Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial

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

Thin head which reduces to a thin foam that remains for the duration. A dance of tiny bubbles on the surface from great carbonation. Great aroma. Candy, grapes, yeast and spices all abound. Color is a murky dark brown with an inner orange glow. So far this beer is starting off great. Complex palate. Little tart, dry, chalky, and roasty. Nice alcohol warming. More vinuous notes along with spices and a little malt for body. Tartness and lingering spices round out his very good and interesting brew. Not the best JP brew I have had but still a very good brew.

Abbey Dubbel my ass, this is a darker Biere De Garde (if thats even a good category for these beers) like the rest of their beers. Its just brown colored, with an off-white head. Smells pretty much like the Oro de Calabaza but with a it more malt character. Pretty much all the way through its just like the Calabaza. Its not bad but its not a Dubbel.

Deep crimson, creamy tan head. Standard complex JP nose of funky barnyard and citrus off the bat. Continued warming brings out soft oak, chocolate, cinnamon, and faint hints of booze. More funky farm flavors with notes of orange zest, mellow nutty chocolate and wood, and a snappy bitterness that pulls this beer together nicely. Light to medium bodied, moderate carbonation, bittersweet finish. Just another great brew from this up and coming brewery. Thanks for getting into Maryland. How bout some Grande Reserves now?

Cloudy mahogany body with and off-white head. Tart cherries, orange peel and malt in the aroma. Light sweetness paired with some subtles cocoa notes. Cherries, citrus and oak also come through in the flavor. A bit on the funky side with some tartness and a nice dry dusty feel. Good stuff. Thanks rudolph.

Bottle courtesy of Silphium. Huge chocolate, caramel, and orange peel. A great beer.

750mL bottle. A muddy brown pour with a medium-sized, fizzy dark-khaki head that settles like the frothy top on a cappuccino. Lots of candied sugar in the aroma along with some cocoa, oranges, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Medium body. Starts off with plenty of brown sugary sweetness. Transitions to some spicy cinnamon and zesty sweet/sour oranges. The bittersweet finish contains a good deal of cocoa powder.

Pours a cloudy dark brown big frothy almond head. First sip is a big sour lambic like bite, followed by bitter orange peel, some sweetness like caramel and followed by slight chocolate. Most of the time it was very sour which overided the other flavors that occasionally came out. Not bad, but won’t get again.

From old notes from a summer tasting. I love their brews so I am biased towards them. When we opened this the spiced orange was like a pot of potpourri was soundly on the stove. This is the kind of brew that after each sip I was sniffing and swirling.