Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial

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

Poured from a 750ml bottle and served in a tulip. This beer poured a murky brown with a sustained head of fluffy tan foam. Solid lace encompassed the entire glass. The aroma of the beer was made up of caramel, mild citrus, cinnamon, and also an oaky, vinous note. The flavor included lightly sour cherries, orange, spicy yeast, and an almost hidden trace of roasted malt. Mildly funky, but the taste seems to be muted by this aspect. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied with light carbonation. This beer definately has the house characteristics you’d expect from a JP beer, but not much else. Still fairly enjoyable though.

Bottle - 750ml. Pours a beautiful copper body with low carbonation and a lasting creamy/foamy head. Nice and complex hoppy aroma with fruity (citrus, pineapple), spicy, and yeasty hints. Sharp hoppy taste that carries fruity notes. Ends with an explosion of sour fruitiness. Well done.

750 ml bottle purchased at Spirits RB. Pours a hazy rusty brown with an average size beige spongey head. Aroma of funk, wet wood, cherry, acidic and is that brett? Medium bodied with soft carbonation and an easy drinking palate. Flavor of wood, yeast, funk, vinegar sourness, and if you earch perhaps some underlyning chocolate and citrus but really its funky and you have to search for those flavors. Overall classic JP and not really my thing but nice.

Bottle courtesy of Kryptic: Poured a hazy brown color ale with a bug light brown color head with great retention and great lacing. Aroma of funky yeast with some brett-like aroma with some sour and tart notes. Taste is also dominated by sour notes with loads of oak and barnyard-like notes. Minimum filtration with great carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I really enjoyed again the wild taste of the JP beers but cannot say that I detected much cinnamon or cacao.

Pours a hazy brown color with a tan head. Aroma is funky, horse blanket, and tart acidic fruit. Flavor is tart, funky, and a sweet fruity funky brett finish.

Thanks nolankowal for sharing: If I had my eyes closed and pretended to be drinking a color, this would be a sour brown. It was sweet, tart, and chalky with a bit of spiced orange rind. I felt this taking off the enamel of my teeth as I drank it. If you like sours, go for it, if not, this one won’t turn you.

Batch #253 Pours a cloudy glowing copper body with a small beige head. A little bit of everything in this one. Fruity sourness, chestnuts cream, earthy wood, orange peels, and I can go on and on. A wonderful beer that may even be a bit too much in the long run. The bottom line is some kind of wacky mix between a Flemish Sour and Brown Ale with some barrel notes thrown in. Great beer, especially on Bev-mo’s D/C blow out price of $4.99~

750 ml Bottle from Bevmo. Batch 253. Pours a cloudy copper-red color with a big beige head that lasts a while. The aroma is moderate with cinnamon, cloves, Belgian yeasts and some green apple. The flavor is overtly sour with green apple, tart grapes and pumpkin pie spices. The mouthfeel is a bit thin initially but fills out to a good fullness by conclusion. There is also a slightly gritty astringency to the finishes mouthfeel. The finish is long with a bit of lingering sweet and sour green apple. Overall: This is a sour ale, not a Belgian strong ale. As a sour, it is good--As a Belgian strong, not so good. Irrespective, I liked it.