Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial

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

750 Bottle: Pours amber with a fairly large head. Aroma of fruits, but not overpowering. Flavor of sweet fruits and malts. very good.

Bottle, batch 253. from BevMo. Hazy dark amber in color upon pouring. Sour and fairly vinous aroma with an underlying sweetness about it. Flavor has that Jolly Pumpkin sour thing going on. It also has a sweet spicy character too it. Some roasted maltiness in the finish as well. Pretty enjoyable.

Big ol’ bottle for the Super Bowl (XLII). Deep and dark brown with a solid, firm top of tight foam. For such a dark beer, this has a sweet aroma of grapes and orange. To the palate, this comes across with a vinegar base, overly sweet and sour. I’d almost have pegged this as a sour ale, of which I’m not the greatest fan. This is on the sweeter side, but still not all that favorable to my picky palate. (#3317, 2/3/2008)

This bottled brew from Patrick767 at a rating party shop poured a very large sized head of foamy finely sized off-white colored bubbles that were and left behind a hazy with fine particulate typically carbonated brown colored body and thick foamy lacing. The mild aroma was musty sour and farmhouse. The mouth feel was weakly tingly at the start and strongly tingly at the finish. The flavor contained notes of malt hops spices and sour. A decent one but not one that I would consider buying again.

Dark brown color with a tall effervescent head that leaves waves of lace on the glass. The aroma has the sour punch of brett but behind it is a pleasant warm layer of brown sugar and cinnamon spice. The flavor is a bit weak but shows some funky brett up front followed by a smooth maltiness along with some spices. The aftertaste lingers and is noticeable when you exhale, producing pleasant cinnamon and spiced flavors in your mouth and nose.

Bottle. Murky brown pour with some off-white head. Aroma is spicy, slightly roasted, and bretty / sour. Flavor is somewhat sour with the orange peel apparent in the end; the slightly roasted / brown ale elements are almost completely hidden. Not sure I am digging the JP beers; they just throw brett at everything.

750 mL bottle. Pours a dark orange-brown color with a white-ish fluffy head. Aroma is sour, fruity (cherries) but creamy somehow (smells creamy, wha?)... I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is other than to say it smells smooth and creamy. Spices, cloves, Christmas-y... mmm. I love smelling Jolly Pumpkin. Taste is as usual not as sour as imagined, has the underlying taste of a traditional brown ale... malty, nutty, alcohol is a little too apparent. =\ Decent though.

Batch 254. JP is sporting a new style brown bottle. At least it’s not the green bottles they’ve been using. Pours dark crimson, muddy with no light penetrating. A huge off-white head forms and leaves a bunch of lace, as always. Aroma is the ubiquitous Jolly Pumpkin funk - brett, orval-like with some nuttiness. I don’t get much cinnamon or orange peel and I don’t know what cacao smells like. The aroma is quite spicy in an unidentifiable way though. Very nice though, as usual with this brewery. Taste is pretty different from the aroma and from what I was expecting. Strong maltiness, cinnamon, chocolate, accompanied by an almost grainy mouthfeel. Quite flavorful. Tingly in the mouth with little to no tartness or sourness. Long chalky finish. Another interesting outing though probably not one of my favorites from them.