Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

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

Blend #3, 2007. Pours a deep brown with a huge fizzy tan head. Nose is catty, green grapes, cherries, some hints of wood, loads of funk and apricot. Flavor is noticeable wood presence, tactic sourness, unripe grape, chardonnay, cherry, and red wine. This beer matured amazingly. mouthfeel is medium with loads of carbonation making this drink like a champagne.

750ml bottle - $13.49 at Beverage SuperStore in Suwanee, Georgia. Batch #331. Appearance: Cloudy, mahogany-hued body with a truly gigantic, foamy, khaki-colored head. Even after a hearty pour, there’s a foam snake creeping out of the bottle. It’s no drain pour, but it has been placed in the sink to prevent any unsightly messes. Smell: Sharply aromatic nose that’s all at once sweet, tart, and spicy with notes of mixed fruits, fine oak wood, sugary gingerbread cake crumbs, pungent funk, conspicuous spices, and a wholesome whiff of nose-tingling menthol. Taste: Sweet syrup-coated cake with a mix of fruit flavors: golden raisins, sweet cherries, green apples. Also, a little splash of tart Merlot. Oh, and some menthol and spearmint, though this is eventually superseded by a strong licorice flavor. Undertone of funkiness throughout. Teeny dash of cocoa powder and mulling spices and crushed walnuts. Zip of oak wood with some additional vanilla tastes. Touch of alcohol on the latter half. Raspberries arrive late. Fruity, tart, spicy finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Highly carbonated, obnoxiously so even. Drinkability: A true multitude of complexities within this one, and, as always, it’s another weird, wild ride from Jolly Pumpkin.

Bottle sample at Muckfest 2009 Day 1. Cloudy amber pour with a medium tan head. Tart and fruity aroma. Tart fruit flavor gives way to sweet malt and some alcohol in the finish.

Bottle. Pours brown with tan head. Aroma of sour fruit, cherries, oak. Taste is acetic cherry, oak, sweet malt, dark fruit, mild spice. Mouth is medium bodied with light carbonation and is very drinkable. Finish is smooth and warming. Overall, a very enjoyable christmas ale.

Yet another sour beer from Jolly Pumpkin. Pours brown with mega tan head. Sour fruit smell with malty sour tastes. Has a little belgian funk in the taste.

Pours deep brown with off-tan head. Nose is reminiscent of Duchesse du Bourgogne - some sour passion fruit and brothy aromas. Palate is pleasantly sour with passion fruits again. Tart on the finish. Easy drinking. Somewhat low carbonation. Like a Duchesse light.

750ml bottle poured into an English pint glass. Sigh.... yet another sour beer from Jolly Pumpkin. What can I say? It’s sour. it’s Jolly Pumpkin. It tastes like most of their other beers.

Clear brown pour with a thick light tan head. Sour fruit aroma with grape and apple. Sour fruit flavor - apple, pear and other tree fruit. Tart and dry with bitter maltiness. Creamy bourbon with a chocolate aftertaste.