Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial

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

Bottle. Musty barnyard and clove aroma. Cloudy orange-brown color with a giant head. Sour tart orange and dry musty malt flavor. Very nice - dry saison-like beer.

Sweet and spicy aroma, Brett, cinnamon, caramelly nose. Pours a rich amber, brown color with a good white head. Tart caramel upfront, there’s an overwhelming creaminess that is just great, and a good dry brett finish. Sweet and tart citrus flavors, with caramel and cinnamon, just a great caramel malt flavor in the middle between slightly sour flavors. Very smooth and surprisingly light and easy to drink.

Appearance: Reddish brown with no head retention. Aroma: Sour and acetic with balsamic vinegar and a light sulphuriness. Flavour: Woody and dry, Special B? Clean sourness witha goodly dose of acidity to brighten it. Sour wins over malt character. Chocolate ice cream and pomegrantes. Red berry fermentation esters. Mouthfeel: Thin dry and bright from acidity. Overall: Very sour with lots of fermentation esters. Like raisins, plums and cherries in balsamic vinegar over chocolate ice cream.

Nice tart and sour aroma (pretty standard for the Jolly Pumpkin beers). Pours an opaque reddish-brown, with a nice slightly off-white head. Wow... there’s a lot going on in this beer. There’s tartness, a touch of spices, a touch of baker’s chocolate, and a long tart finish. Definitely something I want to get more of.

bottle - Pours dark brown with a small white head. The aroma has malts, yeast, and a sour fruit smell. Some kind of sour malt dominates the flavor and is joined by the yeast and a hint of citrus and spice. It’s a solid beer, but the sourness wasn’t doing it for me, at least not in this beer. (100th Michigan beer rated... nifty)

Date: 06/17/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Roadtrip

Appearance: clear dark brown with ruby highlights, big lasting creamy beige head that slowly oozes out the top of the bottle but leaves lace on the glass,
Aroma: nice tart aroma of oak and chocolate,
Flavor: nice dry chocolate flavor with lots of woody oak character, a little orange sweetness sneaks through, touch of spices including cinimon grows as it warms, lasting light bitterness,
-------- /> Date: 10/29/2006
Mode: bottle

continues with the dry chocolate flavor along with plenty of complex character
-------- /> Date: 04/03/2008
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2006

Aroma: still the tart chocolate aroma,
Flavor: drying out even more with the chocolate flavor, tartness in control, bretty cobwebs showing up,
Overall: a couple more years will let the brett shine,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

This amber ale poured with a decent beige head and a sour funky aroma. The flavor is sour and spicy malt with a lot of citrus. There is a carbonated mouthfeel and a long dry finish. This is a complex brew that makes for an interesting drinking session.

Bottle share courtesy of Patrick767. A dark, crystal brown colored brew with a small cream head. Roasted malt aroma, notes of boysenberry, strawberry, wet grass and a bit of a spiced candied sugar aspect. Heavily carbonated, dry, sour malt flavor. Some apple flavors came out as it warmed along with a few other fruits. Good stuff.