Jolly Pumpkin Sobrehumano Palena’ole

Brewed By: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Dexter, Michigan  

Purchased: 750ml bomber bought at Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor, MI; 2012

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale (with cherries and liliko'i), 6.0%

Reported IBUs: ?
Blend 7, Bottled 5-16-2012

Tonight's beer is a collaboration between Jolly Pumpkin and Maui Brewing Co. The Maui Brewing Company was founded in 2005 by Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley, and is one of Hawaii's fastest growing microbreweries. The Sobrehumano is a collaboration with Maui Brewing's head brewmaster, John Walsh, and Jolly Pumpkin's brewmaster, Ron Jefferies. About Jolly Pumpkin:

Jolly Pumpkin has three enterprises: a restaurant, brewery, and distillery located in Traverse City; a cafe and brewery in Ann Arbor; and a factor for their Artisan Ales in Dexter. The brewery itself was founded by brewmaster Ron Jefferies. Ron began brewing professionally in 1995, and quickly became known as a respected brewer among the Michigan craft beer scene. In 2004, Ron opened Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales. Jolly Pumpkin is known for brewing beer that is aged in wine barrels containing brettanomyces. Brettanomyces is a naturally occurring yeast that is typically unwanted in beer because it imparts a "sour, leathery, barnyard, horse funk" profile. When used properly, beers made with brettanomyces can have desirable flavors. These flavors are often found in Lambics and Geuzes, and more recently in American Wild Ales.

If you check out Jolly Pumpkin's Sobrehumano page, you can read up on this beer. This beer is described as a "red ale" brewed with liliko'i and Michigan cherries. Liliko'i is the fancy name for passion fruit. The Jolly Pumpkin version of this beer is open-fermented, barrel aged, and bottled conditioned. This is a sour beer that utilizes naturally occurring wild yeasts. The bottle has two quotes, one from each brewmaster. They read:

"Yes, Michigan and Hawaii are connected. It should be obvious to you now, as you hold this beer, and read this label. John and I designed this beer with two noble fruits from tow noble states. Michigan & Hawaii. Cherries & liliko'i. Starting to see the connection? I feel it. So does John. 4391 miles may separate our breweries, but not our thirst for the exquisite. Hipa! -Ron 

 Working with Ron is something I've wanted to do since I had my first Jolly Pumpkin beer. Years later, it's a reality. Being involved on this project was an honor and a privilege. Mahalo to my MBC crew and to you, fans of craft beer! -John 

This one pours a hazy amber/brown color in low light, with some gold and orange on the outskirts of the glass. I kicked up a finger's worth of toffee/caramel-tinted head, as I judiciously took my time pouring this. Surprisingly, this one just smoked when I opened it, with nary a rise in carbonation. In bright light, this beer is a juicy orange color. You can't see through this, but there is quite a bit of lively, tiny, peppery carbonation bubbles. The head has settled into a funky, Saison/Wild Ale-looking coating, with a centimeter of thin bubbles. Overall, it's quite nice looking.

Sobrehumano Palena’ole

The nose on this is really nice, almost veering into Lambic or Flanders territory. I'm getting a ton of tart cherries, cherry pits, cherry skin, cherry juice, cherry jam, rich tropical fruits (mango, papaya), a hint of grape/passionfruit, tons of caramel, molasses, sugar reduced in a pan, a nice wave of vinegar/acid/lemon, and some nice barnyard/funk. This one is really bringing on the musty cellar. I'm also picking up some oak and apple cider vinegar on the nose.

This has really nice sourness going on, with some nice bready molasses on the back end, honey, some caramel, and cooked sugars. I'm belching up straight up passion fruit. You get a blast of band-aids and funk on the tip of your tongue, and this just blasts you with sour and tart cherries, lemon, apple cider vinegar; it goes from sour to acidic, with a transition into nice acidity, acidic fruits, cherry pits; and then it mellows into lingering sugars and finishes sweet,  lightly bready, and dry. As my palate adjusts to the sour and acidity, I'm picking up some nice subtle fruits in passionfruit, grapefruit; I'm also getting some nice wood, and a hint of elusive oak/wine barrel.

I'm still belching straight up passion fruit, which is kind of nice. This is a fun beer, and has a nice balance of fruit, wood, acidity, and sour. It's not the most complex Sour/Wild Ale, but it brings dynamite palate depth to the table, and really highlights the Michigan cherries and Liliko'i. It also drinks well, with biting acidity, really tart sourness, and a medium-light mouthfeel supported by a ton of tingly carbonation bubbles. This is effervescent, and finishes more bready than anything....it doesn't quite hit champagne levels of dryness. Up front is some funk, musty cellar, barnyard, and then tart, fruity, sourness; the middle is acidic, with a bunch of fruits (cherry, passionfruit, berries, grapefruit), and some wood/oak/wine barrel; the back mellows out into some molasses and caramel and bread. Good stuff...

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this...maybe higher, with caution to complexity. I've heard a ton of mixed reviews for this, which leads me to believe there is a ton of variability between batches, blends, and age/time of drinking. Oh well...it is what it is. There's a really nice floral aftertaste to this, with hints of flowers, rhubarb, and tea. And I'm still belching up passionfruit! This is nice, and I'm glad I picked it up. I would pair this with some cheeses, maybe a pita with humus, a nice sandwich, or some fruity desserts. I don't remember how much this cost, but I do recommend it.

Random Thought: They are forecasting a big ol' snowstorm tomorrow...so this is evidently the winter that keeps on giving/won't die. With that said, I'll probably bust out the Noel de Calabaza tomorrow, the perfect night cap to a snowy February evening.