Jolly Pumpkin Oro De Calabaza

Alright, here is beer two of a four beer, four night tasting. Last nights Bam Noire was a great, and I have high hopes for this one. I haven't had a Biere de Garde before, and from what I hear, it is a style I will like. It translates literally as "Guarded Beer", with the intent that you can lay this one down for quite while, and the flavors will continue to grow for many years.

This pours a beautiful hazy golden orange. There is a big white head, which dissipates to a patchy white layer. This beer positively glows. There isn't a whole lot of lacing, but there is a touch of patchy film on the glass.

The smell here is amazing. Huge amounts of fruit: pears, apples, apricots. There is some funk, some bready malt, and lots of fruit oriented yeast as well. These smells escaped from from the bottle the moment the top was popped. It was intense and the scent filled the room.

The taste follows much in kind, with all of the fruits coming through again. The funk becomes a bit more prevalent in the flavor, with a pleasant drying sensation. The bready flavors come in as well. This has a distinct sourdough note to it. I can see this continuing to develop for quite some time to come. I haven't ever had anything quite like this, but this is yet another home run from Jolly Pumpkin.

The mouth feel is superb. The carbonation is relatively high, and I am wondering if that will fade a bit in time, giving it a smoother body on down the road. There is strong drying sensation from the acidity that the Brett gives off.

This was yet another incredible beer from the good folks at Jolly Pumpkin. I can't really say anything bad about this beer. I am going to pick one up tomorrow to cellar for a couple months, and yet another to cellar for years to come. 95/100!

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire

Jolly Pumpkin Brewing became available in Kansas today, and I am proud to say that Mass Beverage is the first store in the state to carry their products. This evenings sampling is their Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse Ale. Essentially, this is a dark saison. Very cool label design.


This beer pours a hazy cola brown, with a large tan head on it. The carbonation creates a velvety head of infinitely tiny bubbles two inches tall. Superb retention on the head, and the lacing is impressive. There is a ruby glow to this beer when it is held to the light. This is a rather beautiful beer.

Smell is rather funky. I'm picking up tanned leather, horse blanket, sourness, funk, cola, a touch of spicy vanilla, and several other spices. This is quite complex, and rivals anything else I've come across. The smell seems contrary to the color. This is the first dark farmhouse I've had the pleasure of coming across.

The flavors here are immense. The layers just keep coming and coming. First I pick up leather,cola, and vanilla. The second set that follows is the funk sector. Barnyard, must, dust, soured fruits, etc. come and dominate the middle portion of the flavor. The finish is surprisingly crisp, and the brett and hops dry out the finish. Truly superb.

The mouthfeel is pleasant and crisp. The carbonation is refined, and smooth. There is a bit of acidity, which leaves a mouthwatering sensation.

This one picks up an overall of 94/100. This a truly unique and outstanding piece of art. These are the types of things that inspire one to continue in the field.