Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

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

Cap popped with a notably loud whoosh, and then poured with a huge huge foaming head. Very dark brown. Nice yeasty doughiness with some sour apple, a bit of oak, apple pie spice. Refreshingly tart and yeasty, lightly fruity. Crisp prickly finish. Now if I can just pour some more without a 4 finger head!

Bottle. Pours a deep golden amber color with a smooth white head. Smells with caramel notes, sweet malts, and a hint of hoppy sourness. Taste is smooth and sweet. Drinks smoother and sweeter than expected. Nice holiday treat.

Batch 329: Opaque reddish brown with creamy white head. Aroma is lightly sour and pineappley bretty. This sour pineapple translates directly into the taste, which carries the incredible JP house flavor, and a crackery finish. Very light and highly carbonated, the acid lightly prickles the tongue. Expensive, but it was worth the splurge for rating 800. $15/750

I love this beer! Dark, Sweet, and Delicious! It’s a little expensive at $15.00/bottle, but well worth it.

A- Clear, dark orange amber hue, head is off-white thin bubbles, moderate lacing S- Nose is sour and tangy dark fruits, Brett, apples, winter spices, cider, oak, vanilla T- Initial taste is sour cider followed by holiday spices (vanilla/allspice/coriander), some underlying sweet bread malts, finishes with a touch of hop dryness M- Medium-bodied, watery texture, moderate carbonation D- Very unique beer, I would peg this is a sour fruity lambic and not a Belgian strong dark ale, there is a lot of wine character here and only fans of sours will come back for this one, this is the only JP beer I have had and I am looking forward to see how it compares to others from this brewery

I was expecting to kinda like this one, but was blown away, really. Murky brown, with a huge - my notes say "majestic" - beige head. Aroma is fruity and winey and oaky, and the flavor is cherries and red wine, too, but this is one where just giving a list of flavors doesn’t really describe what’s going on. Lots of spices, lots of fruit, some woodsy notes. Batch 331

THOUGHTS: Reminded me a lot of Rodenbach, but with a touch of spices. The flavor and aroma changed so much as it warmed and time went by. I don’t feel I am doing it justice in this review. It took me nearly two hours to drink a bottle, because I just kept wanting to see how much it would change. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark red that was nearly black in the glass, with a large, off-white head that kept a nice sheet and left good lacing. The aroma was light malt, some horse blanket, leather and earthy yeasts, sour fruit, cask wood, spices. It got yeastier as time went by. The flavor started lightly sweet and acidic, and finished sweet, sour and acidic with slight bitterness that lasted for an average duration. There was sour fruit, yeast, spices, malt apple, cherry, slight citrus, some wood. Then slight hops that might’ve been there just to balance things. The medium to full body was slightly syrupy then dry with fizzy carbonation and a light astringent finish.

1 pt. 9.4 fl. oz. - corked & caged (Batch 333/334), sampled Feb. 2009: dark as night in deep winter...thick, super creamy & abundant topping...amazing it is like an inverted snow covering, with the snow slightly more tan than white. Hypnotic aroma, striking brett and palpable lactic yeast...strong all around. Underlying sweetness combines with a touch of sugary grit, before smoothing out (even creamy) in the back of the throat. Tart, oaky and bitter. I am having trouble comprehending the balance of this beer: at once tart, acidic and sour...the subtle sweetness and fruity character is never far behind or completely overshadowed. Beautiful! Thanks!