Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial

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

Bottle batch # 349 . Opens as a gusher, pours a deep clear but darker red brown with a big frothy light tan foamy rocky head 4.5. What a fantastic aroma, perfect barrel and brett, nice candy residual sweetness playing off the other two, can’t really pick up the additions but I’m sure they are playing into the wonderful aroma 8.5. I’m glad I opened this now, great balance of sweet and funk, something I was hoping for. First taste is a great mix of brett and hard-candy sweetness, just slightly sour. However, it quickly mellows out with each additional sip, probably more from the cinnamon, as it dries in the mouth I wish that it wouldn’t. A slightly bitter lingering cinnamon aftertaste 8.5. Medium/light bodied, very fluffy carbonation, not entirely dry, a tad chalky. 7.5% hidden well. Definitely a little more sour served slightly colder, of course the booze and hint of vinegar come out then also.

Bottle. Pours a transparent brownish amber with a pretty big head. Aroma is of some barnyard funk, pie spice, nutmeg, and a touch of orange zest.taste borders on cloying, with the aforementioned flavors, light cherry/vanilla and some...and I say some, cocoa. This beer disappoints me for reasons I dont know. The mouthfeel is ok, the taste is marginal...it just lacks anything that stands out and says WOW.

From Vin de Pays of Long Beach, CA; batch # 253. Poured a lot of rocky tan head over a brown body, plus a generous helping of sediment. Aroma was somewehat perfumed, rather un-brown ale-like. Taste was sweet and the mouthfeel was surprisingly sharp. An interesting beer.

(Bottle) Pours dark reddish brown with a large and firm off-white head. The aroma holds notes of horse blanket/barnyard/basement-like brett, some lactic acid, spices like white/black pepper, cinnamon and mild cardamom, brown sugar/dark fruits, lemon, lime peel and dry oranges alongside a whisper of cocoa. Undertones of pear/apricot/pineapple esters, toasted/light nutty/cracker-ish malt, spicy/sweaty oak, dust and some aromatic, wet dog/cheese-like hops. Fantastic and harmonic nose, everything is perfectly blended. Clear white whine tartness. Maybe a touch of cherry candy. The flavour is light sweet/dry, light bitter and medium acidic with tones of peppery spices, mild esters, oak wood, mild earth, dry cracker/toasty malt, green apples and lime/grapefruity citrus. Dry, but creamy, maltiness. Light spicy hops. The mouthfeel is tart, yet soft and round with a medium, sharp carbonation. The aftertaste is acidic and tart with a fresh citric and wooden sting. Some hops in the aftertaste. Medium bodied.

Pours amber, with some carbonation. Aroma of orange, caramel and nutmeg. Nice muted JP flavor, some orange.

Shared with Skinnyviking, bought at Ølbutikken in Copenhagen. Great lacing head, beige in appearance. Dark amber body. Aroma of tart, dark fruits. Ditto taste with prominent notes of pumpkin and notes of spices like cinnamon. Foamy bubbles in the mouth. Has got its fine moments, but does not quite rises to greater heights (Copenhagen, 17.05.2009).

Bottle Batch #253 on the bottle Pours out a amber topped with a tall foam head. Aroma was of spice, yeast and some malts. Tast was pretty good. More of the spice and plenty of sweetness. One fall back lots of carbonation.

I think I may have gotten a slightly extra-carbonated edition but then again, this brew does offer some unique flavors. Spices fill the mouth as the Maracaibo Especial splashes the mouth with an almost champagne presence. If you let this beer warm just a bit, the flavors of the cocoa and cinnamon will rise like a young sapling in a Caribbean hillside.