Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

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

Batch 292. Hazy golden color with a strong white head. Somewhat sweet and spicy yeast aroma with a touch of dry musky funk coming through and a hint of ammonia. A sweet almost candy flavor prevails until midway through when a small bitterness become evident and some citrus. Not even a hint of sourness comes through though. Is mine broken? Very effervescent.

Bottle 75 cl. Huge bubbly off-white head that really lasted. Fair display of lacework. Light cloudy golden color. Aroma of grass, citrus, spice and sour fruity and light milky notes. Over the palate came orange, malt and sour notes. Medium bodied with a lively carbonation and dry texture. Moderated sour and sweet flavor. Lingering sour spicy and citrus like finish.

Very sour at first taste. The oaky flavor is very present. Musky old flavor and some spicyness. I like other sour beers more such as the Duchesse de Bourgonese. Good but doesn’t live up to the hype.

On tap at City Beer Store in SF. Great orange-golden appearance with a frothy white head. Aroma is lemony sourness and funk along with some woody notes and spice. Flavor is sour with pale malt, spices, funk, and citrus. Really nice palate.

Crushed with Jakebra. Kinda sour ale nose, but a little funkier. Flavor is very subtle but hits every part of the tongue. Finish is grassy, little musky, little awesomey. Plenty to rave about in this brew.

Pours a moderately cloudy orange with a very thick white head that remains full throughout the tasting and leave great lacing on the glass. Beer was so carbonated that it flowed with foam out of the bottle even with no shaking and being chilled. Aroma is very spicy, some oak comes through in the nose, a nice sourness and a slight orange citrus tang come through as well. Flavor starts off with the oak flavor moving into a little bitterness before a slightly yeasty and very sweet orange and banana flavor dominate the middle while it ends with a sour, dry characteristic. Mouth feel of the beer is perfect with a moderately heavy feel and a high carbonation produces a very effervescent feeling to the beer. Overall I enjoyed the sweet fruity sourness of this beer and would not mind picking it up again to drink or age for a bit.

Draft at Redlight. Special thanks to Brent for obtaining this. Pours a hazy golden color with a little white head. Lots of carbonation. Aroma is lemon and funk. Flavor is bitter lemon peel or orange peel with a more subdued funk than in the bottle. The citrus bitterness is fairly strong. I think I like this one better in the bottle with a little age.

750 mL bottle purchased from Greenwood Spirits Shoppe in Bowling Green and shared with my wife. Poured a cloudy golden color with a two finger, puffy white head. The aroma was oak, and spices. The flavor was very complex, with funk, apples, pears, lemons and oak present. This was a very enjoyable beer. My only complaint is that most of the JP beers taste very similar to me. They’re all very good, but they are all very similar.