Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

Bottle, blend 12, 2007. Pours a cloudy brown with a small white head. Aroma of tart, sour fruits, some alcohol. Initial flavor of sour fruits, then in the aftertaste I got crackers, coffee, roasted meat. Certainly an interesting beer. It lacks the sweetness I’ve seen in other sours (not that this was a negative, just an observation). Tasty.

Bottle, blend 10, 2007. Cloudy reddish-brown with a thin white head that dissipates quickly. Sweet and sour aroma of malt, brandy, and sour fruits. Taste is quite sour, of underripe fruit, with woodsy hints. Lingering sourness. Very tasty sour ale.

Bottle, from the BSF at the GBBF, shared with Fin, Loz and Traci at our American beer tasting night. Deep amber, off-white layer of head--not much of it, but what’s there is nice and sticky. Soft brown sugar aroma, ginger, wool and leaf mould, old wine. Just a touch of vanilla. First sip rather tart, but very quickly the tartness fades, and there is leather and peppery spice along with the sort of warm fruity quality of muscovado sugar but without the sweetness. Prickly fine carbonation, dry and very moorish. First beer of the night, and maybe my favorite of the tasting.

Bottle shared with Casey, Tracey and Loz at a great American tasting evening 11-04-08 hosted by Casey and Tracey, cheers mate! This beer has some old wine characteristics on the nose (noticed by Loz) and aroma wise was really quite like an vintage red classy wine. Pours deep amber with a white head and a tiny speck of orangey yeast sat on top of that head, slowly the aroma changes to that of an old forest with slightly wet and musty leaves being kicked up by each footfall. Lovely gentle fizzical thing going on in the mouth, with a good sourness there as well. Tingly tangy sweet and sour fruitiness with a gentle rush of wild bitter cherries. At the edges there is a bittersweet toffee thing starting to show and a nice earthiness to it continues to impress and fizzess gently on the tongue, lovely beer. Great start to the evening!

Seriously infected bottle. Pours reddish brown with little or no head. 10% fizzed out upon opening. Smells like a sour with minimal funkiness. Smells a little "off" Tastes a lot "off.’ Very metallic taste, which, when combined with the sourness, comes close to putrid. Really watery with no carbonation. Drain pour. This bottle should never have been sold. I’ll rerate when I get another bottle, but since this is the bottle I got, this is what I’ll rate. Worst beer experience I’ve had in a long, long time.

bottle shared with CapedBrewsader... Brown tinge of red ... woody nose ... very woody some malts ... little sourness ... odd subdued but not working for me. Glad i shared this with some one who appreciated it.

My friend Garrett and I had been looking forward to our first taste of Jolly Pumpkin, so when the Michigan brewer finally landed in Colorado we had ourselves a double feature. La Roja was first up, pouring a hazy red-orange topped of lasting cream. The aroma is sadly vague. Though interesting scents are present, none of them are assertive enough to veritably grab the drinker. A slight earthy funkiness, asparagus, damp soil, these are the tones that quietly form La Roja’s nose. Hints of apple and sour pear, a modicum of brown sugar and leather; some grain, some grape and a sort of industrial steel-meets-concrete smell. Switching to the palate, the sourness gains in weight, a favorable development. Grassy and woody, the barrel’s influence is evident. The flavors of tobacco, pepper, black cherry and hay are well in tune with the creamy mouthfeel. A nice brew, for certain, but I was expecting a little more punch. (20/05/07)

Bouteille 12oz, courtoisie de Hogtownharry. De couleur ambrée rouge et voilée. Nez de levures sauvages fruitées (cerises sûres, léger de pommes vertes, notes de raisins blancs), boisé (fût de chêne), moyennement malté de caramel avec des petits notes d’alcool et de sucre bonbon. Moyenne-mince en bouche avec un pétillement moyen (rappelant un peu un cidre) et une texture moyennement crémeuse. Goût de levures fruitées sauvages moyennement acides (cerises sûres, raisins blancs légèrement vineux, léger de pommes vertes cidreuses, notes de prunes jaunes) aux notes terreuses avec des notes épicées lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût malté de caramel avec des traces de sucre bonbon. Parallèlement l’on retrouve un goût boisé (fût de chêne et bois humide) et accompagné d’un léger goût d’alcool (rappelant le whisky) jusqu’en finale, où l’on retrouve également de faibles notes de fromage vieilli et où le goût fruité devient légèrement plus aigre et un peu asséchant. Post-goût moyen et un peu sec, aigre de levures fruitées (moût de ceises sûres et de raisins, pelures et pépins de pommes vertes) avec un goût boisé (fût de chêne) et de faibles notes d’alcool.