Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Courtesy redlight. Bottle, fresh batch 315/316 blend. Pours a hazy, light golden-yellow color with a small, fizzy white head. The foam settles to a thin layer, leaving wet, soapy lacing to quickly rejoin the body. The nose shows sharp lemony citrus notes, dry wheat, musky JP yeast, and just a subtle hint of banana and clove. Flavors mostly follow suit, lemony and lightly sour, with crisp wheat and funky yeast notes. Some woody oak and vanilla come through on the back end, lingering at the rear of the tongue. Light in body, moderately carbonated, dry and refreshing. I could drink gallons of this stuff on a hot day. This is closer to a Berliner Weiss than a Hefe, in my opinion, but its very good nonetheless.

From a 750mL Bottle. Very pale, hazy yellow colored pour with a thin layer of fizzy white head. A mildly unpleasant sulphury aroma came from the bottle immediately after opening, but dissipated quickly and didn’t seem to be detectable in my glass. Lightly tart, with a simple wheat malt aroma. Hints of milky, lactic notes. Light bodied, moderately carbonated mouthrfeel with a gentle acidity. Crisp and tart, with a restrained sourness and a wheaty malt flavor. Mild lemon zest comes through in the finish, creating a light, clean, refreshing drinking experience. Not overly funky, but this adds to the drinkability. This is one instance where reading the commercial description actually lowers my overall impression of the beer, although my score reflects my un-biased drinking experience. I didn’t pick up on any of the classic hefeweizen yeast characters, and I really felt that this had more in common with Berliner Weisse than anything else, only less tart. Good, but I like the original Bam better. Thanks for sharing, Chris!

Had on tap. Aroma is very pleasant. Pours very light in color. Flavor is much more intense than aroma and color would give away. Very crisp with a sour finish. Smooth mouthfeel. Overall another great beer from Jolly Pumpkin

UPDATED: SEP 9, 2008 on tap at the MBG summer fest. Poured a cloudy light golden color. Nice big white head. Aroma is nice sweet wheat as well as bitey funk. Taste is more sharp acidity, with nice balancing earthy hops, and dry biscuit notes as well. Quite flavorful, and really great summer beer. Of course, I am sure I would enjoy it in the winter as well. Re-rate: on tap at crunchys in east lansing, in case you can’t tell by now, this place is awesome (reference batch 6000 re-rate). Yup, still tasty. Flavors are very well rounded and blended, and the finish is nice and dry. This pint was so easy to finish.

2008 MiBGF: Hazy golden hue with great head and lace. The aroma has notes of wheat and yeast driven esters, apricot and apple, floral hops, slight clean oak, neato! The taste is very twangy and acidic with a solid wheat and biscuity background. A dry woody tannic finish. The mouth feel is quite refreshing and highly carbonated. Very very nice bier, I like it and need more.

UPDATED: AUG 22, 2008 Grassy and sour, aroma has a wheaty tang. Wet earth in the aroma too, with just the slightest hint of clove. Very floral; reminds me of the incredibly fresh Tuckerman’s Pale Ale many moons ago. To be truthful, the most typical "banana and clove" German Hefeweizen characteristics I could find at first was in the foam when we first gassed the keg - from the intense foam. We’re getting a fuller pour now. Appearance is wit-like, with great billows of lacy foam.

Flavor is wheaty and sour but not at all sweet. There is no real bubblegum, clove or banana in the flavor. But there is this Bam Biere intensity, lactic and pedio, that really reminds of the Leelaunau Good Harbor Golden. Very refreshing! Incredibly bright and lemony. The aroma is totally natural, and I could totally soak a pillowcase in it and breathe this forever. Delightful stuff, insanely drinkable. It is really wack though.

Great thanks to Kevin for transporting this 1/4 barrel!

Tap: The aroma is combination of floral notes, mustiness, light lemon, and very faint banana. It pours a cloudy dull pale yellow with a large white head with excellent retention. Significant sudsy lacing is left behind. The flavor starts with a moderate lemon sourness that lingers throughout and mixes with some light floral hoppiness in the finish. Minimal hefe characteristics outside of the faint banana in the aroma. Very similar to regular Bam Biere only more lemon sourness and less floral notes. Light bodied with minimal carbonation and a soft mouthfeel. I don’t know if this was what was intended since I find minimal hefe characteristics, but I really dig it. Very refreshing.