Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura

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

I don’t know why but I really judge a stout heavily by its appearance. Maybe there is a connection to the first time I saw the beauty of a perfect nitro pour of Guinness. I was curious if the mad scientist Ron would be able to meet my appearance standards of a stout. I wasn’t let down. Perfect tan head. Dark and smooth like, as if it didn’t come from a bottle but the nitro keg I earlier mentioned. Wow does this have a great mouth feel. mouth feel, like appearance, means a lot to me when drinking a stout or porter. Ron hit a homerun in this department. (I name drop Ron as if we’re bowling team buddies or something). Next step: Can I handle what I know is going to be a sour stout. Yes sir I can. On the front end is such a tasty roasted malt taste. The back end seems to be dominated by brett but somewhat offset by the smooth mouth feel. Not present is that overblown hop crazy Imperial Stout taste I simply don’t like. The 8 percent alcohol is completely masked. Then, at the very end, returns a quick flash of roasted malt again. A great beer. RERATE Wow. I actually had this on tap in Ann Arbor. My god its good. This may very well be my favorite beer of all time.

Bottle (750ml) shared at ’Biegaman’s Summer Gathering’ -- courtesy of viggo. Pours black with a large mostly-lasting frothy tan head -- looks great! Interesting aroma is sour and roasty, quite yeasty along with some chocolate, smoke and dark fruit -- wild! Flavour’s so unique: Dry, roasty and sour with some chocolate, dark fruit and yeast. Alcohol well hidden. Medium bodied, creamy mouthfeel. I hate to use the words again but this is such a unique and interesting beer, I really enjoyed it. Great stuff.

Bottle. I haven’t tried many Belgian-style stouts, but this is one great beer. Tons of chocolate, w/out the smokey, dark fruit flavors that you find in most imp. stouts. Very clean flavor.

4/17/2007: Aroma: Mostly just yeast at first. After the head dissipates somewhat, it has some faint chocolate notes and a sour quality to it (cherries maybe?). Appearance: Pours a near black color with a dense, foamy head. Sheet-like lacing on the glass. Flavor: At first is seems quite sour (like sour cherries). Then it become more fruity with some Shiraz-like flavors appearing. The finish is a bit sour, but oddly enough the lingering taste on the tongue is cocoa. This may be because richer, darker flavors such as kaffee and cocoa seem to become more apparent when the beer reaches warmer temperatures. Palate: Much lighter body than expected; ample carbonation. Seems a bit strange for a stout, but interesting nonetheless. Overall: I haven’t had many Belgian-style stout before, but this one was quite good overall. It is a very interesting and intriguing interpretation. I look forward to trying this beer again as well as other Belgian-style stouts... Wife says, "Decaying Trees" 7/4/7/3/15=3.6

2006? Vintage (original bottling with inkjet-printed label) on 11/13/2007: VERY foamy - rich, mocha foam that is dense and rocky. Pour is 97% foam. Beer is very dark brown and looks black and opaque in the glass, very thick lacing. Aroma of chocolate, lots of dark fruit, deep red wine, hints of sweet licorice with a whiskey/bourbon alcoholic edge. Flavor is a nice blend of sour/acidic roasted malt, chocolate, dark fruits, earthy. Alcohol is more reserved in the flavor. Lingering deep roasty flavor, dark bitter chocolate, subtle hint of earthy and bitter coffee. Very rich and complex. Smooth, medium to medium-full body. Really quite excellent, this is the best bottle of Madrugada Obscura that I have ever had! 7/5/8/3/16=3.9

Dark brown body with a tan creamy head. Aroma bounces with grassy hops and espresso. Lively, some acidity throughout with a bittering hoppiness to balance the strong coffee and almond flavour.

Bottle. Deep black color with a thick brown head. Funky, tart aroma - the unmistakable JP aroma. Chocolate malty flavor with some burnt, bitter character, which gives way to sourness. Really unusual beer; i enjoy the Jolly Pumpkin treatment of a stout.

Bottle. I am late to the game with this one. Haven’t been drinking much beer recently and rating even less. However, when a bottle of untried JP crosses my field of vision, it will be purchased, tried, and rated. I am currently in a hotel on Philadelphia so my glassware choices are slim. It is either one of hotel water glasses or a Saison Dupont glass that I bought on this trip. In the words of Sir Topham Hatt, "Here we go!"

Big fizzy nut brown head sits atop an opaque black body. The aroma is a very nice combo of nutty roasted malts and some funky yeast/JP house character. Assertive roasted malts are first, they are then quickly displaced by a tart yeasty almost funk that is very welcome. It is also contains a good bit of bitter hops, more than I expected, and more than I thought could possibly work in a beer like this. Though it does. A fine creation that manages to blend three distinct flavors: roasted malt, funky wild yeast, and bitter hops together in a formula that would never work on paper but works quite well in the glass. Kudos.

750 mL bottle split with NachlamSie. Pours black with mahogany edges and a nice tan head. The aroma piques my interest right away: nutty malts and roasty notes are strong, with maybe a bit of cocoa, but then there is also an assertive oaky cellar tone with some sour berries and cured leather. The flavor actually startled me with its complexity. The better part of it is roasty or musty, and a clean hop bitterness hits up front. Woody and nutty malts stay even throughout. In the middle I get a few raisins and maybe a splash of brandy, and a hearty dose of floral acidity. The finish really brings it together. The roastiness lingers, but a distinct bite of lactic sourness kicks in, leaving an aftertaste much like cocoa powder and smoked cheese. The elements aren’t things I would normally associate with each other, but they are blended together very gracefully. I am impressed. Very drinkable indeed.