Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del Otono (Autumn Fire)

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

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.

Amazing looking rocky tan head on a murky brown and red body. Inviting, pungent nose of funky spiced nuts and bread, along with some sour apple and honey, and some cedar and oak barrel. Sourness is a bit lower than expected from the nose - lightly prickly on the tongue, somewhat acitic, but also very smooth, especially on the back, with some mellow, soft chestnut/acorn/walnut flavors, along with some banana bread and spiced cider. A very nice beer.

Gusher alert! As soon as I opened it a foam river shot it of top. I poured maybe an ounce into a pint glass that quickly over flowed. After about 10 minutes the foam finally subsided from the pint glass but it still took awhile to pour a full pint. Now to the rating. Poured dark red with huge white head. Aroma of cinnamon and spice. Good cinnamon flavor to start with some fruit hints. Finished with some spice.

Popped off the cap and a steady flow of foam came out and wouldn’t stop - I had to pour it into 3 separate glasses. After all that, I had a glass of a muddy dark red clay-colored brew with an off-white head. Right off the bat, this smells the least funky of the JP brews I’ve had to date (all but the Calabaza). The light funk is there along with a nuttiness and some fall spices. The taste was pleasantly funky, dancing around on the palate and complimenting the spices. The finish is dry and there’s more sour on the back end than I expected. Probably the most subtle of JP’s brews.

Jimmack Invitational 07. Murky brown with a small to medium head, long lasting. Aroma of ginger, chestnuts, caramel, funky brett, sour cherry. Taste is moderately tart, sour cherry and brett, spices such as ginger, chestnuts, and caramel. Everything was pretty well balanced in this beer. Finishes lightly tart, with lingering spice.

Poured a hazy brown color with a small, light tan head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of chestnuts, caramel malts, light brett, leather, and a bit of cherry. Taste of caramel malts, light nuts, toffee, and faint spices, with a light tartness throughout. Not sure when this was bottled, but I seem to have caught it before the bugs completely took over... which is a very good thing in this case!