Review: Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza and Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

Everybody's two favorite things from Michigan: The Spanish language, Belgian ales, and pumpkins! Well, I guess that's certainly true for Jolly Pumpkin fans. What do pumpkins and Spanish have to do with Michigan other than the fact that Jolly Pumpkin operates there? Well, I'm not quite sure. It didn't make much more sense to my Mexican friend either, which is probably why he opted for a bottle of Sofie instead of anything from Jolly Pumpkin while we were at Jungle Jim's in Cincy.

Commercial description:

Oro de Calabaza - Brewed in the Franco-Belgian tradition of strong golden ales.  Spicy and peppery with a gentle hop bouquet and the beguiling influence of wild yeast. 8% ABV

La Roja – An artisan amber ale brewed in the Flanders tradition.  Deep amber with earthy caramel, spice, and sour fruit notes developed through natural barrel aging.  Unfiltered, unpasteurized and blended from barrels ranging in age from two to ten months. 7.2% ABV

Oro de Calabaza

Presentation. 750 ml bottle poured into a tulip. Batch 934 bottle on 2/28/2012. This one is a gusher! I had to immediately pour this before foam exploded everywhere. 

Appearance: Yellow/orange color with a 1 inch head. There was absolutely no lacing left behind. 

Aroma: The aroma on this is spectacular. The funkiness of the Brett is balanced well with citrus. There's definitely a band-aid/barnyard funk from the Brett with tart apple, cherry, and lemon. There's also a bit of damp oak to tie everything together. 

Taste: The taste pretty much mirrors everything in the aroma and adds even more. Up front there's a bit of funk from the Brett with some nice tart apple with lemon and grape. As the beer sits on the tongue you begin to notice the oak with a bit of mustiness, grass, and spice. There's also a very slight medicinal quality to it. Only as it warms do you notice any alcohol warmth. 

Mouthfeel: Thin body with quite a bit of carbonation. Really crisp and dry. 

Overall: Jolly Pumpkin has the biere de garde down. I hope to track down Biere de Mars to compare with this beer. I really do not understand why this beer is not more highly regarded than what it already is. It is dangerously easy to drink at 8% too. How many biere de gardes have been oak aged? The mild tartness just sets this over the top. Personally, this seems like a steal at $12.

5/5

La Roja

Presentation: 750ml bottle poured into a tulip. Blend 8 and bottled on 4/12/2012 

Appearance: The first pour yielded a nice dark amber/orange color with an off white head. The second pour was a much darker amber, which is probably due to the yeast that settled. There was only a minimal amount of lacing too. 

Aroma: Oh yeah, this has some funk. The Brett definitely imparts an aroma of old wet blanket and leather. Under the funk is a bit of spice, oak, caramel, and sourness. The funk and the oak really makes this come together. 

Taste: This is definitely close to a Flanders Oud Bruin. Of course, being an American brewery, they have to create their own unique take of it. This has a bit of tart cherry, lemon, vinegar, Brett funk with a slight phenolic quality. Personally, this seems a bit more sour than most in the Flanders tradition. I usually love oak aged beers, but I'm unsure about its part in this beer. All things considered, this is pretty smooth and easy drinking for a tart/sour beer. At first, I didn't really enjoy the taste, but it really opens up as it warms. It's definitely apparent that there is a bit more of a lactic quality when it warms. The alcohol only becomes slightly noticeable too. 

Mouthfeel: Thin body and only slightly carbonated, which is definitely in line with the Flanders tradition.

Overall: This is damn good, but this pales in comparison to other beers in the Flanders tradition. The aroma is incredible, but the oak in the taste is a bit of a distraction. Now don't get me wrong through. The taste is great, but the oak is a slightly ruins it. I can't help but wonder what this would turn into with some age as the oak fades.

4.5/5

-The bouquet didn't completely come together in the taste.