750 mL 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 J 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/Wild/Farmhouse??
It’s confusing and a little frustrating.