New Belgium Transatlantique Kriek (Lips of Faith - 2013)

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company (with Brewerij Boon) in Fort Collins, Colorado

Purchased: 22oz bomber from Binny's in Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: Fruit Lambic/Kriek, 8.0%

Reported IBUs: 8

For tonight's beer, New Belgium teamed up with the folks at Brewerij Boon (makers of Boon Kriek and Boon Framboise) to make a spontaneously fermented lambic ale with cherries. About New Belgium:

New Belgium is based out of Fort Collins, and opened in 1991 when founder Jeff Lebesch took his home-brewing into the commercial world. For reference, New Belgium is the thrid-largest craft brewery in the United States. You can read more about New Belgium if you check out their website.

This is a big beer, clocking in at 8.0% ABV. If you roll over to New Belgium's Transatlantique Kriek page, you can get the breakdown of this beer. This beer is a blend of two beers, a 45% ale with cherries added to "55% ale." The ale with cherries is a spontaneously fermented lambic ale made with Polish cherries, aged in oak vessels at the Boon brewery (in the Lembeek region of Belgium). The "55% ale" is a "full-bodied golden lager to round out the light-bodied kriek." All-in-all, this uses Willamette hops; pale, red wheat, carapils, and roasted barley malts; lager yeast[?]; and Wise cherries. The flavor profile is described as sour with green apple, lactic, acetic/vinegar, and biley. Let's see how this one works out...

New Belgium Transatlantique Kriek 2013

This beer pours a comical soda-red color, like Big Red, with one to two fingers of fizzly, pink head. There's a lot of effervescence, as you can see carbonation streaming upwards. The head peaces out pretty quickly, leaving a filtered, bright red beer in bright light. Depending on the lighting, the head is more red/pink/white. Apples...how about them.

The aroma is a bit more nuanced than I was expecting. I'm definitely getting some woody oak, barnyard, Brett funk, hay blanket, bile, and mild vinegar sourness. There's some apple skin, cherry skin, tart fruit skins...and then a layer of sweeter cherries. There's maybe a hint of leather...I already prefer this to the Boon Kriek. 

This tastes like a muted sour, with earthy Brett funk, light oak/wood, bready malts, toffee/caramel, and some light nuttiness coming forward. You get lightly sour/acidic cherries, apples, and vinegar up front, with more malt in the middle. There's some cherry pie sweetness in the mix, with pie filling, and sweeter cherries. I'm also getting some light solvent-booze on this. 

This has light carbonation, with a light-full to medium-light mouthfeel. Palate depth is kind of meh, complexity is good. It's very drinkable for 8.0%...with just a hint of alcohol heat. This one seems to get bogged down a bit, and veers into watery territory...then it snaps back. You get tart cherries up front, immediately followed by bread/toffee/caramel and sugary cherries; that rolls into some light bile, Brett, earthy funk, cherries, oak/wood/leather; the back end is sweeter cherries, lingering toffee/bread. 

Rating: Average (3.0/5 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this beer. This is kind of okay...enjoyable at times, but not blowing me away. It's a bit strange to pull out some solvent/fusel alcohol on this, and the fruit could stand out more. The funk is nice, and the amount of sourness seems appropriate. I guess, at around 14-17 dollars a bomber, I couldn't recommend this over the various Belgian offerings you would likely be able to find. However, the amount of work required to make this beer does seem to warrant the price. I'm not even mad. This beer is kind of wine-like, so I'd pair it with a steak, strong cheeses, tartar, maybe a burger with mushrooms, and maybe even some mussels. The La Folie brought the sour...this one needs to bring the cherries. 

Random Thought: Though, I should give this beer credit for not veering into artificial sweetness/fake cherry land. The cherries in this taste legit, and are never cough syrupy or medicinal (in my opinion). Maybe I'll try this again sometime down the road... 

New Belgium La Folie (Lips of Faith - 2013)

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado

Purchased: 22oz bomber from Binny's in Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: American Sour Ale/Flanders Red, 6.0%

Reported IBUs: 18

Tonight's beer has been reviewed many times over, and it's a straight up Divine Brew with the exception of its price. But I feel compelled to jot down my thoughts on the 2013 version of La Folie anyway. Hate the playa, I guess.

I haven't really talked much about Flanders Red Ales, though I have talked about the Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin. The most known Flanders Red is probably Rodenbach's Grand Cru, which is straight up sex (and on my to-review list). I've had it before, I'll have it again...it's good.

Rather than waxing on about Flanders Reds, I'm going to link to this solid article: Flanders Red and Brown. In short, the Flanders Red Ale originated has roots in Belgium and England, where old and young beer were blended together to compensate for any sourness/acidity in aged beer. The sourness/acidity came from aging beer in wooden casks, where the beer picked up tannins and flavor from the wood, and was also liable to wild organisms (Brettanomyces, Acetobacter, etc.). 

Nowadays, fermentation is a bit more controlled, as breweries like Rodenbach intentionally introduce organisms and control the stages/duration of fermentation. This style of beer is often aged for anywhere from 18 months to 3 years, and is often blended with part old and part young beer. These beers feature complex aromas, and have intense fruit, sour, and acidic characters. With that said, I digress. About New Belgium:

New Belgium is based out of Fort Collins, and opened in 1991 when founder Jeff Lebesch took his home-brewing into the commercial world. For reference, New Belgium is the thrid-largest craft brewery in the United States. You can read more about New Belgium if you check out their website.

As I mentioned, La Folie is kind of a big deal. This beer dates back to 2004, and was conceived with Peter Bouckaert from the Rodenbach brewery. The La Folie is wood-conditioned, aged in French Oak barrels, and is then blended to perfection. At one point in time, La Folie was corked with live bugs and all (I think 2009 was the last year). As it currently stands, the beer is now pasteurized, bottle-conditioned with house yeast, and capped on a bottling line. A lot of people have complained about this, but Lauren Salazar does a great Q&A explaining why this was done HERE. The long story short is that pasteurizing the beer "locks in" the ideal blend, and capping the beer has allowed New Belgium to increase production for this beer. The La Folie clocks in at 6.0%, packs 18 IBUs, and is brewed with Target hops, and Pale, Munich, Carpils, C-80, and Chocolate malts. Let's glass this up and see how the 2013 La Folie stacks up.

La Folie 2013

This one pours a hazy, cola-brown color, with a finger's worth of rapidly dissolving brown head. When held to bright light, the beer takes on an amazing reddish-brown/auburn color, with a ring of head clinging to the side of the glass. There is visible carbonation in this, and it looks quite effervescent.

Let's talk about the aroma on this. There's a lot of stuff going on here, and it's all fantastic. Up front I'm getting big malty cherries, cherry cola, wood, and vanilla. Behind the soda shop goodness is some serious watermelon, red apple vinegar, apples, fruit skin, and some citrus. There's some must as well, with elusive chocolate and spice. Finally, the soda shop goodness you get up front, mixed with the must, kicks your nose: I'm getting Brett funk, horse blanket, band-aid, and butcher shop. It all comes and goes, and you could just smell this all day.

I'm starting off a bit cooler, and will see how this fares as it warms. Even on the cool side, this is very sour up front, with sour watermelon, Black Cherry Warheads, apple cider vinegar, a hint of acetone, granny smith apples, and tons of citrus. There's wood on the back, and elusive chocolate/vanilla abound in the aftertaste. As I walked away from this, I was getting big raspberry and jam on the aftertaste. As this warms up, you get more apple vinegar, and more wood. I'm also picking up mild Brett funk.

This beer is as described: mouth puckering. I don't know if it's thirst quenching. This is dry as hell on the finish. You get nice acidity up front, immediately followed by sourness. The sourness maintains until the dry finish. The mouthfeel is medium-full, with light carbonation that is obviously hindered by the sour. Palate depth is great for the style...complexity is high, but you feel like it could go even higher. Sour-acid up front with citrus, lemon, watermelon, Black Cherry Warheads; mid-palate rolls into more sour citrus, apple, wood, vanilla, hints of malt; the back is fading sour, lingering citrus, wood, dry. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

I gotta go with a Light Divine Brew on this. As I feel this destroying my teeth, I can only help but think this is a winner. This is sour, bold, complex, and yada yada yada. You now have herpes. The only downside is a bomber of this is between 15-17 dollars, which is expensive. At least compared to Rodenbach's Grand Cru. This is maybe the best New Belgium beer, and certainly a shining example of mainstream American Sours. Food pairings: aggressive cheeses, meats, and chocolate. Or, just drink solo. This is worth checking out, especially if you're looking for a solid beer that kicks up the sour. The sour is strong, and the flavors follow close behind.

Random Thought: Evidently "La Folie" translates to this is madness or some shit. Cool story, 300. 

Goose Island Madame Rose

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012 (bottled 7/31/12)

Style/ABV: Flanders Oud Bruin/American Sour Ale, 7.1% 

Reported IBUs: 25

Tonight I'm looking at Goose Island's Madame Rose. This beer is a "Brown Ale aged in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with the addition of Michigan cherries and heavily inoculated with Brettanomyces." Goose Island suggests giving this beer to Bordeaux enthusiasts, and beer drinkers fond of Belgian Kriek and Flanders Brown Ales. This beer is sort of like a Flanders Brown, but not really. Anyway, about Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2012, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

Since this beer is sort of Flanders Brown/Oud Bruin-inspired (with that Kriek thing), I'll go ahead and jot down what I've found on Oud Bruins. Flanders Brown Ales/Flemish Brown Ales/Oud Bruin/Old Brown Ales is a Flemish style of beer indigenous to East Flanders, which dates back to the 1600s. The Dutch name, "Oud Bruin/Old Brown," refers to the long brewing/aging process, which can take up to a year, plus additional time spent in secondary fermentation. The beer can also be bottle aged for extended periods of time. The extended brewing/aging allows the beer to pick up natural/wild yeast, which develop the sour characteristics typical to this style. This beer is typically not aged in oak (unlike the Flanders Red Ale); this beer is usually aged in stainless steel vessels. Traditionally/typically, the wild yeasts Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, and Acetobacter all contribute to this style's flavor. This beer can also be brewed with a sour mash to help develop the sour character.

According to The Beer Connoisseur, because the Oud Bruin is often aged in stainless steel rather than oak, the brewing process is more controlled (since stainless steel doesn't harbor live bacteria, and the souring yeasts often come from controlled sources). As such, Oud Bruins may be used as base beers for fruit Lambics (like Krieks). You can consult the style guidelines, but overall, the Flanders Brown Ale is less acetic, and maltier than a Flanders Red, and the fruit flavors are balanced with the malt.

All things considered, I don't think the Madame Rose is quite a straight up Flanders Brown. Goose Island mentions Belgian Kriek when they describe this beer. Belgian Kriek is a style of beer where Lambic is fermented with cherries. The Madame Rose is a "Belgian style brown ale," fermented with wild yeast, and aged on cherries in wine barrels. It seems a lot like an Oud Bruin, aged on cherries (like a Kriek), with a bit of an American twist. Clocking in at 7.1% ABV, and packing 25 IBUs, this beer is brewed with Fuggle hops; and 2-row, caramel, wheat, dark chocolate, and victory malts. This beer is bottle conditioned, and will develop in the bottle for up to 5 years (and maybe longer?). Suggested food pairings for this beer include red meats, rich chocolate desserts, and aged cheddar. 

Goose Island Madame Rose

This one pours out a brown/purple color that is very cola-esque. I barely kicked up a pinky's worth of struggling, bubbly, brown head. The head has settled into a funky, murky, cauldron effect...it's like the beer version of the designs on a cappuccino. Bright light highlights the swampy/murky and brown/unfiltered body of this beer. The head is ivory/tan, and you can see a lot of carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles.

The aroma here is really nice, and I'm glad I've been on a bit of a sour/wild/Brett kick lately. This beer has some nice underlying Brett notes, with some band-aid and worn leather. I'm also getting sour cherries, sour, a dash of apple cider vinegar, and a ton of wood/Cabernet, and maybe a dash of woody oak. Other aromas include apples, berries, must, a hint of acetone. The dominant aromas are sour cherries, Brett, and huge Cabernet/wine/wood. This one definitely leans towards sour on the aroma (at this point in time).

Even in the eight months since I've last had this, this has changed towards more sour, with just a hint of sour candy ala Warhead/Sour Patch Kids. Overall though, it's more tart, with some apple cider vinegar, acetic Cabernet, and nice malt and sweet cherries to smooth things out. This is finishing uber dry. I'm getting wood, wine, and cherry skin/tart up front. There's some must, and worn leather in here, along with a ton of cherries. Cherry skin, meaty cherries, and a flash of cherry pie filling. You get some caramel/toffee/bread malt sugars in here balancing everything out, but after the hint of sweet cherries, this veers towards tart again and finishes dry.

This is very drinkable, even refreshing, and the 7.1% is absolutely non-existent in this. The mouthfeel is medium to medium-full, and this has lots of tartness, with flashes of sour, and big acetic Cabernet/oak/wood. There is some sweetness abound as well, but it all finishes super dry. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good. This has some nice potential to age. Up front is fruity cherries, cherry skin, hints of sour candy; this rolls into malts and leather; the back end is trailing malt and sweetness with a fade to dry finish.

Rating: Above-Average

I gotta go with a Strong Above-Average on this. This would be a great Cabernet substitute, and the oak/wood/cherry thing would go great with red meats. I would love to pair this with some flank steak, filet mignon, or even a medium-rare burger with some aggressive cheese. The only caveat to this beer is the availability. I won't even complain about the price, which ranges from 18 to 25 bucks a bottle, depending on if you hit up Binny's vs. the mom and pop shops. I stumbled upon this at Jewel...and paid around 20 dollars a bottle. For something aged in wine barrels on cherries, the price seems about right. I'd trade for this or seek it out. I reserve the right to revisit this and re-rate this. 8 months ago, this was a light Above-Average. In a year or two? Who knows.

Random Thought: Another week, another snow storm. We are supposed to get pounded with 4 to 8+ inches of snow tomorrow! Woo! During rush hour too. That's good and bad...it's good in that I will likely open a wintery beer. I do want to move forward to Spring, however.

Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

Brewed By: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Dexter, Michigan  

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

Style/ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 9.0%

Reported IBUs: ?
Batch 1198, Bottled 09-18-2012

It definitely snowed all day today, and was fairly cold last night. It's still snowing off and on, and it looks more like Christmas outside than Spring. It's quite literally, the perfect night to put the kibash on some Christmas/Winter beer. 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 Noel de Calabaza page, you can see that this beer is a winter seasonal, aged in oak barrels, clocking in at 9.0% ABV. This beer is described as a deep mahogany, with big malts, hops, figs, raisins, sugar plums, cashews, and rum laden truffles. The bottle states:

"From our family to yours, please enjoy this special beer. Join us in celebrating the season with wishes of peace and joy for all. Deep mahogany and malty, layered hops and hints of fruit and spice. The perfect accompaniment for all times of good cheer. Please enjoy our beers in good health, Cheers & Mahalo plenty!"

Noel de Calabaza

This one pours a swampy purple/brown color, that almost looks black in low light. This one had some creeping carbonation from the bottle, but didn't gush. As such, I poured this very slowly, and still wound up with 3-finger's worth of foamy, tan/gray/sandy/soda-esque head. In bright light, this actually looks quite Dark Strong Ale-like, and you wouldn't notice the sinister funk lying beneath based on the appearance alone. In bright light, this is a swampy orange/brown/red/purple color, with a cloud of sediment in the middle, tons of tiny, lively carbonation bubbles, and a creamy tan head that won't die. Nice stuff.

The aroma is nice, with some funky nutmeg, a hint of Band-Aids from the Brett that is manifesting as Eggnog (Brett + nutmeg = Eggnog), big dark fruits in plums, figs, and raisins, and a touch of powdery/dusty cellar, with some dusty cacao, and some graham cracker. Also, mother fucking pecans. If you dive straight into this and take a huge whiff, you get straight up pecans. It's the weirdest thing...

This is a great holiday beer...with a lot going on. The pleasant surprise for me is the slightly boozy complexity, along with the smoke and anise I'm getting on the back. I'm getting some nutmeg, pine, ginger, and Christmas spice. There is some nice oak, tart/bright wood, and tart and funky plums, raisins, and figs in this. This seems wine-like. There's some earth, a touch of dirt, basement cellar, and some hop kick mid-palate. The back end finishes with a Belgian yeast kick: hints of clove, white sugar, and big apples, cider, and bright fruits. 

Really complex...this is the epitome of a sipping beer. At 9.0% ABV, this is very drinkable, but you just want to slow down and dissect every sip. Add in the ageability of this beer, and you have a complex beer right here. This has biting carbonation, but really fights for a smooth finish. It's the battle of smooth vs. biting. There's some hop bitterness mid-palate, and smoke on the back. Alcohol complexity is abound, and this finishes sticky and dry. I guess this is medium-full in terms of mouthfeel. Palate depth is great, complexity is even better. The oak, wood, and wild yeast all add another dimension to this. Up front is a ton of spice, dark fruits, and a hint of tartness; mid-palate is more spice, hops, hints of Brett funk; the back end trails off with big Belgian yeast, apple cider, lingering spice, boozy complexity, dusty cellar, dusty cacao, and fade to smoke/anise. 

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this...how many Belgian Dark Strong Ales get funked up in an oak barrel, and subjected to Brett/whatever additional wild yeast? This beer is very complex, and it has some really nice wine-like qualities that remind me of the very refined and tasty Corsendonk Pater. It also has a whole spice thing going on, which is very Christmas-y. This is just a funky, fun, complex beer...and I'd love to taste one of these 4 or 5 years down the road. I'll have to do that. I would pair this with a cold winter night, prior to Christmas, with a spicy dish like ham, sweat potatoes, or a nice wintery soup. You could also pair this with peppery steak, pepper chicken/turkey, or any meat that plays well with spices. 

Random Thought: This hits the Christmas thing pretty hard with the nutmeg and plums, but I'd almost be okay drinking this beer in transition between October and November. This beer has so much going on, there's likely to be a ton of variability with the experience. Because of that, reviewing this beer is like a shot in the dark. Considering bottles go for around 12-15 dollars, I would definitely pick up one or two and try it yourself. 

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.

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

Brewed By: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Dexter, Michigan 

Purchased: 750mL bomber bought at in Lakeview Liquors in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Belgian Strong Ale, 8.0%

Today we take a trip to Dexter, Michigan, the most interesting named city in the United States. I'm serious: Dexter is an amazing TV Show, and having a city called Dexter is just...cool. Jolly Pumpkin actually 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.

And indeed, today's beer is a Brett-based Belgian Style Ale aged in large oak casks and bottle conditioned. If you check out the Jolly Pumpkin beer page you'll see that the Oro de Calabaza is brewed in the "Franco-Belgian tradition of strong golden ales." The website states that this beer features gentle hops, spices and pepper, and wild yeast. "Oro de Calabaza" literally translates to "Golden Pumpkin," so you should expect a golden, funky, effervescent take on the Belgian Strong Ale style.

In fact, in terms of styling, the BJCP still has not caught up to the American Wild Ale craze. Ratebeer has categorized this beer as a Belgian Strong Ale, which is completely accurate. BeerAdvocate has dumped this into the Bière de Garde category which I do not agree with; especially since BeerAdvocate recognizes and uses the American Wild Ale category. American Wild Ales are American-pioneered beers that feature the use of wild yeasts like Brettanomyces. The fact that this beer is barrel-aged and features Brettanomyces also hints at flairs of a Flanders or Lambic/Geuze. So this is an ambiguous and ambitious American twist on beer. Let's dive in and see what this is all about.

A WARNING to anyone opening a Jolly Pumpkin beer. These things are gushers. I often take precautions with Belgian beers when I open them, but I open all my Jolly Pumpkin beers over the sink. You should probably do the same.

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

And indeed, when I opened the beer I was hit with an explosion. Actually, this time wasn't as bad as last time. Last time I opened the beer it literally exploded all over my counter. This time I greeted the rising carbonation with my glass and I didn't lose any beer. But I only poured half of the beer, and there are 4-fingers worth of carbonation sitting inside the bottle. That's a lot of pressure.

The pour yields a dark orange beer in low light. I was able to get 2-fingers worth of super creamy white head on this beer. When held in bright light this is clearly a murky orange-yellow beer that looks like juice. There is sediment floating around, and you can see a storm of carbonation. This is super carbonated. The head is actually very white in bright light, and is already leaving lacing. The head does not look like a typical Belgian Strong Ale: it has that funky, "infected" look you get from wild yeasts. Like one step more funky than a Saison. It is a gorgeous looking beer...just watch out for that carbonation.

One last cool tangent is the fact that Jolly Pumpkin clearly labels all their bottles with a born-on date and a batch number. My bottle is Batch 656 brewed on 2-1-2011. That makes this beer nearly one year old. Brett beers tend to develop increasing Brett notes as they age. I did have a fresh bottle of this beer and it was quite good. I'm guessing this one will be slightly more funky.

You get blasted with Brett-funk when you open the beer, and blasted again when you pour it. Make no mistake, this is a Brett-infused beer aged in wood. I'm smelling huge Brett notes: sour, leather, horse hair. I'm also picking up really thick wood notes: wet wood, wood floor, and oak. There are definitely some acidic fruits in here: lemon, apple, pear, currants, and some vinegary type note.

The taste is really awesome. It is a creamy, sour, carbonated, acidic, Brett-kick. I'm also picking up sourdough, lemons, currants, vinegar, huge oak and wood notes, apples and pear, and a really sour and tart finish that is dry. There is also a lot of Brett funk: leather, horse hair and horse blanket, and that patent "band-aid" note you get. Some other interesting tasting notes I'm getting are peaches, and canned fruits. I'm also getting a touch of sweet tropical pineapple - I'm guessing that is a play off the oak/wood.

Rating: Divine Brew

Score: 92%

 

You know, I really love this beer now that I've had a chance to age it and see how it holds up down the road. This is a super drinkable, medium-light, soft, highly carbonated and slightly creamy brew. The palate depth is wonderful and this has medium complexity. You get Brett, sour, and fruit notes up front; this rounds into sour notes and vinegar and sour dough; this rounds into a dry and tart back end. This reminds me a bit of Orval, and is a fun play on the Belgian Strong Ale style.

 

I foresee myself buying this beer again. What's great about this beer is that you can lay it down or drink it fresh. It actually held up very well. The only difference a year has made is slightly less hop kick, and a lot more Brett funk. The Brett also tastes more "rounded" now. This is just a really good beer though, and it pairs wonderfully with pizza and heavy cheesy foods. The acid really cuts through the cheese. I love this beer...and look forward to trying more Jolly Pumpkin beers in the future.