Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

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

Pours a hazy orangish brown, almost tea-like, with a big rocky head that stayed on forever and left good lacing. The aroma has an underlying battle between sweet brown sugar, dark fruits and spices. On top of that is the signature JP funky tart smell. The taste starts off with that JP sour kick but then gives way to the underlying sugary sweetness. There’s booze-soaked dark fruit, figs and raisins especially with a bit of oak and vanilla in the dry finish. There was tons of carbonation on this one - very lively on the palate but very dry in the finish. This is a fairly typical JP take on a Belgian style and, while I can appreciate the funky twist, I probably would have liked the underlying beer on it’s own merits. Still, very tasty.

Bottled@Konttori, Tampere. Amber colour, beige big head. Aroma is sourness, fruits, alcohol, some spices and quite much wooden notes as well. Flavour is sour wooden notes along with caramel malts, spices, earth and quite fruity as well. Smoothens up as it gets warmer.

The aroma is sour and yeasty with sweet malt and fruit. The appearance is deep amber/brown with a huge foamy head. It also has lots of floating particles. The flavor is sour and like the aroma. The palate is smooth. Overall this is not my thing.

as a standard for the jolly pumpkin it has a tart flavor that is expected, the look is fabulous with a dark reddish brown, and a solid milky head. slightly fruity, with lots of sour, with sediment.

Another great one from Jolly Pumpkin. Pours dark amber with a full, thick head. Aroma of fruits and flavor of the same. Very good.

Excellent beer, many thanks to jrob21 for the bottle. It was a real gusher, foam pouring out of the bottle. After that subsided, the appearance was deep red/brown/orange with frothy head. Dark fruits, spice, plum, sweet malt, cinnamon, clove, & hints of oak. Complex and very tasty.

Bottle at Tuulensuu, Tampere (batch 329) - thanks, Pat! Red-orange, clear. Worm from the bottle turns into a fluffy head. Aroma of Belgian old ale, Belgian yeast, brett and fruitiness. Spices - cloves - in both aroma and taste, and the brett is clear in the taste also. A touch of desserty sweetness on the exhale. Some oakiness/woodiness in the taste. I get bretty coconut in the aftertaste, especially as I get further down the glass and the taste becomes softer. Surprisngly complex for a US beer, and the down-to-earthness of the blurb on the bottle also made these guys stand out among US breweries. Unusually, Phil did not share this.

Bottle courtesy of DeputyAndy. Batch 329. Pour is deep rusty brown and white froathy foam atop. Nose is sour funky, citric with ripe tartness coupled with dough which only JP does best. Mouth is spritz, tart, candied prunes, malty oak and spice. Very tasty! Killed the whole 750ml.