,5 cl) Hazy, amber golden with a creamy, off-white head. Distinct oak aroma. Medium body, lightly caramelish and spicy. Extremely dry with loads of vanilla and oak. Some medicinal notes. Unusual but interesting. Courtesy of madsberg. 120207

Bottled. An unclear amber beer with a thin orange head. The aroma is sweet hoppy with strong notes of fruits - especially peaches and oranges - reminds me of a fruit punch, but also with light notes of alcohol. The flavor is sweet alcoholic combined with notes of mango and peaches, as well as light woody notes, leading to a dry end. The alcohol leaves a slight burn in the mouth.