Jolly Pumpkin/Nøgne Ø/Stone Collababeire Special Holiday Ale

Brewed by Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Dexter, Michigan USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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Shared 750 ml bottle at Cardinal. Hazy, deep copper with a creamy, brown, fingerthick head leaving excellent lacing. Gushes explosively even after three glasses have been poured. Spices, juniper, thyme, sage, pickled and sour on the nose with notes of old wood and cellar. Sweet dried fruits, frunes and raisins on a vinegar base tastewise. Medium body. medium carbonation (after the initial bottle explosion) Short finish. Another delicious sour ale from the jolly ones.

Sample, VANØ Bergen tasting @ Hanne på Høyden. Pours a very dark red, with a big, very creamy head. Aroma is a sour, brett oakiness. Flavour is tremendous, with lots of very nice, sour fruitiness and notes of some decent herbs that adds some some nice sweet overtones to the pleasant sour finish.

Bottle, bought @ Ølbutikken, Cph.
Clear ruby red with a firm, staying, creamy, off-white head. Aroma has brett, oak, spice, peppermint, caramel, light milky chocolate. Medium carbonation, dry and light dry mouthfeel. Flavour has caramel, brett, oak, still spicy, herbal, funky, still peppermint. Long, lingering oaky dry and light bitter finish. Lovely.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy deep amber with a light brown head that dissipates slowly to the edges. Aroma has some sour stone fruits with a bit of backing, spice, juniper and dark grain. Flavor has strong sour red fruit note with a boy of spice and yeast.

From the generous folks at Beer Belly. A sticker said this was from 2010. So I expected muted tones but wow this had a powerful aroma just filled with oakiness and sage. Juniper in smaller amounts. Sour but not puckery. I got some smokey notes as well and the caraway spiced up the proceedings too. Some metallic notes at the end but overall, fantastic.

Shared 750 ml bottle @ Cardinal, 21.04.12. Hazy copper in color with a frothy head. This bottle did not gush out at all. Rich aromas of spices. Flavors of dried fruits, and a nice vinegar sourness. Medium body. A great ale from Jolly Pumpkin!

Damn! Big sour nose, cherries, fermented apples, musk and some dark malts. This was bottled in 2010 - Could not tell it was 9% with the sour funk. Finishes big brett barny type flavors and that fun brett bitterness. Still very balanced considering the extreme flavors.

UPDATED: MAR 27, 2012 Collab between 3 of the worlds best brewers. Oak aged and "brett-treated" @ JP. Redishbrown in colour, with a lively foam. (pour fast - it will spill!). Smells sweet of oak and coke. Taste is smooth and complex: dark berries, coke, oak and some smoke. Ends sour, but is still silky smooth. Really nice beer.

Appearance: Pours root beer brown with a creamy tan cap.

Aroma: Coca cola, cinnamon, holly berries.

Taste: Sassafras, wood, cola, berry. Very earthy.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied.

Overall: Not any better or worse than the other two renditions. It’s very much a spice bomb, so be ready for that.

Tasted as part of a line up of all three versions Appearance - Pours a dark garnet. Much darker then the other two. The off white head halos the glass nicely and produces a nice lace. Aroma - Nice subtle level of sourness on the nose. Very pleasant. Absolutely the best aroma out of the bunch. I’ve really gotten into sours and this is the aroma I love. It plays really nicely with the spices in the beer which are still very much present. Mouthfeel - Nice level of tongue covering slickness. More carbonation then the others. I still don’t feel like I’m drinking a 9% beer. Taste - This is where for me the beer falls flat on it face only because the aroma set it up with some much promise for me. I just don’t think the sourness from the brett plays very well with the sage and juniper. Overall - The whole thing is somewhat messy. It’s still very drinkable but the aroma is a lie of what is to come. Out of the three versions this one ranks first for aroma second for taste.

#1214 bottle; nose is barn yard, sweet cranberry, sweet malt, blue cheese whiff, feel is watery, carb is mediumheavy, taste is carrot note, decent sour lemon, hay note, very weak bile, alcohol, iron, late quite sweet red berries