1001 Beers

Beer No: 44/1001
Page No: 447
Category: Blond

The second of two Jolly Pumpkin reviews, I started the night with La Roja and finished it up with this gem, the Oro de Calabaza.  Meaning Pumpkin's Gold, this golden ale is a wonderful example of the subtleties that oak aging can impart to a simple golden and the complexities that even the simplest golden can present when brewed in different ways.  The brew is a perfect blend of spices and oak flavors with a bubbly texture that finishes crisp and refreshing.  In short, a pretty damn good beer.

As for the beers this weekend, I plan on hitting up the Bruery in a few minutes to try their new releases - Humulus Rice and Seven Grain Saison.  Both should be an interesting experience.  The Seven Grain is brewed with barley, wheat, rice, oats, corn, rye, and spelt.  The Humulus Rice is quite obviously, a rice brew that they claim is light and crisp (which would make sense since the big brewers like InBev and Coors all use rice in their mainstream brews claiming it "enhances clarity" when it just makes it lighter).  I've also got some nice new beers from the list in the fridge thanks to my recent visits to Total Wine and Hi Time Wine.  And...I'd like to head down to Bootlegger's to try some of their new brews - including their anniversary beer which sounds amazing from what I've heard around town.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine. Pours a hazy golden color with exceptional carbonation leading to a frothy white head. Aroma is sweet, with fruits and a slight tartness with nice undertones of spices. Taste reveals the spiciness a bit more. Pepper, oak, and citrus dominate the palate. Finishes dry, bubbly, crisp, exceptional!

Beer No: 43/1001
Page No: 900
Category: Specialty

After last night's Cinco de Mayo festivities, I had planned on having more Mexican-inspired beers featured, but, alas, the margaritas took over and the beers stopped flowing.  So here is the first of two Jolly Pumpkin features - after which, I'll head back south of the border and finish off two more Mexican beers.

As I browse through 1001 Beers, it's been great to read all the articles on the different breweries, brewmasters, and origins of each beer.  As the book is broken down into five categories - Amber, Blond, White, Dark & Specialty, I think the specialty beers are really starting to grow on me - but that's probably because the specialty beers include all the sour beers - one of my favorite beer styles.  In fact, if you're going to be down in SoCal in July, you have to try and make it to the Stone Sour Fest.  I went last year and it was spectacular.  There were countless beer stations, all serving 5-15 sour beers, the weather was perfect (albeit a bit hot, but still...that's what beer is for), and the setting in the Stone World Bistro and Gardens was delightful.  If I had to attend one festival a year though, I'd be torn...Belgian Beer Festival at Pizza Port or Stone Sour Fest?  A very tough decision, luckily, one I don't have to make.

But back to La Roja, this "Amber Ale" seemed more like a Red to me - it's even called "The Red One" in Spanish.  But, it's labeled as an Artisan Amber Ale on the label, so an Amber (Specialty) beer it is.  Making full use of the oak aging, La Roja is a complicated beer.  Malty, tangy, sour, it's a wonderfully complex beer that finishes wonderfully sweet and sour at the same time.  If you can get your hands on this (or any of Jolly Pumpkin's fine aged beers), I'd say go for it.  Even if you don't like the beer itself (which is unlikely), it'll be a different experience and broaden your beer-drinking horizons.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 4.1 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine & More. Pours a wonderful reddish-brown, featuring more red than brown and a slightly off-white head that lingers until the finish. Aroma of sour cherries, oak, yeast, and fruit. Taste is complex - sweet and sour, a bit funky with hints of cherries, apples, oak woodiness, and malts. Finishes less sour than the nose would indicate with a bit of hops at the end. Wonderfully complex and tasty.