Leelanau Petoskey Pale Ale

Leelanau Brewing Company
Brewed at Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Belgian Ale
Lake Leelanau, Michigan USA

Bottle shared with Dickinsonbeer after EDAs post Thanksgiving bash. Now I need to preface this rating by saying I was beyond shit faced at the time but at least I was still keeping my beers down, isn’t that right Jon? Poured a slightly hazed orange/brown body with a large frothy white head. Fruity aroma is apricot and nectar, pear and lemon all tied up with a nice brett infection. Flavor was super funky with band aid flavors,slight sour notes and just an odd light flavor about it. Overall this one seemed to have a strong aroma with a weak flavor over a bubbly body.

500ml bottle sent to me by dmschefke in np10v4. Opens with a great deal of carbonation...made me jump a little as if I was going to have a gusher on my hands...but that wasn’t the case. Pours a hazy, almost murky, orange/peach golden with a giant rocky off white head that settles but never goes away and reforms quickly with a couple swirls of the glass. The aroma is very much reminiscent of JP. Funky, slightly tart, woody, some apple, maybe a touch of peach, strawberry, some what ’dusty’. Slightly tart and apple sweetness up front, then dry woody notes and some really dry, earthy, peppery hop bittering on the end that is quite interesting. As I work my way through this, I am still not sure what I think about it. I have never had a bitter flavor like this and wonder if this is a result of the Petoskey stones.

750 ml bottle, pours a hazy red and orange with peach hints with a good sized head of white and off-white bubbles, plenty of effervescence in this brew making a bubbled island in the center of the cover and drifting their way up the sides of the glass, there is nice white lacing on the glass, aromas of faint toasted malt and caramel, berry and light fruit fragrances of Raspberry, Peach and Apple, grapefruit and lemon citrus, Jolly Pumpkin sour scents, a mixture of floral fragrances, earthy funk, light spice and honey sweetness, yeast, and wood character, flavors of light pale malt and caramel, some bread malt sweetness, Jolly Pumpkin sour observed in the JP ales, drink starts off with some sweetness but turns sour quickly, finishes dry with some dusty yeast and floral spice trailing after the finish, mouth feel is light and feels great on the palate, a great tasting ale and a good Summer thirst quencher, I continue to be amazed by the ales made by Jolly Pumpkin brewery.

dank, woody, not your typical pale ale. made to be enjoyed in the woods. tall, rocky head, beautiful lacing.

500ml from hoppymeal. Pours brown/orange amber with a big offwhite head and good lace. Smells like a sour pale ale. In a good way. Sour tart with light hops and light malt as well. Tastes tart and sour as well. Some vinegar, light malts, light hops. Overall tasty but not so much in a pale ale sort of way. Hints of wood, not bright, fresh wood though. Old wood. Medium body, vibrant carbonation. I like it.

cloudy orange, thick yellow head. aroma is citrussy, yeasty. flavor is sourish, bitter, honey, sweet, citrussy. strange beer. exploded all over faroeviking who opened it ;-)

In short: A strange out-of-control funky, uber-hoppy and spicy beer with an oaky sourness. Very good even if all over the place.
How: Bottle 500ml. Age unknown (probably a few months old), consumed a few weeks after receiving it from Solan. Thanks a lot Alan
The look: Cloudy golden orange body topped by a large off-white head
In long: Strong nose of spicy hops, brett and Jolly Pumpkin barrels. Taste is really all over the place. A lot of hops, very yeasty, strong spicy character, burnt grass, very woody with a light Oak sourness, green apples, caramel, . Dry dusty barn finish with an acidic touch. On one hand there is some strong Orval similarities that I enjoyed so very much (Oval = best beer on the planet) but it also came with some undesirable flavours that didn’t sit well with the rest of the beer (most notably the oaky sourness). Wild crazy stuff here that doesn’t fit onto any category. But ratebeer doesn’t have that “miscellaneous” drawer that we all have in our bedroom where we put stuff that doesn’t go anywhere else. The one with the past due-date condoms from back when we still had hopes.

Bottella, exploded when opened. Cloudy orange colour. Aroma is sour with oak, yeast and hops. Good mouthfeel. The flavour is a bit sweet with sourness, wood, bitter hops and some fruit. Strange.