Jolly Guava
Cigar City Brewing

 

I waited in front of the bar for nearly an hour waiting for this beast to be released. First and only batch of 2011. Omg this smells amazing. Delicious. I’m a lucky lucky lucky man. Brettastic aroma, hints of the La Roja. Smooth and tart. Freaking amazing.

 

Had on tap at the Hunahpu release party 2010 as a part of RBWG 2010. The pour is a nice orange, slightly hazy, with a small off-white head that fades. The aroma is amazing Belgian sour and the flavor is somewhat subdued but still awesome - fruitiness, a bit tart, and somewhat spicy. Nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

on tap when i was down for my trip, thrilled i could try this.

bright golden yellow with a light cloudiness to it that settled out nicely showing some really nice carbonation that reinforced a pillow like white head. nice look overall.

aroma was massive funk that you could smell from everywhere. just a deep vinegar and apple sourness that was only slightly balanced and cut by some underlying notes of fruit and light grain. no matter how you sliced it this one was a beast. each sip puckered the lips,sucked all the moisture from your palate and left you searching for something more and just then you get hit with rich fruit juices and a wonderful fresh flavor. can these guys screw up?

This review has been transcribed from notes taken at the 2011 Hunahpu release.

A: Nice orange color is topped with a frothy off-white head. Lacing is impressive, showing through this brew's incredibly hazy body.

S: Amazing funk is upfront, with horseblanket, and both blue and swiss cheese being in the background.

T: Very dry, with horseblanket, blue cheese, and just a hint of guava coming through at the end.

M: Light body, great effervescence, and a clean finish.

D: I am quite happy that I was able to get the chance to try this, as it is a great wild brew from a budding American brewery. Hopefully they will brew more of this amazing beer, so that many more will be able to enjoy its greatness.

On tap at CCB, Hunahpu release day.

Poured at 5p. The bar seemed like a shark feeding frenzy. Crazy anticipation by all for this one. Poured a hazy golden orange with lots of foamy white head that stayed throughout. Smelled fruity and semi-sweet as expected. Tastes of tarty guava but not overwhelming. Solid sour. Light, refreshing and smooth. Really had to pull myself together and regroup for this one after so much sampling throughout the day.

On-tap at the 2nd Annual CCB Hunahpu's Release. They had a huge countdown and such for this uber-hyped sour. It was fun and got my pour so all is good.

A - Pours a golden yellow, white fizzy head which quickly vanished into some spotty lacing and filmy whisps on top of the beer.

S - A decent dose of sour/tart, no real funk, some oak, fruity apples/pears/citrus notes. Slight brett character, but not quite as sour/tart as many other American sours I've ticked.

T - Again, decent sour/tart notes, sweet citrus, apples, pears, nice oak character from the -bals. Good balance of sour and sweetness but I was hoping for more...no real funk which I would have enjoyed as an added characteristic.

M - Light, fizzy light carbonation, dry oaky finish.

D - Very drinkable...no problem finishing my sample. I guess I had this beer hugely hyped in my head and was let down, which I shouldn't have done. Overall, a good sour, but not world-class.

On-tap at the brew-pub for the Hunaphu release. They didn't tap this 5 gallon pour until 5 so everyone was crowding around. Thanks to Sean for making his way upfront to grab this for us... The beer is a dark murky orange gold, like the deep hue to it. A bright off white head offers a nice contract, a nice lasting ring forms, pretty good lacing... The aroma is pretty nice, lots of oak and bret, nicely integrated, not as tart as I would have liked. Lots of fruity notes, don't get any guava... After all the hype I was hearing about this beer I was truly expecting something world class here. It was ok, but nothing overtly special. The Jolly Pumpkin really imparted most of the flavor here, lots of oak and brett, however this is much sweeter than most of their beers making it really easy to drink. The sourness is present throughout but doesn't arise to the puckering level that I like.

This is pretty good, I'd have it again but over-hyped.

Pours a dark hazy golden orange that is almost brown. Completely opaque with a thick frothy off white head that has amazing retention, only faintly fading into a lasting cap that leaves chunks of soapy lacing behind.

Amazing funky aroma with lots of dry Brett character along with both citrus and light fruit notes. Hints of orange peel, grapefruit, mango, apple and pear but the nose is all about the dry funk brett. Slightly lactic.

Creamy medium body that is on the fuller end of the spectrum with lots of dry funky brett efervescence. Tart but not overly sour or or acidic. Very well balanced with a nice amount of earthy peppery funk to go along with the earth mouth puckering lactic funk. There's also some nice light fruit, mostly apple and pear pinched with likely champagne yeast. Bone dry finish but dangerously drinkable.

Didn't know what to expect from this one, but I certainly enjoyed it. Very much reminded me of the Brett bombs that Ron Jeffries puts out--I guess it's not surpring if indeed this was aged in a JP barrel. I didn't pick up a huge bacterial component. It certainly was on the milder end of the sour scale. Instead, this seemed to be a fairly simple cultured Brett beer--and a very good one at that. If this is indeed CCB's first foray into "wilds", I look forward to seeing what they do next. CCB can do little wrong in my book.

Had a nice pour of this last night at the Hunahpu's release and all I can say is wow. Other than Hunahpu's, this was by far the highlight of the night for me, including all the barrel-aged stuff.

A: Pours a nice pale orange red with a nice white head and a decent amount of lacing.

S: Very, very nice. Loads of tartness as well as bits of funk alongside some nice sweet guava. A bit of residual sweetness.

T: Absolutely delicious. Definite Brett presence alongside some wood, guava, residual sweetness, and some dry, fleshy summer fruits.

M: Not necessarily balanced, but the sweetness from the guava, acidity, and earthiness all play off each other really well. Nice and dry without going too far in any one direction.

D: One of the most drinkable sour or Brett beers that I've had. As I said, absolutely one of the highlights of an evening of great beers, and one of the best sours I've had in a long time.

Lucky enough to have sampled this a couple times at CCB before it was put on draft and blown for good.

A: Pours an amberish hue with a nice tall white head. Very nice retention and a smattering of lace.

S: Wonderful bright tart aromas. Lots of apple, light sweet tarts, sour grapes with hints of earth.

T: Grapes come through in the flavor as well with light notes of tart cherries. The brett from JP comes through without being bold. Light citrus, and hints of tart green apple. Light earthy flavors as well.

M: Medium in body, zippy almost champagne like.

D: Very good. I love what the JP barrel did to this already solid beer.

On tap at the CCB Hunahpu release. Poured into a CCB snifter.

A: Somewhat hazy, pinkinsh, orange color. Nice fluffy off white head, and spotty lace.

A: Sour, but not too sour. Brett, barnyard, sweet fruit, and guava. Subtle hoppines, and sweet malts.

T: This is yummy. Sweet fruit, sour, funk, and some oak. I get some great champagne, guava, and additional sweet berries. Very interesting.

M: Let's say medium body. High carbonation, sharp finish.

D and overall impression: Drinkability is pretty nice. The funk and sour isn't overpowering it's just nice. Overall, this is odd but interesting. Not quite a sour, not quite a saison, just a really nice and interesting mix of the two styles. Highly recommended, if you can get your hands on it. Skal.