Isla Estrana
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

 

BOTTLE: 750ml format. Ran me $7.50 USD at a beer store in New Orleans, LA. Distributed by the Shelton Bastards. Bottled 01/26/17. Brown glass with a black pry-off crown cap.

Collaboration with Revelry Brewing Co. "Ale brewed with juniper, pine, & red bay." 5.8% ABV. "Barrel aged Michigan sour biere." "Saison." Brewed with heritage grains, Seashore Black Rye, Indigo blue Corn, Jimmy Red Corn, Farro Wheat, and Two and Six Row Barley.

APPEARANCE: ~1-2cm white head. ~5 minute retention.

Murky copper body tends a bit towards the dull side (lacking vibrance and life). Translucent. No yeast/lees are visible within. Hard to tell if it was filtered or not, but it's not cloudy or hazy.

Looks decent for a saison.

AROMA: Clove, orange peel, faint oak on the back end, subtle brettanomyces bruxellensis-derived funkiness, wheat, pale malt (2-row and 6-row). I look for juniper but don't find it...there's nothing Sahti-like at all in this aroma. I can't find the corn or rye either...there's no cereal/maize aroma or rye spice.

Suggests a funky brettanomyces-led ale with mild sourness at most and plenty of subtlety. Not strong with regard to barrel notes.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Acidic yet smooth, slightly dry, and medium-bodied, giving it a twangy mouthfeel that isn't puckering on its own but does accent both the low sourness (~3/10) and subtle but unmistakable juniper berry. Wheat and pale malt bend to the whims of the funky brettanomyces. Finishes on a note of bitter orange peel and gin-like juniper. Spice yeasty notes (clove, mainly) are peppered throughout. Lemon. Musty wood. Sourdough. Cedar.

Rye and corn get lost in the mix...I can't find them. Any barrel presence is minimal...maybe a hint of oak throughout, but there's no rich white toasted oak, barrel sugars, vanillin, wine, etc.

Balanced with a lot of subtle ingredients woven throughout effectively. Juniper doesn't really hit until the finish, but when it does, it sings.

OVERALL: Those hoping for a very sour beer or a very barrel-emphatic saison will be let down, but it's a worthwhile expression of the style and it delivers in terms of funkiness and rustic saison spice. Highly drinkable, though I don't know that it's worth $7.50 a bottle (though price never affects my ratings). More good work from Jolly Pumpkin, and and an adequately complex saison I'll enjoy polishing off.

B- / WORTHY

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 750ml bottle dated 1/26/17, poured a foggy orange, minimal head. Fruity aromas and flavor, thin body, not much carbonation. I was never a fan of Saisons/Farmhouse Ales. I was surprised to see such high scores here.......maybe it just got funky with a year on it.

 

 

 

 

Highly complex with tons of subtle complexities the sour farmhouse ale that is the brainchild of Jolly Pumpkin and Revelry brewing companies comes down to a piquant sourness, juicy vinous and orchard fruit and an earthen backbone that's quintessential to all of Jolly Pumpkin beers.

The rusted lemon appearace catches the depth of goldenrod through the center, and then crowned with a eggshell froth and speckled lace. The nose embarks upon a tangy lemon, melon and overall citrus and orchard fruit medley. A perfumy funk wafts over the senses with weathered woods, rustic cellar must and dried rickhouse woods. At a glimpse, its taste is subtly bready and sweet with sourdough and taffy.

But the sweetness quickly gives way to the sourness that overtakes the session. The commanding brightness of lemon, lime, pear and honeydew cast much of the mustiness aside as a briney taste of the sea rolls gently behind the fruit. Decidedly winey, the taste trends long with oaked chardonnay and with the zestiness of lime peels and rye husk adding snipits of bitterness and spiciness in balance. A moderate hop finish casts an aura of dry hay, burlap and leather on the finish.

Medium light in body, a husken grit comes over the session as the saison dries and bitters its way to classic perfection, but bringing the bright acidity of wine, citrus and cider along for the ride. A medium afterglow ensures a return of funk through the retro olfactory senses and simmers with those weathered woods once more.

I picked up a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin's Isla Estrana for $13.99 at The Lager Mill. I haven't heard much about this beer and I'm interested to see how it turns out, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage. Poured from a brown 750ml bottle into a teku.

A- The label looks good, it's got a nice design to it that's eye catching. It poured a fairly clear golden color that took on a little more of a brighter hue when held to the light and it had under half a fingers worth of bubbly white head that quickly died down to a thin ring that faded away and it left some patchy lacing behind. This is a pretty nice looking beer, but I wish the head and head retention were a little better.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the funky yeast being first to show up and it imparts that typical JP funk with some barnyard and wet straw like aromas that go into a big and bright fruity aroma with some apple pear and other stone fruit like aromas with some lemon aromas seeming to stick out the most. Up next comes a little bit of a doughy aroma that leads into the malts which impart a pale malt, light grainy, light rye, bready and sweet malt like aroma with a little more of a citrus aroma towards the end. This beer has a good aroma, it's fairly complex and the all aromas work well together.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma, but it's more balanced and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the funky yeast still being the first to show up and it imparts all the same aspects that it did in the aroma and it's followed by the fruits which have more of a stone fruit presence this time and a lighter citrus fruit flavor this time. Up next comes a little bit of a peppercorn like flavor with a slight doughy flavor in the background and that goes into the malts which show up just as much as they did in the aroma and they impart all the same aspects. On the finish there's a little bit more of a lemon flavor with a lighter amount of bitterness and a noticeable amount of lighter tartness with a stone fruit, lemon and funky yeast aftertaste. This is a good tasting beer, it's got some nice complexity and the flavors work well together.

M- Fairly smooth, slightly refreshing, a little dry on the finish, not overly tart, a little crisp, medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is good and it works well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a good beer and it's a good example of the style, the balance seemed to really shine with this beer and no single aspect ever got to be too overpowering. This beer had nice drinkability, I'll have no problem drinking the full bottle and two glasses would be a good amount for me. What I like the most about this beer is the balance and just how well all the flavors and aromas work together, it's easily the highlight of this beer for me. What I like the least about this beer is the appearance, it's not bad it just needs a little more head and better head retention. I would buy this beer again and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice JP beer that's funky, fruity and a little tart. All in all I was happy with this beer and I was a little impressed with how well the balance was. It's one of the better JP beers that I've had recently and it's a good example of the style. Good job guys, this is another JP beer, keep up the hard work.

 

 

 

 

25.4 oz. bomber poured into tall tulip
(bottled on 1/26/17)

L: murky yellow, not quite gold, pushes up about 1/2-inch head of foam that paints the inner wall of the glass as it dissipates; clears up considerably over time, never gets more than about 85% clear; sticks some, laces some

S: fingernail polish out of the bottle, very vinous, then sweet and fruity off the head, apricot/peach, kiwi; as it warms, orange, orange peel, kumquat; last third of the glass, warmed up some more, tart cherries

T: follows the nose but is more tart lemon than fingernail polish/remover vinegary ... has a lingering warmth from the alcohol, different for a farmhouse ale but not unpleasant; as it warms, the yeast begins taking over as the main flavor note, a little earthy, a little wet-hay funky; last third of the glass, tart lemon and earthy ... a chunk of dirty hay but not bitter; has many of the same fruity notes as the nose, but they're never as strong; light malt sweetness does some balancing work throughout

F: light, soft, low carbonation ... almost watery, but the tiny-bubbled carbonation gives it a thin layer of crispness that's fleeting but just enough to help it move along; for the style, it's not bad as it allows the tartness of the beer do the filling out

O: classic Jolly Pumpkin all around with loads of their signature fingernail polish/remover notes mixing wonderfully into some malt sweetness, lemony tartness and tropical fruit flavor; not a gateway beer, but if you like good American-made farmhouse ales, this is up there with the best