Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere

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

Thanks to OhioDad for this one. First of all, let me say that I consider Ron Jeffries to be a visionary . He is to beer what Da Vinci was to science. Secondly, let me say that I am Goddamned sick and tired of certain people downgrading great beers such as this. In fact, the ratings given by certain people to this one cause me to lose absolutely all credibility for those certain people. I won’t call people out, but they know who they are, and it seems funny that the beers that get screwed are all American beers on the brink of greatness. To give a beer as good as this a below average score is inconscionable to me; a travesty of this site, and I’d like to see it investigated. Perhaps we need Olympic scoring, with a sliding scale based on # of ratings and the top and bottom few scores are thrown out. If this was an isolated incident it would be fine, but the same 3 or 4 guys keep preventing great beers from getting a fair statistical rating, downgrading good beers like a pack of hyenas ambushing and downgrading the lifespan of a limping antelope. Enough is enough! On to my rating. The pour is hazy dark straw colored, with a 3-finger foamy white head. The aroma is heavily citric, with a great lemon/orange/grapefruit trifecta coupled with tropical fruit, floral notes, and some funky, cobwebby malt. The taste is citric and hoppy and floral, with some candi sugar, pineapple, mangoes, papaya, and apricots. The palate is extremely complex, with a lively density and very intense flavor components. The dry floral elements come out a bit more as it warms, and the substantial malt base reasserts itself. This beer is awesome. Period.

A hazy golden ale with a thick creamy white head, lacing. A spiced aroma of pepper, epsom salts, wild herbs, and catnip. Strong Brett enchants you. In mouth, a refreshing lemony tart beer, with earthy notes, dry and lightly puckering. Rich and interesting. A bieropholie import.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium yellow, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), lightly to moderately hoppy (flowers, herbs), lightly yeasty (barnyard, horseblanket), with a strong note of lemon, lesser notes of white pepper, sour apple, band-aid, and clove. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Light to medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Like an old school saison, perhaps, back when they were spontaneously fermented (and thus fairly tart). Pretty strong lemon-juicy nose, but otherwise pretty varied and enticing. Kinda like a light modern saison with a dash of lambic. Quite cool, and a great quaffer (should be in 750mL bottles, really). Pretty watery mouthfeel, but that’s the only thing that’s not great.

Bottle. Froth white good mostly lasting head. Yellow colour. Moderate malty and heavy hoppy aroma. Pine and herb notes. Moderate bitter finish, Long nice light swet finish. Oily palate. Very nice beer.

12 oz bottle from Bello Vino in Ann Arbor, MI (October 2006), served between cellar and fridge temps from a Duvel glass. Strangely, I never rated this when I had a relatively fresh bottle last summer; I’m a little apprehensive as to what nearly a year (or more, don’t know when it was bottled) is going to do to this under-5% ABV delicacy, but here goes: pours an absolutely immense snow-white, fluffy head into the glassy, reminiscent of Duvel itself, with a hazy, yeasty bright gold body covering a mere bottom 1/3 of the glass; the head recedes very, very slowly and leaves irregular chunks of lace -- picture-perfect.....the nose, too, is pretty much exactly what I want in a saison: very faint fruitiness, lots of dry, chalky earthy elements, more than a bit of barnyard funk, a dash of wildflower honey, and an overawing but not totally dominating old yeastiness....the body is tart, mostly dry, fairly mineralic and chalky/earthy, moving to very dry and chalky at the finish, with some faint medicinal qualities that don’t quite jibe....finish is a touch metallic, dry and tart; carbonation is on the low side for the style though I remember it being higher a year ago. All in all, this is a phenomenal saison, certainly one of the top couple of American versions I’ve had, with few if any real flaws and in amazingly fine condition after a year of cellaring under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Spicey, lemony, yeasty aroma. A tart smell. Hazy orange tinted gold color with a humongous white head. Full bodied. Strong carbonation, but no harsh bite. Light malt sweetness, caramelish, with citrus sour and some distinct bitter. Refreshingly dry finish with enduring bitter. Accompanied by sourness. Mouthsmacking.

Noogfest 2006. The body was light cloudy yellow with an off white head. The aroma was funky with apples and colby cheese. There was also some sweet port character. You can tell this is JP as soon as you smell it. The taste was dry honey with bread crust. There was also some cinnamon and a hint of peaches. Not much fruit in this one. Sampled again in 6 packs locally. Still a winner.

Funky farmhouse character over peach, apricot fruitiness, mild sugary candy, and peppery brett notes in the alluring aroma. Opaque golden body evokes sunrise with just a blush of orange. Decent white head recedes to cover with some very nice lacing. Vanilla and oak are very prominent along with leafy, soapy, floral, jasmin, herbal hops and peppery brett. Malts are subdued. Dry, sharp body with fine bubbled, lightly prickly carbonation. Bottle enjoyed with MartinT, Olivier_MTL, Rastacouere and Siroy.