Gratzer
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

 

This was not very good.
$10 draft served with little to no carbonation, and a weird medicinal taste. Pale golden orange, no foam.
Aroma was alright, sort of herbal and twangy with an underlying medicinal iodine note.
Taste was weirdly medicinal, not in an interesting Brett yeast way, more like iodine.
Not really smoky, and barely tart. Nearly flat, watery and medium bodied.

I love Islay whisky and smoke all kinds of foods, and enjoy other Lichtenhainers and Grätzers.
This was just unpleasant. Overall a poor showing from Jolly Pumpkin, they're capable of much better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

these guys can do no wrong in my opinion, and i always seek out their new beers, or new to me i should say. i know i am always in for a surprise but an enjoyable one, and that was the case here yet again. this is a cool smoked beer, not a lot of beers that are smoked and also fermented with wild yeasts, so this is really new to my palate. hazy and just oranger than yellow, without a ton of head after the initial pour. an aroma of slight bandaid, iodine from the smoke, but not acrid or harsh, and after a second of warming up, its more of an oak smoke, a fire burning. funk too, classic jolly pumpkin brett complex, wheat based. the flavor is more of the same, smoke is more subtle than many, but still to me the driving flavor agent. hardwood fire kind of thing, slow burn, mellow and rich, but not overpowering or bitter at all. a little fruitiness from the wild yeasts, very very dry, and super rustic and funky tasting. i could pick this out of 100 beers and tell you it was from jolly pumpkin, it very much has their classic yeast flavor in the finish. nice bit of body here, supplied by the wheat malt i would think, and awesome carbonation despite looking a little flat in the glass. clever beer, i love everything these guys make!