Jolly Pumpkin Baudelaire Beer iO Saison

Brewed by Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Saison
Dexter, Michigan USA

Serve in Tulip

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Rating #1200! 750 mL bottle (Blend 5, bottled 1-26-2011) poured into my Odonata Saison glass. Pours a deep, glowing, strawberry-copper color with a pinkish-tan head; like raspberry cake frosting spread atop a hunk of petrified amber. Nice rocky formation, fabulous retention and clingy lacing. The aroma displays some breathtaking clarity and focus; the rose petals and hibiscus are plain as day but distinct and unmuddled. A grassy note, some earthiness and some Orval-ish brett lie underneath. I may as well be walking through a garden. The perfection of the aroma is refreshing and inspiring, and I hope the flavor lives up to it. First sip and... wow, it does. An initial hibiscus and unripe strawberry tartness washes into a divine brett finish that recalls Orval in the best way possible. More on the tartness: it reminds me a bit of that Minute Made frozen raspberry lemonade from concentrate that you have to mix with 4 parts water. As a kid, I always mixed it with 3 parts because I wanted it stronger and more tart, and this beer has an element of that flavor, fleetingly. More on the finish: bone dry with a grass/hay brett character and some mild bitterness. At this point, halfway through the first pour, the head looks like a glob of melted vanilla ice cream in an ice cream float. Creamy, firm and fine carbonation, lower in effervescence than Orval (not a bad thing). The palate is soft and pleasant, the swallow leaves a light residual acidity that, together with the arid dryness, begs the next sip. I cant fault this beer in any facet. Its been a long time since I was blown away by a beer, but this beer has snapped me out of complacency. I really hope JP expands the Baudelaire line, because Ale Absurd was great and IO is flat-out incredible.

(#57) [Blend #5 1-26-11] 750ml bottle bought in late 2010. Poured into tulip glass. Appearance: Golden/Amber with some haze...a nice deep color. Great white frothy head that sticks around, about a finger or two. Aroma: The roses are apparent! Along with cherries, raspberries, grapefruit, some light citrus maybe, melon, banana, and cloves. There is some spiciness floating around with the aroma. Taste: Interesting...tastes similar to a sour ale, mixed with some fruitiness. Berries, light citrus?, melon, pepper spice, honey. It has a certain tang to it...is this what roses tastes like? Palate: Med bodied...smooth, initially effervescent. It finishes really clean, but the taste seems to flatten out at the end. I wonder if aging it for as long as I did has affected it greatly. Overall: It’s pretty clean and easy to drink. Not too complex but still has a flavor developed. I like it. Happy to have bought it, cool bottle too.

Bottle. This beer pours the color of rose gold with a massive (and I mean massive) head of fluffy foam. First try resulted in about a quarter glass of liquid and 3/4 head. Aromas are a lovely mix of floral and fruit notes with a decidedly sour funk behind them. I would have said "raspberry" if I hadn’t read the label. Flavor is light an funky with a nice sour bite to it, but it seems to fall a little short of Jolly Pumpkin’s normally aggressive sourness. The whole thing kind of comes across as a little washed out and I was expecting a more substantial edginess. That said, it is very nice, light and refreshing. I would never guess the ABV is over 6%... maybe would have even pegged it somewhere much closer to 5%. Very nice, but a little underdeveloped.

Draft at Jerry’s. Rose-amber with modest, creamy, pink head / Delicate, moderately tart nose of rose petals, hibiscus, caramel, orchard fruit, and brett / Light to medium body, tart and acidic, with good balance and finish / Earthy, elegant flavors of rose petal, hibiscus, strawberry, oak, caramel, green apple, rotten apple, and hay / Another great one from JP.

I enjoyed this, but the numbers just didn’t back it up.. . Pours a hazy tan .. lots of foam .. . very dry beer .. . light spice, light funk, and light berry .. . nice stuff but maybe a bit plain .. . . Class trip to the Coca-Cola factory. I hope there’s no pop quiz .

750 mL bottle from Chevy Chase Liquors, opened 5/15/12. Blend 1, bottled 1/27/11. Pours a hazy amber with a large white frothy head. Good head retention. Tart aroma with notes of tropical fruits, hibiscus, floral and earthy notes and sweet almost honey-like note. The taste is tart and earthy with honey and tropical fruit notes. Medium bodied.

Bottle @ Haand festival. Pour clear, yellowish, with a small white head. Aroma is slightly hoppy of pine, and a little malty of caramel. Taste is fairly sweet and bitter. Average body with an average carb.

Nicely balanced. Great rose aroma, nice and light saison body with just a kiss more rose character, and some nice tartness from the hibiscus.

Bottle: Blend 3: 1-18-2011: Medium vast off white head, disappears very slow, on top of a murky rose amber brown colored beer. Smell is a fine fresh mix of fine malts, hint of something light sour, flowers, yeast, rose hip, hint of caramel. Very nice aroma. Taste is a very nicely balanced mix of hop bitterness without the hops being present, some yeast, rose hip, light sour touch (like raspberry ish and cherry ish), some spices and herbs, flowers/floral, sweetish malty caramel roasted sugars in the back, Aftertaste is well balanced bitter with sweet caramel malty tones, flowers and some yeasty herbs. Low to medium carbo, soft mouthfeel, full body and a (light) creamy texture. A very fine mix of a sour beer with a typical yeasty saison and a good lightly sweeter malty (caramel) beer with a good bitter touch. Really good beer! Delicious!

perfect. to compartmentalize would be to debase this art. gorgeous pink/amber, slight haze, big fluffy, rocky head. utterly perfect.

Batch 1015/1016 bottled 2/21/2012. Filled the tulip glass with ruby body, a rosey white head, and great lacing. Floral notes are the predominant aroma with hints of dried cherry. First sip introduces the flavor of rose water which is followed by sour cherry. Very smooth finish with rose and a hint of sourness coat the mouth and continue to linger. Well-crafted saison that is truly enjoyable and refreshing.