Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

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

Aroma of citrus and yeast. Hazy golden color with tiny bubbles and a hugh head that won’t go away. Starts with a mix of citrus and yeast. Moves on to light stone fruit with alcohol, and then there is a lambic sort of dry finish. Which after a few more sips comes up a bit fruitish sweet. Ever foaming, ever changing. Ends up being a very smooth sipper. Really something that starts nice and improves rapidly. Yea. Forgot to mention that there is a bit of hop in the final finish. Forgot that in the taste excitement.

Smells really funky, not good. The taste is interesting. has quite a bit of sourness in it, a little surprising. Okay, but not really great. Surprised by the sourness, not sure if that was intended, and interesting that it calls itself a golden ale on the bottle.

] Pours a very hazy peach amber topped by half an inch or less of tiny bubbled white head. Pretty good lacing. The foam dies back to a film and a ring in short order. First whiff is a tart citric alcohol aroma, followed by lots of candied peach. A perfumy flower scent follows that. I vented the other day about tons of tart citrus but little else found in another Michigan beer (not a Jolly Pumpkin offering). This beer has some of that same flavor - tart, juicy, and alcoholic, but it isn’t anywhere near as dominated (overwhelming). This is really quite good - fresh juicy tart orange with sweetness and alcohol from candi sugar, a pineapple flavor, a bit of biscuit malt, and a hop bitterness mixed with citrus in the finish. Body a bit shy of medium, softly carbonated. The tartness really lingers in the aftertaste.

Pours a mostly clear pale golden color with a thick creamy head fading slowly to a rocky cap that never disappears and leaves behind chunks of foam on the glass. Smell; slightly grassy with some lemon peel and floral notes. There’s some coriander, pepper, and a bit of a musty funkiness. Taste; subtle citric flavors, with oranges and lemons and just a touch of pineapples. There’s a good bready maltiness, that’s offset by a bit of some tartness. The spices kick in with coriander and pepper, and finishes a bit dry with an interesting oaky, earthy mustiness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, and creamy.

750 ml bottle from Belmont Station in Portland, OR poured into an etched Tulip glass. This beauty pours an amazing hazed and cloudy golden yellow color with a beautiful white fluffy head. Large sediment chunks are spotted making their way to the bottom of the glass where they rest. The aroma brings a very white wine essence while mixed with fresh oranges, heavy yeast, and a bit of a sour grass note. The flavor rings in with a subtle white wine start moving into a sour citrusy body with a big bite that is wonderful. Lots of aged yeast flavors, quite acidic in the mouth. A lemony flavor kicks in near the end and gets a bit sour into the aftertaste on the palate. A tiny hint of alcohol is present towards the end, but is very well built in. What a great brew!

750 ml bottle purchased at John’s Grocery in Iowa City, IA. Slightly hazy golden-orange pour. Head was thick and foamy and laced the glass. Smelled of white wine, peach, guava, and strawberry Pez candy. Very effervescent. Dry and acidic on the tongue. Fruity, vinous flavor, almost like Pez candy dissolved in sparkling white wine. Very interesting.

Bottle. Yellow hazy. Aroma: Citrus and yeast. Full-body mouth-feel. Flavor: Refreshing. Citrus and yeast. Lemon-pie.

Purchased at Ledger’s Liquors in Berkeley, CA. Sour, acidic, green appley aroma present. Some lemony citrus aromas also are present. A light sweetness also makes a cameo with some more horseblanket aromas. Mild-moderate hazy golden body with a rather large white head comprised of small bubbles. Pretty good head retention. Astringent, acidic, highly carbonated. Kind of like drinking a really fizzy Sprite. After all this palate shock, there is a musty, malty, light banana estery flavoring present. Floral notes are also present. I think the initial mouthfeel is way too acidic and carbonated. Behind that is a pretty good beer.