Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

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

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.

750mL. Nov 2007. Pours deep copper with big bubbly head. aroma is tart and intimidating. mouthful is very carbonated with, the tartness is much milder than the nose led and nice flavors of vanilla and oak. finish is crisp and leaves you wanting more. very nice.

750ml bottle - Pours a fairly clear deep red color with absolutely huge light tan head. Aroma is fairly tart, notes of dark cherries, milk chocolate, vanilla, light oak. Flavor is mildly tart, notes of chocolate, cherries, vanilla. Finish is mildly tart, fairly balanced. Overall pretty good. Most of his beers taste the same, but they are pretty good.

Batch 329. Compliments of UPS’s best friend CelticBrew. Shared with Steve and The nwest member of the US Ski Team DrBayern. Poured a dark copper color with great carbonation. Nice lace head. The taste was very oaky and fruity.

Hazy dark brown with a big thick head. Funky, woody aroma with some phenols and light chocolate accents. Fun. Chocolate base with wood, funky brett accent. There’s a splash of alcohol in the woody , slightly yeasty finish. Nice brew.

Batch 331. Poured into a wide snifter. Is dark brown with an explosive, huge long-lasting beige head. Bright, beautiful aroma smells happy and alive, playful and wholly unique. Lots of JP character. Light spices, maybe some mace. Candied fruits, subtle gingerbread and cedar wood with dark berries buried beneath. Later emerges a bushel of sour cherries. Spicier than the aromas let on, with alcohol head at the end drying out the finish nicely. Starts with the brilliant fruitiness and the richness of black cherries and blackberries with wood character peeking through in the aromas and flavors. An absolute delight to drink.

2008 Bottle. Huge pop when I opened the bottle and had way too much carbonation, but it actually turned out pretty good. Head stuck around for a long,long time, which is a good thing. Aroma is funky, you can definitely notice the brett on this. Flavor has some subdued spices, very malty yet a fairly thin body. Finish is mildly drying and a faint hint of the brett. Not much in the way of bitterness. Pretty darn good stuff