Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

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

La Roja (blend 9, 2008, bottle) This one’s a gusher, and even after pouring out some of it in the mega snifter, it still gushed. Pours a muddy reddish brown with an off white/cream colored head, which retains nicely and leaves a lot of lacing. Aroma of cinnamon, a bunch of oak, tart cherry, a light caramel sweetness, green apple, earth (gets more so as it warms), leather, clean mint. Taste is lightly sour, with some tart cherry, unripe plum skin, sweet caramel, red wine, light acetone, and a lot of barrel, cinnamon, and dry yeastiness on the finish. A bit of fresh mint is perceived upon exhalation. The red wine flavor really starts to dominate as this warms up, and it begins to taste as if I’m drinking carbonated red wine which certainly isn’t a bad thing. I was underwhelmed by the flavor when this was cold, but I’m really starting to dig it now. Mouthfeel is medium, and the carbonation is very lively. The taste is not as sharp and sour as I thought it would be after having had the Krieked version, but it’s still a good beer nonetheless. Let this one warm up a bit, it’s worth the wait.

I first experienced La Roja at the 2008 GABF and had to get more of it. I scored a bottle from Monument wines and Spirits. Blend 14 2008. The aroma is intoxicating and complex. Just by the smell, you can tell the complexity and depth. One of the great things about this ale is that it is not so extreme that people with less sophisticated palates can enjoy it. Very nice sour component that you look for and nice balance between the beer and barrel. Excellent quality!

Poured from a 750ml. Amber with a quickly discipating head. Aroma is complex Brett and sweet malt. Tasting the sweetness from the young beer in the blend with the dryness of the much older Brettier beer. Very interesting juxtaposition between the two. The dryness of the older beer gives the illusion of bitterness in its astringency. The Bretty funk comes in at the end of the astringently dry after taste. I really like this beer. Well done.

750ml Blend 13, 2008. Pours a copper haze with a orangery head. A highly carbonated brew with fruit notes. This one gets a lot better as it breaths, but still retains a dry finish. Not as "white wine-ish" as sours from the left coast.

Pours an amber color with a nice off white head to it. Has a sour and slight woody smell to it. Has a woody, maybe a little cherry flavor in there. A little tart at first but finishes sour.

0.75 L bottle from Systembolaget, Nordstan. A brief, fine-laced near-white head resting on a foggy, reddish amber body. Crisp, acidic-tart fruit aroma with red currant and citrus notes, and a whiff of Brett, celllar and wood. Taste has a distinct tart and acidic fruitiness. A pleasant tone of malt sweetness underneath. Also some wooden notes, and hints of spices, mould and earthy hop bitterness. Light astringent and powdery in the mouth. Filling. Dry and crisp, tart and fruity ending. Good stuff!

2009 blend 2... caramally amber pour with medium off white head. Aroma is tart red fruit, a little bit of hotter alcohol, somewhat gasoliny. Flavor follows the aroma pretty closely. A little hot on the alcohol, nice tart red fruit, a bit chalky. This seems a little young right now.

750 ml bottle. Blend 12, 2008. Pours medium brown with touch of ruby. Medium cream head. Aroma of pine, mulch and balanced with nice caramel, orange and lemon. Taste a mild sweet vanilla then a touch of tartness with hints of currant and raisin. Only the slightest hint of woody dryness on the tongue. Good sour finish that doesn’t leave my cheeks puckering. Solid Flanders.