750mL bottle, Batch 610 bottled 8-13-10. Label says 5.9%, not 6.0% ABV.

Jolly Pumpkin is a frustrating brewery to me – more of that later.

The pour produces a burnt orange hue with a small head that produces some nice, white lace. Looks good.

The nose and tastes are well … Jolly Pumpkin! Light acidity, strong apple notes, plenty of cider character and the light funk and mild Brett character. They meld quite nicely together and the beer offers a sharp, refreshing and slightly ethanoic acid finish. Tasty, satisfying, but …
… ZERO – and I mean ZERO (as in totally devoid of any) – pumpkin character, and that’s central to my problem with JP beers in general.

The second half of the bottle produces a lot of nasty looking coagulated protein or sediment.

Frankly, being experienced with JP beers I wasn’t expecting a “Pumpkin beer”, nor was I expecting anything other than the cider character than I got, so my question is WHY call the beer a pumpkin beer? Why not take the Fantôme route, and call ALL the beers that they make, some version of a Saison/Farmhouse/Wild etc.?

It’s confusing and a little frustrating.