Jolly Pumpkin Bière de Mars

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

Slightly hazy chestnut with a lasting off-white head. Aroma of wine barrel, vanilla and caramel, with a little horse-blanket brett. Dry and tart, with cherry notes and brett and quite complex oak.

Lightly hazed brown ale with a thin creamy off white head. Woody cherry aroma, with barnyard qualities, veering on white wine. In mouth, a nice light flemish sour, with lactic notes, light herbal character, nice and quite interesting. At the Mondiale, June 2006.

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.

Sampled at the Michigan Brewers Fest. Rustic and rusty thick brown in color with a lasting touch of whitish head...sweet, grainy, yeasty and lightly spicy nose, with hints of raisin and anise and a doughiness emerging after a couple of minutes...body sourish, lightly fruity and acidic, with a creamy and bready mouthfeel, lots of yeast here...touch lactic and more sour towards the finish, good level of carbonation. As David says, perhaps could use some aging, but I like this more than the Montrealers on the whole...another example of the greatness of this gem of a brewery.

Bottle from Ledger’s. Pours a dark ruby with a large, creamy beige head. Aroma of sour funk (light) over plummy fruit. Impression is tart. Full bodied with frothy carbonation. Flavor is barnyard mild, lightly tart, with cherries and/or red skinned plums. Finishes smooth, slightly tart, slightly Brett, slightly fruity, and incredibly delicious.

Sampled at the Great Taste of the Midwest 2005. The body is light brown and orange. The aroma has oranges and some flowers with sweet caramel. The taste seems floral with orange rind and walnuts. I would love to pair this with some food. Jolly Pumpkin continues to impress.

Woody aroma offers notes of oak, melons, leafiness and occasional but strong whiffs of alcohol. Opaque brown-orange with low off-white head that recedes to thick ring with some sudsy lacing. Fairly bitter, oaky, woody, vanilla sweetness is joined by a tart yeastiness. Medium body with fair carbonation. Sampled at the Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Beer Festival 2005.

Keg provided at the Schroppfy party: Multihued with golden to amber colors, a long lasting head and nice lace. The aroma has notes of apple esters on top of floral and hayfield character. Notes of oak and pale malts too, quite airey and inviting. The taste starts with a fruity and hoppy mix (but not to hoppy) with a malty biscuit background. Detected some light clove and pepper character which ended with a dry wildflower and oaky finish. The feel is lush and smooth, lively enough to make it refreshing. The complete package is quite different than many Biere de Gardes and I found it quite enjoyable. Kudos!