Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

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

Pours a nearly opaque, orangey-golden color with a white, moderately full, creamy-fluffy head which is mostly lasting leaving plenty of tight lacing. Nose is mostly malty and lightly yeasty; malty notes of toasted grains and honey, oaken notes of musty wood and vanilla, tart notes of apple and lemon peel, spicy notes including pepper, and banana ester yeast notes. Flavor is much more focused on the tart flavors with more hops than I would have thought; starts with sour apple and lemon peel but progresses to dry out some with pepper, earthy notes of wood, and an moderately low hop bitterness. Finishes mostly dry with some remaining tartness with notes of earthy wood, lemon peel, and light pepper. Palate is medium, lively, and mostly dry with a somewhat qunching acidity. Not really what I would consider to be in the Biere de Garde style, but similar with a refreshing tart twist. Hard to say a bad thing about it and quite deceptive in its 8%, but just nothing too memorable in this one. Another solid beer from JP.

1pt 9.4 oz bottle: seriously this thing just exploded everywhere. I am absolutely drenched in beer right now...Holy crap. This thing isn’t a gusher it’s a fricken atom bomb going off all over your counter, your shirt, your jeans, your refrigerator, and anything else within a 20 yard radius. My god. It’s like I opened up a bottle of champagne or something. After bathing in artisan brew for about 3 minutes, I actually can pour the damn beer into my tulip glass. I almost lost half the bottle on that nuclear blast of a gusher. I seriously think that I got beer on my ceiling...yep beer on the ceiling, Aroma is of apples lightly hoppy, a very nice citrus overtone, and rather tart in aroma. Pours a cloudy orange/golden color with a large sized fluffy head that lingers of forever. Taste is slightly sour apple notes, citrus, yeast, and a light hop note. Palate is lively and very well carbonated. Overall, After bathing in their brew, imbibing it is enjoyable. I just wish I didn’t waste a half bottle soaking myself.

750ml Bottle: Light to medium sweet aroma. Smells of spices, butter, and yeast. Poured yellow in color with a huge, foamy, off-white head that lasted throughout. Good lacing. Sparkling. Hazy. A few particles. Flavor is medium sweet. Tastes of banana, spices, citrus, pepper, cream, and a little alcohol. Full body. Thick, viscous, sticky texture. Lively carbonation. Long minty metallic finish. Overall, way too much carbonation made it difficult to drink.

This starts with a scent of citrus, the standard tartness from Jolly Pumpkin, a bit of spice, and almost a touch of milk. It pours a clear golden color with a thin white cap that leaves amazing lacing on the glass. In tasting it, I get a sour taste, followed by a pile of different spices, the only one I’m actually able to place is pepper. Nice long tart/bitter finish. Not bad, but I think the other Jolly Pumpkin brews stand up better.

Bottle from beastiefan2k. Pour is a hazy dull yellow with a really pretty white head. Nice carbonation bubbling up. Aroma is really funky and earthy. Based on the nose, I thought the Brett would really overpower the flavor, but the taste was actually quite smooth, with the yeast more in the background. The start is earthy, the middle is tart and the finish is quite peppery. Tons going on in this one. The aftertaste is long and very earthy / musty. Very creative beer, but something just was 100% together for me. I shared this bottle with a friend who has not tried all that many beers. Needless to say, he was visibly shocked by this one.

Bottle from South Bay Liquor. Pours a hazy yellow color with some orange in there. Aroma is mostly sour. Some sweet yeastiness as well, though. Spicy and sour. Dry and musty. A bit of a woody bourbon quality in the finish. A bit of fruitiness. Very enjoyable. Interesting brew.

lightly hazy yellow with a very clean white head. yeast, citrus, lemon, with some wonderful funkyness lingering just below. light and crisp with a refreshinly dry slightly tat finish. mouthfeel is loose with a moderate bubbly carbonation. great beer.

Hazy straw colored pour, interlocking white and deep golden swirls. Tall, rocky, well retained off-white head creates thick sheets of lace. The nose is very rich, with notes of barnyard funk in moderation that are coated by coriander, oak, vanilla, sugary toasted grains, lemon zest, floral hops, spicy yeast and fruity alcohol. The flavor brings forth additions of Sauvignon Blanc grapes, white pepper, toffee and cloves. Light sweetness, medium acidity, mild hop bitterness. Brettanomyces shines throughout and provides layers of earthy tartness. The finish is lightly sour and hoppy, then earthy, eventually drying substantially; very crisp and acidic. Palate is sensory-bashing, with a zippy carbonation, medium body and clumps of malt. Very tasty, exciting and well made.