Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del Otono (Autumn Fire)

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

From bottle courtesy of Naka. Batch 244,245. Awesome funky aroma. Bretty with oak and farmhouse funk. Pears, lactic acid and nice fruity tart quality. Little bit of grassy hops, too. Golden amber clear with light huge, topped with white lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts tart, fruity with tons of Brett. Big and lactic all through but softens up quite well at the finish with sweet pears and bit of pilsner malt. Dry bitter after - light chalky. Nice and a little weak.

Nose of of oak barel tartness, funk, some nutty toasty notes in the background as well. Light sweetness from the malts. Pours bright orange gold with a thin head. The flavor is very funky with a pleasant tartness that lingers throughout. Nutty flavors as well as caramel malt sweetness makes it way in there as well. Light tart fruity aspects as well. Lingering funky funkness in the finish. Very good.

22oz bottle. Pours a deep yellow almost orange with a thick foamy head. Massive carbonation as is typical of JP. Nose is very nutty, nutmeg, apple, yeast and hazelnut. Taste is slightly sour up front with a complex nutty middle and a snappy hoppy finish. Lingering sourness and caramel notes. Awesome as usual with JP.

Color is a hazy orange gold with very active carbonation and a tight, thick white head. Aroma is like a spicy apple cider. Taste is crisp and sour. Starting with light/medium body it goes down crisp with a clean feel. Finish comes on with a sour cider taste and a gentle caramel nutty flavor. After taste is a dry oak bitterness with a faint plastic taste in the back. Overall its ok, I’m just not a big fan of sours. This one has nice smooth flavors so for me its better then others I have had.

(750ml bottle, Batch 336) Medium off-white head that leaves nice lacing, atop clear light brown body. Aroma is medium sweet, Brett, lemon/orange, some tobacco, light oak, caramel. Taste is medium sweet, lemon/orange, some Brett, tobacco, light cherry, cinnamon/anise/medicinal. Light-medium body, light acidity.

(Bottled, 0.75l) Hazy amber with a very small, but lasting head. Tart, sulphury cherry aroma like in the rest of these brews. Sulphur is clearly present also in the flavor, with dried fruit, cloves, apricot, vinegar, and brettanomyces. Medium-bodied with low to medium carbonation. A pleasant nightcap with vinous sourness.

Clear copper color with a white head. Aroma of yeast, spices, some sourness and malt. Flavor of yeast, spices and sourness with a hoppy finish.

750ml bottle, Oct. 2008 batch. Having had this beer several times, I can say it needs at least three months after it’s released to really come into its own. It was released way too young IMO. Moving on, it pours a really beautiful glowing, reddish honey with a pillowy beige head. Awesome. Gorgeous, vintage Jolly Pumpkin nose - softly-integrated brett, sour tropical fruits, and of course oak. The flavor is vinous, subtle, and refreshing. There is not that burst of flavor you might expect though. This could be a phenomenal beer if the flavors were more pronounced. I still really like it.