Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

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

750ml Bottle: Aroma is lightly sweet. Smells of spices, cinnamon, clove, herbs, cherries, and a bit of sour mix. Poured a deep amber/orange color with a large tan head that lasted throughout. Very good lacing. Hazy. Some particles. Flavor is lightly sweet and medium tart. Very complex taste. Tastes of sugar, spices, coriander, clove, berries, light wood, a little cherry, and sour mix. Medium body. Tingly texture. Lively carbonation. Lightly dry, spiced, sweet, sugar finish. Overall, not as sour as I expected. Almost over-carbonated.

750mL bottle ingested early 8/2/07. Initial pour into my oversized Gulden Draak snifter yields a huge bubbly foamy almost mahogany beverage. Despite the huge bubbliness of the foam it sticks around for a while. Aroma is everything you look for in an oak aged sour ale, albeit a little more subdued than the "best" out there. Flavor skirts on the almost too tart for it’s own good, a little more sour than other bottles I’ve had, with just a touch of sweetness to keep things in check. All in all, hands down one of the best US examples of a centuries old tradition.

750 ml bottle in Duvel glass. Pours reddish amber with small head and some lace. Slight aroma of tartness and sweetness, like fresh caramel apples. Tart flavor with very mild sweetness and exceptionally dry finish. Not what I expected. Medium body. Medium carbonation. Almost too easy drinking. Needs more fruitiness, both sweet and sour. But, overall, pretty tasty. As it warms up, more fruitiness, more flavor, better palate.

Inviting brown colour. Beautiful oak flavour. Just a hint of sour though. I was expecting a bit more sour from a flemmish sour, but I have no problems with it. Nicely balanced.

Appearance- Nice amber color, very cloudy, thick head. Smell- very strong fruit smell, especially cherries, maybe a hint of cranberries since it was a bit tart. Taste- Very strong dark cherry . the alcohol taste was strong but not overpowering Mouthfeel- A bit of a medium body with a little bit of carbonation. Drinkability- I really enjoyed this beer. It was a bit tart which made it interesting. I will recommend this beer to friends

Im not very big on this style of beer, but it grew on me. Poured ruby/copper with fading head and fruity sour notes on both aroma and taste. Light citrus, flowery, fruit notes bite acerbicly into the palate and provide a surprisingly refreshing sour/finish to an intersting brew. While its not my favorite style, I have to give it respect and props for excelling within the style.

Pours hazy amber with a nice head. bottled gushed right of the bat. great aroma of spice and sour with a hint of sweet malt. moderately light on the palate. refreshing with a tart finish. does not overly dry out but rather stayed fairly smooth and clean feeling. great beer.

Wow, foam gushing right out of the bottle! Finally get it poured leaving a deep, muddy amber color with a moderate amount of clarity; head is extremely full, fizzy, rocky, and off-white settling somewhat quickly to a nice, lasting, pillowy bit leaving tight, sporatic lacing. Nose is wonderful; earthy notes of wet bark, spice notes of thyme, moderate sour notes of sour apple and overripe cherries, caramel, cinnamon, and faint oak barrel notes of vanilla. Flavor is nice but took some time to get a feel for; caramel base, moderate sour notes of overripe cherries and crab apples, and oaken notes of vanilla and light wet oak. Palate is fair being medium, lively, and refreshing with it drying out almost completely by the end. As the flavor progresses, a moderately light bitterness and a wet woodiness take over with the sour notes diminishing and leaving vanilla and cinnamon in the finish. JP creates yet another memorable beer; perfect balance between malty notes, sour notes, and typical Flemish notes. Lacks the overpowering sour and acetic notes of most Flemish reds, but the balance and complexities made this one incredibly likable and inviting beer. JP has a way of creating beers that don’t really fit into any specific style but will surely insight any Belgian beer lover.