Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

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

750ml. Blend 10. Served into Duvel tulip. Pour is hazy deep amber with a frothy off white head. Aromas of oak, cherries, boozy alcohol, and nice candy hints. Flavor is tart and funky with tons of oak right up front. Cherries, caramel, and a nice acidic finish all in this guy. Very nicely done and damn drinkable.

750ml bottle - $9.99 at Bullock’s in Marietta, Georgia. A small sticker on the back of the bottle lists "Blend 3, 2008". Appearance: Pours a clear, dark caramel body with a pervasive amount of fine effervescence and topped with a goodly-sized, off-white Smell: Toasted bready and caramel malts cower in the corner from the looming, encroaching wild yeast-derived aromas. I don’t blame them, I’d cower too. Taste: Initial maltiness of heavily toasted bread crusts and dark caramel with a brief, restrained sweetness quickly clear the way for a veritable tide of funk-induced flavors. Sours cherries, unripened Willamette raspberries, freshly-grated nutmeg, Red Delicious apple peelings, a lone drop of vanilla cream, and even some puckeringly tannic, fouled wood barrel tastes. Slight acidity. Fairly earthy and acetic at times. Finishes quite dry with some enduring dusky tannic hints. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Highly carbonated. Drinkability: As always, it’s another weird, wild ride from Jolly Pumpkin. To say these beers aren’t for everyone is a huge understatement. Paired well with the song "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" by The Decemberists.

Re-rate 10/2/09. This bottle is probably a couple of years old. Murky reddish-brown pour with a real thick long-lasting head. Heavy lacing. Tart and sour, cherries with bretty funk, ripe plums, some yeast and apple. A bit astringent in the finish. Seemed a tad muted, perhaps a little past it’s prime? I don’t know, this is still very tasty, but I’ll have to compare this to the one year old bottle I have. I’m going to leave the rating as is. Original Rating: This was a bit of a gusher. I had to pour it fast for minimal losses. A deep murky amber color, or brownish, with a huge khaki head that is controlled quick enough. The aroma here is yeasty, some champagne, flowers and some fruit. Very nice. Tart cherries with some raspberry kick off the flavors with a little bit of a spicy bite, funky brett and wood notes show as well. Dry and sour in the finish. Pretty complex, I’m not sure what exactly I’m tasting at times but I like it. Good beer.

(bottle - 750 ml - 2005 vintage) Cloudy dark amber color with a very thin white head that disappears quickly. Aroma is earthy and sour with hints of oranges, wood, and some citrus. Flavor is nice and sour with some good hints of wood, earth, sour citrus, and some caramel. Finishes dry and clean with a light tartness. Holds age very well.

750 ml bottle poured a cloudy orange amber with a small lingering amber head. Aromas of sour orange, carmel, light earthiness and a hint of wood. Palate was light bodied and crisp. Flavors of wood, orange, carmel, and apple with a lingering lightly tart finish.

This poured a dark ruby red color with a small white head. Aroma was pretty sour and maybe some citrus fruits as well. Flavor was very sour but lacked any outstanding flavors behind it. This seemed like a very bland sour to me and not nearly as good as the grand reserve

This one has been sitting in my cellar for at least a year. A- Pours a hazy reddish brown with a nice, fluffy, 2 finger eggshell head. S- Smell is very malt forward, lots caramel, citrusey sour fruit at the end. T- A bit of a letdown from the look and smell. It’s about the reverse of the smell, with very muted caramel notes steamrolled by a slightly sour wave of bret. M- Medium bodied with quite a bit of carbonation. D- This one was looking like such a winner until I took a sip. I felt like I would either love to see it more sour or more caramel barleywinesque with just a touch of sourness but the balance that was struck didn’t quite do it for me. I’d love to try a fresh bottle for comparison.

Gusher, saved most of the bottle by bleeding off pressure. A moderately sour Fllemish Red. Oak character was subdued, decent residual maltiness