Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

(Bottle, Stockholm Beer Festival, 20 Sep 2008) Cloudy reddish brown colour with frothy, beige head. Fruity, acidic, spicy nose with fruity hints of apricots. Acidic, fruity taste with notes of dried fruit, balsamic vinegar and a tart, dry finish. Really sour stuff. Lacking the balance of Rodenbach, but still an interesting and tasty beer.

Bottle. Huge head with excellent duration. Color is red amber. Aroma and taste are sour malt, berries and wood.

This one poured a deep, dark copper--darker than most pumpkin ales that I’ve had. It had a decent spicy pumpkin scent and just got better once consumed. It was sweet with lots of pumpkin with a medium to heavy body. It also left a solid pumpkin aftertaste. I enjoyed the pumpkin-red conbination very much.

22oz bottle at Redlight Redlight. Alan at Knightly recommended this one. Though JP bills this as an "amber" its definitely a sour ale. Nose is full on funkines with sour cherry, brett mustiness and a slight undercurrent of caramel. Pours a copper color with nice red hues and foamy head. The bottle was constantly spurting foam for about 4 mins after the first pour. Wierd. Huge sour tart flavor with bits of cherry. Caramel comes through in the lingering finish and hints of wood an vanilla. The only thing "amber" about this ale. A real winner of a sour ale though, this had more bite than most of their brews and I could definitely feel the alcohol but it never seemed overt. Very well done.

Bottle. Ap: Nice redbrown color with creamy white head. Ar: Sour, fruity, mushroom-funky. Fla: First sour, then vinous and at last some bitterness (grape). Some oaky-smokey thing going on in the background.

(Bottle at Café 3 Små Rum, Göteborg)
On September 28, 2008
Shady copper color, tan head. Acidc, sour, oak scent. Slight acidic, waek sour, a bit sweet taste. Medium mouthfeel, oak aftertaste, low bitterness. A bit like a boring lambic in the taste.

Bottle (75 cl) from Ølbutikken, Copenhagen, Denmark. Hazy chestnut, small head. Fruity and cidery with a harsh grapefruit aroma, and some cherries and plums in the background. Light to medium bodied, soft carbonation. Mildly sour, but with a rough churny grapefruit bitterness. I did not like this at all.

Bottle @ Ølbaren. Reddish brown, small firm beige head. Sourish, red gooseberry aroma, clear oak. Dry, sour flavor, berries, dill-oaky finish. Some might get a bit confused buying this as an amber ale. But it’s the Flanders, man.