Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del Otono (Autumn Fire)

750 mL. Pours a clear orange-golden color with a frothy white head and tiny bubbles rising throughout. Maybe a little wood or something in the aroma, but overwhelmingly sour, with not much else detectable. Flavor is much more mild... a little bit sour (aroma is misleading), with a malty caramel flavor and a little bit of spicyness. Jolly Pumpkin beers generally confuse me, but this one was pretty drinkable.

750ml bottle. The bottle is now green, unfortunately, unlike the old brown ones. Batch 244,245. Wonderful appearance on this one, just like I’ve come to expect with this company. A clear golden honey color with a huge rocky white head with great retention and great lacing. Amazingly complex aroma on this baby. Freshly roasted honey nuts, slight chocolate, brown sugar, christmas, normal JP funk, all integrated together and blended beautifully. Chestnuts roasting over an open fire. The nuttiness here is more appetizing than any other beer (mostly brown ales) where I have noticed a nutty character, it must be the chestnuts. Taste is subdued in its funky and tart flavors with some of the nuttiness and chocolate of the aroma coming through but much, much more subtle. This beer smells better than it tastes, unfortunately. Probably the least sour and funky tasting JP I’ve had to date, probably because it’s new. Drinkability is very high. Nice soft mouthfeel with a slight dryness. I’d be interested to see how this ages, though it is certainly nice right now.

Woah...amazing is all I can say. This has got to be one of the best JPs I’ve had. Aroma was musty and old...spices and citrus with some wood. Pour was a nice dark gold with a puffy 2 finger off white head that left quickly. Taste was nice and sour but the sourness didn’t match up to the aroma. And somehow, after the swallow the sourness is gone...strange. Musty old spices and funkiness with a bit of wood and earth. Great all around beer.

On tap at La Cave Di Vun

This was my primary reason for making the trip to the Euclid area. Once we found the place and spent ten minutes in awe of the selection it was time to settle down. Looking at the tap list this seemed to be the best option to start. It was good enough I almost purchased a bottle even at $18. Perhaps if I can find it for less I’ll stock some in the cellar.

Aroma / Appearance - The scent of a musty basement coupled with nutmeg and chestnut reminds me of a stale pumpkin beer minus the fruit. Light cocoa sits well as does the wet barnyard aroma. This has all the hallmarks of a typical Dexter release. The body was hard to see in the dim light but appeared to be a cloudyd orange with thin white head.

Flavor / Palate - The funk is obvious from the start. Once you adjust your palate the taste of oak, chestnut and some hoppiness stand out. Almonds and spices eventually make an appearance towards the end. This is very full bodied with a wheaty finish that lingers on the throat for seemingly forever. It is the lightest drinking Jolly Pumpkin I have ever had as well. It would have been very easy (and tempting) to drink this in ten minutes.

Clear copper golden orange with a big rocky creamy tan head, diminishing slowly. Sweet caramel malt. Creamy light spice with some light cherry oak. Mild creamy body, a bit slippery, not watery at all. Big sweet oaky beer. Oaked Arrogant Bastard with fewer hops! Very tannic! A bit spicey with spices and light esters. Lingering oaky earthy toast. Dries out the sweetness well. This could make a delicious but deadly (for the wallet) session beer. I could drink a bunch of this.

750ml bottle; nose of light tartness, nuttiness, and spices; slight gusher from the getgo but only a small amount cloudy amber with a huge beige head heavily lacing my glass; flavor is a little tartness, lots of caramel, tart apples, and spices.

Wow ... I got this as a cask pull at "Buckeye Beer Engine" in Lakewood, Ohio. This was infinitely more interesting as it was around 55 degrees and the head was substantially different than anything I have had before. It was like a soft whipped cream instead of the other Jolly’s that are effervescent and sticky. The slightly hazy completion was nice and it was slightly more sour than their Bam. High on my list, especially if you can get it off a cask pull. Amended 11/3/07: had a taste of the regular draft today, very different texture. More sour than the cask and significantly more effervescent. Chestnut still present but more muted than the cask, probably a function of temperature.

Gusher warning! This one blew like Old Faithful! Once it settled, i poured a hazy, brownish red body with a massive, billowing, rocky, cream colored head. The beer leaves behind huge clumps of thick foam that linger on the glass like cumulonimbus clouds over the Florida glades on a summer afternoon. In short, the appearance is magnificent. The aroma shows a complex bouquet of spiced apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweet cherries, and traces of earthy cedar. Right off the bat, you can tell that the signature JP funk is a bit more subdued in this one. The flavor confirms this as moderately sour apple cider and caramel malts hit up front, while peppery spices and oak emerge on the back end. The finish is bone dry and very woodsy, with oak and cedar both playing a part. I didn’t really pick up any nuttiness, as the commercial description would suggest. Medium body. Perhaps the smoothest and easiest to drink of the JP beers. Fantastic aroma the disappoints a little in flavor. Still, a very solid beer.