Jolly Pumpkin Bière de Mars

Brewed by Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Bière de Garde
Dexter, Michigan USA

third bottle, and same notes... I’m not sure if it’s intended, but all three bottles were sour. Orange color, good carbonation. just hard to get past a sour BDG, as they are not supposed to be sour!

My first biere de garde. It’s hard to pin point what this style is about. Pour was a beautiful medium brown with a nice 2 finger off white head. Aroma of must and fruit. Taste of orange, spices and ginger (?). Heavy carbonation rounds this beer out. Uneventful and not exciting, however I don’t have anything to compare it to

Jolly Pumpkin Biere de Mars 750 ml bottle Released 04/07, idealized 05/07. Moderate pour in a beer mug (it’s all I had :( Poured a clear brown with a huge frothy to rocky fully lasting head with excellent lacing. Smelt of strong sour brett and citrus, and moderate leather, oak, toasted malt, spices. Taste was upfront strong sour brett, orange lemon zest, moderate oak and toasted malt followed by a strong horseblanket sourness and leathery oakiness on a long finish. Palate was light to medium bodied, lively carbonated, watery on a dry finish, lightly to moderately puckering. Overall, this one kind of took me by surprise. I didn’t really know what to expect, but the sourness is not over the top and the oak balance is way above par. There isn’t anything to hate in this one.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain/bread), lightly to moderately yeasty (barnyard, cobwebs, horseblanket), with notes of lemon peel, apple skin, black tea, autumn leaves, wood, earth. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. As is often the case with JP, the Fantome similarity is palpable...variable sourness level from batch/bottle to batch/bottle, wild aromatic character, etc. This is my second sampling (but first rating), and it’s significantly better than the first (which would’ve been around 3.5). The inconsistency of this brewery is at times fun and at times a little disappointing, but I have the impression things are getting better. This is my first 4+ rating of a JP beer (I’ve tried all but 3 of them so far), and it earned it. This is a brewery I could easily fall in love with after the little kinks are smoothed out.

Light sour apple aroma starts things off. Deep golden brown body with an eternal, fluffy, off-white head. Full palate with perfect carbonation. The taste is very light. Wood, sour flavors and some yeast. Very restrained and easy to drink.

2006 Vintage. An orangey-red color, lightly hazy with an uncharacteriscally Jolly Pumpkin, thin head that is bone white. Aroma is intense with rotting, sour cherries, oak, vanilla, coconut, and a red wine-like acidic overlay. Powerfully intense flavor profile. All of the aroma components are in the flavor with the oak showing freshness, lots of coconut, a solid sweetness, and a balancing tannic bite.

750 ml bottle. Pours a hazy copper-orange with a fizzy white head that quickly diminishes to a thin film that leaves some fine lacing.

The aroma is oak, pepper, some hops and bready malts with some sour sweet-tarts.

The flavor is some bready malts and grassy hops with a little tart sourness. The finish is a weird muted bitterness that tastes kind of off. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly watery with some sharp fizzy carbonation.

Overall, a decent beer. So far it’s my least favorite JP beer. I would’ve like to see a little more sourness, and less of the off bitter finish. As it warmed, it did smooth out some.

Pours a ditry tan-orange, Smells of oak, dirt, earth, cherries, tied with a funky sourness. Tastes is mostly wood, bread, and an integrated sour tartness. Finishes equally tasty and somewhat slick. I was impressed with the integration of sour flavors in a beer that is naturally meant to taste earthy and "homemade." Very intereresting.